New York Headache blog

Eating more salt leads to more headaches, according to a study published in BMJ Open last December. In a multicentre feeding study with three 30-day periods, 390 participants were randomised to the DASH (a healthy diet that was expected to lower...

Epilepsy drugs Depakote and Topamax are two of only four drugs approved by the FDA for the prevention of episodic migraines (the other two are blood pressure medications in the beta blocker family, propranolol and timolol, while Botox is the only...

I recommend several supplements to my headache patients. However, the supplement industry is not regulated by the FDA and a few days ago another scandal has erupted. The attorney general of New York ordered Walgreens, WalMart, Target and GNC...

An email I just received, which is attached at the end of this post, prompted me to write again about magnesium. In my opinion, every migraine sufferer should try taking magnesium. It’s been 20 years since we published our first study of...

Many medical and pain conditions, including migraines, are more likely to occur in people who were abused in childhood. A new study by Richard Lipton and his colleagues compared the risk of developing migraines with the risk of developing episodic...

A study by Australian doctors led by Dr. Lyn Griffiths confirmed a previous observation that higher dietary intake of folic acid leads to lower frequency of migraine headaches. A 2009 study by Spanish doctors showed that patients with migraine...

Vitamin D deficiency has received wide attention and many doctors now check for this deficiency during routine check-ups. I’ve posted about the importance of vitamin D in migraine headaches and for general health. Vitamin D deficiency seems...

While being overweight doese not cause migraines, in those who do suffer with migraines there is an inverse relationship between person’s weight and the frequency and severity of migraine headaches. Weight loss, including that due to weight loss...

Vertigo and dizziness are more common in migraine sufferers than in people without migraines. A patient I am treating for migraines emailed me a few days ago complaining of vertigo. Dizziness is a term which can mean unsteadiness...

A report by Taiwanese doctors just published in the journal Neurology suggests that having migraine headaches may double the risk of Bell’s palsy. Several medical conditions, such as asthma, anxiety, depression, irritable bowel syndrome...

Trigeminal neuralgia is a very painful and debilitating condition (Here is a review article I wrote for physicians). Fortunately, it is relatively infrequent – affecting 0.3% of the population, compared to 12% afflicted by migraines. This explains...

Cost is the only major issue with Botox injections, which is the only FDA-approved treatment for chronic migraines and which is now covered by almost all insurance companies. It is very safe and highly effective, relieving headaches in 70% of...

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is usually seen in children. The attacks of vomiting often stop as the child gets older, but then they usually go on to develop migraine headaches. A recent report in Headache describes three adults with CVS...

Placebo effect is a well-documented phenomenon, which is particularly pronounced when treating migraine headaches. Intravenous (IV) infusion of saline water is a placebo commonly used in studies where placebo is compared to a medication also...

Considering that meditation can literally change your brain, it is not at all surprising that it can also prevent migraine headaches. A study by doctors at Wake Forest School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School published in the journal Headache...

Germany was just voted world’s favorite country, according to a report in the USA Today. It also may be the most advanced country in the area of medical rehabilitation. I just came back from Germany where I was invited to give lectures at two...

A new report by Drs. Gfrerer, Maman and their colleagues at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston entitled Non-Endoscopic Deactivation of Nerve Triggers in Migraine Headache Patients: Surgical Technique and Outcomes was recently published...

Fish oil, or rather omega-3 fatty acids, seem to reduce the risk of Lou Gehrig disease or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). An article in JAMA Neurology by Dr. Fitzgerald and her colleagues analyzed 1,002,082 participants in 5 different...

Cluster headaches usually occur once or twice a year for a period lasting from a few weeks to a few months. During those periods, they occur daily or more than once a day. Interestingly, these episodes of cluster headaches tend to occur at the same...

The first time I heard of the potential benefit of stem cells for migraine headaches was last year from one of my patients. This 55-year-old woman had been having some improvement from intravenous magnesium and nerve blocks, while Botox...

Beta blockers (Inderal or propranolol and similar drugs) are used for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. Over the years, a few patients have told me that they take a beta blocker only when they have an attack of migraine with very good...

Parkinson’s disease (PD), parkinsonian symptoms, and restless leg syndrome (RLS) are more common in people who in middle age suffered from migraines with aura. Those suffering from migraine without aura in their midlife had increased risk of having...

Stabbing headaches can be a sign of acute multiple sclerosis, according to a report by German doctors in the journal Headache. Stabbing headache is a rare type of headache, although patients with migraines often report having occasional “ice pick”...

Peripheral nerve blocks can be very effective in stopping a severe migraine attack. We utilize them when a patient does not respond to oral or injected medications or when medications are contraindicated because of a coexisting disease or pregnancy...

Frequent attacks of migraine are best treated with preventive measures. Several categories of medications have been shown to be effective for the prevention of migraine headaches. These include Botox injections (for chronic migraine), epilepsy...

Severe persistent migraines can affect emotional, interpersonal, social, and work-related functioning. It is difficult to learn how to cope with pain and improve your functioning on your own. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven to...

Expiration date on medications does not indicate that the medication is no longer effective or safe after that date. Having had extensive experience with the production and testing of Migralex, I can reassure you that medications remain safe and...

A report from the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve describes 22 patients with new daily persistent headaches (NDPH) who were treated with Botox injections. NDPH is a condition in which the headache begins suddenly without an obvious...

A new combination of two old drugs seems to provide relief for some trigeminal neuralgia (TN) sufferers. The first line drugs for TN are epilepsy drugs, carbamazepine (Tegretol) or oxcarbazepine (Trileptal). A presentation at the last annual...

Post-concussion syndrome, which often includes headaches, can persist for many months especially after a minor injury (yes, mild injury is more likely to cause post-concussion syndrome than a severe one). However, little is known about prognosis...