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The FDA has just approved galcanezumab (Emgality), the third CGRP monoclonal antibody for the prophylactic treatment of migraines. It follows erenumab (Aimovig) and fremanezumab (Ajovy) and just like these two drugs it...

Bisoprolol (Zebeta) is one of about a dozen drugs in the beta-blocker family, medications that were developed for the treatment of high blood pressure, or hypertension. The oldest beta blocker, propranolol (Inderal) was approved...

A recent report by neurologists from the Mayo Clinic suggests that onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) injections can relieve not only headache pain, but associated neurological symptoms, such as visual aura, numbness and weakness...

Fremanezumab (Ajovy) was just approved by the FDA for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. It is the second drug, following erenumab (Aimovig), with a similar mechanism of action. While erenumab blocks calcitonin...

Bupivacaine (Marcaine, Sensorcaine) is a numbing agent (local anesthetic) similar to lidocaine (Xylocaine), but with a longer duration of effect. Bupivacaine effect lasts 4 to 8 hours, while lidocaine, only 2 hours. However, lidocaine...

Dexamethasone (Decadron) is a strong corticosteroid (steroid) anti-inflammatory medication similar to prednisone and methylprednisolone (Medrol). Considering that inflammation occurs during a migraine attack and that...

Codeine is a mild opioid (narcotic) pain killer, which has less of an addiction potential of butorphanol, described in the previous post, or most other opioid drugs. However, it definitely can cause addiction and can be a “gateway drug”...

Butorphanol nasal spray (Stadol NS) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute migraine attacks. It belongs to the agonist-antagonist type of opioid (narcotic) drugs, while morphine, methadone, oxycodone, and most other...

Injections of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) are approved for the treatment of chronic migraine headaches in adults. Botox is also widely used off-label (not an FDA-approved use) for the treatment of migraines in children. We know that...

Cyproheptadine (Periactin) is one of the most popular drugs for the prevention of migraine headaches in children. Unfortunately, there is only one scientific study suggesting that cyproheptadine (4 mg per day) is as...

Blood pressure medication propranolol was the first preventive drug approved for the treatment of migraine headaches over 50 years ago. It belongs to the family of beta blockers, but other types of blood pressure drugs can be...

Clonazepam (Klonopin) is a drug approved for the treatment of panic attacks and certain types of seizures. It is also used “off label” to treat anxiety, insomnia, and muscle spasm. Clonazepam belongs to the family of benzodiazepines...

Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) belongs to the phenothiazine family, which includes prochlorperazine (Compazine) and promethazine (Phenergan), drugs used to treat nausea and vomiting. These drugs can relieve not only...

Medical marijuana (MM) is now legal in 30 states. Most states approve its use for specific medical conditions and severe pain and nausea, which are symptoms of migraine, are usually on the list. I’ve been prescribing MM since...

Almost everyone has an occasional pain in the upper back and shoulders, often caused by prolonged sitting in front of a computer or just by stress. The pain is due to muscle spasm and keeping those muscles in good shape helps...

Candesartan (Atacand) is a blood pressure medication in the class of ACE receptor blockers (ARBs), none of which are approved for the treatment of migraines. Because they are available in a cheap generic form no pharmaceutical...

The New York Headache Center participated in a large (245 patients) placebo-controlled trial of butterbur, which showed that 150 mg of butterbur is effective in the prevention of migraine headaches when compared to placebo. The results were...

Caffeine can be considered a drug since it is available in a pure form in tablets and injections. It is also included in medications, such as Excedrin, Fioricet, and Fiorinal. It is considered to be an analgesic adjuvant, meaning that it...

Boswellia serrata is not a drug, but a plant, but I am including herbal products as well if a serious scientific journal has published articles on it. Most of the available information on Boswellia is in mentioned in my previous post. I would only...

Jan Mundo, who is a Somatic and Headache Coach, and Bodyworker just wrote a book, The Headache Healer’s Handbook, which was published by the New World Library. I’ve known Jan and her wonderful work with headache patients...

Baclofen (Lioresal) is one of several muscle relaxants that have been tested for the treatment of migraine headaches. The testing was not very rigorous – baclofen was subjected only to one open label trial. The trial done by an...

Butalbital, a short-acting barbiturate, is one of the three ingredients in headache drugs such as Fioricet, Fiorinal, Esgic and their generic equivalents. Fiorinal and Fioricet derive their name from the Montefiore Headache Clinic, where they...

Headaches that occur during sexual activity tend to elicit fear and embarrassment. Embarrassment is why most people are not aware that this is a fairly common condition – you would not share your experience at a party. The fear is...

Anxiety is one of the conditions comorbid with migraines – if you have migraines you are 2-3 times more likely to suffer from anxiety as well. The relationship is bidirectional, meaning that if you have anxiety, you are more likely to develop...

On June 1, I injected myself with erenumab (Aimovig). I still had to take sumatriptan for an incipient migraine on June 2 and June 5. On Thursday, June 7, I had a glass of red wine (pinot noir) with dinner and had no headache. Last night...

The FDA has approved 4 different types of botulinum toxin for various therapeutic indications. The oldest, the most popular and the only one approved for the prevention of chronic migraines is onabotulinumtoxinA, or Botox. I’ve been...

Atenolol (Tenormin) is a blood pressure medicine in the beta blocker family. Atenolol is considered to be equally effective in preventing migraines to propranolol (Inderal), which was the first drug to be approved for the prevention of...

As expected, we’ve been overwhelmed by the demand for the new preventive therapy for migrianes, erenumab (Aimovig). It offers a unique and highly effective therapy with virtually no known side effects, at least so far. My patients are...

Medical marijuana appears to be very effective for the treatment of pain, according to a new study just published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine. The study was conducted by researchers at the Soroka University Medical...

A new and very promising preventive treatment for cluster headaches being developed by Eli Lilly may become available in the near future. We hope that the FDA recognizes that this is a relatively rare condition with few available...