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Steroid medications can be very effective for migraine headaches that fail to respond to other medications. Steroids, such as prednisone, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone have many potential serious side effects if taken for a long time. We know...

Injections of sumatriptan (Imitrex) are very underutilized. Many doctors fail to offer this option to their migraine and cluster headache sufferers because they are not aware of this option or more often because they are not aware how debilitating...

Migraine patients can sometimes benefit from an Alzheimer’s drug, Namenda (memantine). All drugs for the preventive treatment of migraines, including Botox, had been first approved for a completely different indication. Beta blockers and other...

Chronic and episodic paroxysmal hemicrania and hemicrania continua are rare types of headaches that have one common feature – they respond very well to indomethacin (Indocin). The diagnosis is actually based not only on clinical features but also...

Biofeedback is an excellent preventive headache treatment with its efficacy proven in many rigorous studies. What prompted me to write this blog post is seeing yet another child (I see kids with headaches aged 10 and older) who had seen his...

Botox injections relieve pain of trigeminal neuralgia, according to a new study just published in Cephalalgia, a leading headache journal. Trigeminal neuralgia is an extremely painful condition which manifests itself by intense electric shock-like...

Air pollution has been shown to worsen migraine headaches. Connection between pollution and risk of heart attacks has also been established. A recent study showed that even low levels of particulate matter can increase the risk of a stroke...

Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) or disembarkment syndrome is a rare condition which often, but not always, occurs after getting off a ship. Many people have “sea legs” after getting off a boat, but in most this sensation of still being on...

Risks involved in using Chinese herbs are highlighted in the just released AFP report, which you can read on Yahoo News. Here is an edited quote from this story: The samples analyzed for this study included herbal teas, capsules, powders and...

We should not complain about our health care system. People in such advanced European countries as Netherlands have it much worse. I just saw a 27-year-old Dutch woman with chronic migraines who has been coming to see me for Botox injections...

Muscle relaxants can be surprisingly effective for the prophylactic treatment of migraine headaches. It is surprising because migraine is a brain disorder and not a disorder of muscles. However, studies have shown that during a migraine attack...

A throbbing headache in the left temple with sensitivity to light and noise, occurring daily and present for almost a year seemed to indicate a typical chronic migraine headache in a man I saw last week. His headache did not respond to pain...

I just saw a man with chronic cluster headaches whom I’ve been treating for the past 5 years. He had tried various treatments and still remains on verapamil which provides partial relief, but he finds excellent relief from monthly intravenous...

Weather is a common trigger of migraine headaches. Review of studies linking weather to migraines suggests that there are three weather-related triggers. It is high humidity, high temperature, and drop in barometric pressure. Some migraine...

Headache is one of the most common complaints reported by patients suffering from AIDS, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Alabama. They evaluated 200 patients with HIV/AIDS and discovered that 107 or 54% of them...

Smoking by the mother during pregnancy increases the risk that the child will suffer from headaches. Brazilian researchers published results of their study in the journal Cephalalgia. They collected information on over 1,600 children aged 10 – 11...

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, have been reported to relieve migraine headaches, although the only such study was relatively small. The dose of omega-3 fatty acids was 6 grams taken daily as a preventive treatment for migraines. A recent...

Depression is more likely to occur in people with migraines, but migraines are also more likely to develop in those who suffer from depression first. A new Canadian study reexamined this link in 15,254 people. They confirmed this association...

Genetic analysis of 594 members of 134 families by Spanish researchers confirmed the results of a previous study that discovered a genetic abnormality on the sixth chromosome that seems to be associated with migraines. This genetic marker is present...

Women who suffer from both episodic and chronic migraines are more likely to have widespread chronic pain, which is often diagnosed as fibromyalgia. Brazilian researchers evaluated 179 women with episodic and chronic migraine. They discovered...

New risks of Prilosec (omeprazole), Nexium, and other similar drugs (so-called proton-pump inhibitors, or PPIs) are being highlighted by the FDA. They can increase the risk of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, a serious infection. This...

A small number of my patients take triptan medications daily. Many doctors, including neurologists and headache specialists think that taking these drugs daily makes headaches worse, resulting in rebound, or medication overuse headaches (MOH)...

Migraines are often mistaken for sinus infections, and are treated with antibiotics. The reson for this confusion is that migraines can cause pain in the area of sinuses and some people will even have a clear discharge from their nose during a...

We are conducting a trial of a very novel treatment for migraine headaches. ElectroCore is a company that developed a small hand-held device which is placed at the front of the neck during a migraine and which painlessly stimulates the vagus nerve...

Botox, or onabotulinumtoxinA was recently approved by the FDA for treatment of chronic migraine based on the results of two large studies. Botox is the only prophylactic therapy specifically approved for chronic migraine. Many patients and...

Intravenous infusion of magnesium for the treatment of an acute migraine is receiving more attention and is mentioned in the recent issue of journal Headache. In the first of three articles Drs. Nancy Kelley and Deborah Tepper of the Cleveland...

Acupuncture has been widely used for the treatment of migraine headaches and it has been subjected to many clinical trials. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal confirms what previous research has shown – that...

How much sumatriptan (or another triptan) is too much is not clear. The initial FDA-approved daily dose of oral sumatriptan (Imitrex) for the treatment of an acute migraine was up to three 100 mg tablets. Several years later the maximum daily dose...

Swearing is a common response to pain. A study just published in The Journal of Pain examines whether swearing can actually help pain. Oxford English Dictionary defines swearing as the use of offensive or obscene language. Prior studies by the same...

Likeable patients may receive better care for their pain, according to a study by Belgian researchers. The researchers asked 40 doctors to look at photos of six different patients. Each photo was accompanied by a description such as friendly...