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Dr. Leo Galland, whom I’ve known professionally for many years, has written (with his son) another outstanding book, The Allergy Solution. Sometimes I see a patient, who in addition to migraine headaches, suffers from a variety of other ailments...

Sumatriptan (Imitrex) and similar drugs (so called triptans) are “designer” drugs that were specifically developed for the treatment of migraine headaches. They are very effective, but do not help all migraine sufferers. Anti-inflammatory pain killers...

The FDA approved Botox injections for the treatment of chronic migraine headaches more than five years ago. I just discovered that in this period of time only 100,000 chronic migraine sufferers received this treatment...

Yoga is the most impactful import from India to the US. Yoga has many documented health benefits, including relief of headaches. I have been practicing Bikram yoga about twice a week for nearly 12 years. About a year ago I started having some...

I have not been aware of any research indicating a link between salt intake and migraines. A study just published in the journal Headache by researchers at Stanford and UCLA looked at this possible connection...

Caffeine is a well-know trigger of migraine headaches and I regularly write on this topic (my last post on this topic – caffeine causing headaches in adolescents – was three years ago). Caffeine can help migraines and other headaches, but in large...

Ketamine is a sedating agent used to induce anesthesia. It is also a drug of abuse with street names such as “Special K” or “Ket”. Ketamine has many advantages, which makes it a very popular choice in anesthesia. It works fast, blocks pain...

Fibromyalgia is a condition comorbid with migraine, which means that migraine sufferers are more likely to have fibromyalgia and those with fibromyalgia are more likely to have migraines (such relationships are not always bidirectional)...

A patient of mine just emailed me about a recent segment of the TV show, The Doctors, which featured a woman whose severe chronic migraines were cured by nasal surgery. The segment was shot a few weeks after the surgery, so it is...

Marijuana has been tried for a variety of medical conditions, including migraines, and in one of my previous post I mentioned dangers of smoking it. Medical marijuana does not have the same dangers since it is not smoked...

There has been some backlash against meditation with newspapers publishing articles claiming that meditation is overrated. Fortunately, serious scientists continue to publish solid objective data proving that meditation not only relieves pain...

Prilosec (omeprazole), Nexium, Prevacid, and other similar drugs in the family of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can cause headaches directly, but more often by reducing the absorption of vitamins such as B12 and D, and minerals such...

Treatment of medical conditions with electricity was first used by the ancient Romans who used electric eels to treat headaches, gout and in obstetrics. Electric shock therapy for depression was one of the earliest widespread uses of electricity in...

Pituitary gland which is located inside the skull and underneath the brain is responsible for secreting various hormones. Pituitary adenoma is a benign tumor of this gland and it often causes increased release of either prolactin, growth hormone, or cortisol...

My most commented on blog post (over 150 comments) is on the daily use of triptans. A new report confirms the safety of long-term daily use of sumatriptan injections in cluster patients. Cluster headaches are arguably the most severe type of...

Sumatriptan is now available in a nasal powder form. We already have sumatriptan in a tablet, injection, nasal spray, and a skin patch. I mentioned this product over 5 years ago and finally it was just approved by the FDA. This does not mean...

Headache is usually the main presenting symptom of temporal arteritis (also known as giant cell arteritis, or GCA), which is caused by inflammation of blood vessels. This condition happens almost exclusively in the elderly. It presents with...

Trigeminal neuralgia is an extremely painful condition which causes jolts of very intense electric-like pains in the face. Fortunately, many trigeminal neuralgia sufferers respond to medications or Botox injections.Several surgical procedures have...

The little white spots seen on brain MRI scans have long been thought to be benign. A nagging concern has always persisted since their meaning has remained unclear. A recent study by researchers at several medical centers across the US...

Asthma is more common in migraine sufferers and migraine is more common in those who suffer from asthma (the medical term is co-morbid conditions). A new study published in Headache examines a possible connection between...

A hole between the left and the right side of the heart has been suspected to be the cause of migraines in some people. However, closing this hole has not produced dramatic improvement in several blinded studies that have been conducted...

Magnesium deficiency is a regular topic on this blog. Up to half of migraine sufferers are deficient in magnesium, but magnesium levels are rarely checked by doctors. Even when magnesium level is checked, it is usually the serum level, which is...

Meditation is growing in popularity and deservedly so. Several of my previous posts mentioned the benefit of meditation in migraine headaches. Scientists are conducting rigorous studies that repeatedly show the profound effect meditation has...

Inpatient migraine headache treatment in the US is usually limited to a five-day course of intravenous DHE and other medications. Even such brief admissions are not always approved by the insurance companies...

23andMe offers direct-to-consumer genetic testing by analyzing a saliva sample. It provides information on predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions ranging from acne to Alzheimer’s. Health-related results were suspended by the FDA...

Magnesium infusion given before or during surgery reduces the amount of opioid analgesics (narcotics) needed in the 24 hours following surgery. Doctors at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ reviewed 14 of the most rigorous...

Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) block has been used for the treatment of headaches and other pain conditions for over 100 years. The original method involved placing a long Q-tip-like cotton swab dipped in cocaine through the nose and against the SPG....

Since my early 20s I’ve been getting visual auras without a headache several times a year. I still get them in my late 50’s and they still occur without a headache. In my 40s I started to have migraine headaches without an aura. My migraines are always...

Acupuncture and Alexander technique appear to be equally effective and significantly more effective for the treatment of chronic neck pain than routine care, according to a study by British researchers published in the latest issue of the...

Richard Wenzel PharmD of the Diamond Headache Clinic in the latest issue of the leading medical journal, Headache writes about the shocking fact that this country’s pharmaceutical industry cannot reliably supply medications for patients. He also...