New York Headache blog

If you are “overusing” acute migraine medications, preventive migraine treatments still work very well. This was the conclusion of a study that was just published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, Neurology...

Yesterday I saw a 48-year-old man who has been suffering from migraine headaches since his teens. He did not respond to a wide variety of drugs and non-drug therapies, but Emgality has been very effective. The only problem...

I recently saw a 32-year-old woman who never suffered from headaches until a year ago when she was given an injection of a COVID vaccine (J&J). Her headache started the day after vaccination and it has persisted unabated...

A patient recently asked me about trying chiropractic treatment for her migraines. This is a chapter on chiropractic from my last book, The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain. Chiropractors can also relieve...

RetreatMigraine 2022: April 1-3 at Hilton Charlotte University PlaceRetreatMigraine is a conference specially designed by and for adults living with migraine disease. The multi-day event brings together patients, care partners and...

See Julie’s solo show at Shrine.nyc, 179 East Broadway, New York, NY...

Botox is one of the most effective and safest treatments for frequent and chronic migraines. One of the potential side effects of Botox is droopy eyelids. When injections are done correctly this happens in a very small percentage...

I am happy to announce that you can attend the Migraine World Summit free of charge. It is back on March 16-24, 2022 for its 7th annual virtual event. As one of the former presenters, I can tell you that you may greatly benefit...

Nerivio, an electrical stimulation device was cleared by the FDA to treat acute migraine attacks in adults almost three years ago. It was recently also cleared to treat migraines in adolescents. A new study sponsored by Theranica...

My previous post described a study that found no difference in efficacy among different types of psychosocial interventions for the treatment of chronic back pain. A recent 2020 Cochrane review concluded that there is strong...

Patients with chronic pain, including those with migraines, have been shown to benefit from psychological interventions. There is a wide variety of such treatments – biofeedback, meditation, acceptance-commitment...

Cluster headaches are considered to cause the worst pain imaginable. We have a variety of medications – both acute and preventive – that help relieve the pain of cluster headaches. For some, none of these treatments...

I’ve been prescribing medical marijuana (MM) since 2016 when it became legal in New York. We still lack controlled clinical trials of MM for the treatment of migraines. Most of my patients who find MM useful report that it...

Worsening of headaches in children is one of many deleterious effects of the pandemic and measures to control it. A survey of children in a headache clinic at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC by Dr. DiSabell...

There is a new and surprising connection between postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and migraines. It offers a very effective treatment that will relieve the suffering of tens of thousands of patients. Many migraine patients tell...

Magnetic stimulation with a single pulse has been shown to be effective in aborting a migraine attack with the eNeura Spring TMS device. Repetitive magnetic stimulation rTMS) of the brain has been shown to relieve depression...

Ketamine was approved by the FDA in 1970 and was originally used for the induction of anesthesia. It has been shown to relieve depression and is also widely used to treat pain. For depression, it is approved by the FDA in a nasal...

With Swiss colleagues Drs. Caterina Podella, Livia Granata, and Reto Agosti at the headache conference held on November 4, 2021, in Zürich. Dr. Podella presented a very comprehensive approach to the treatment of migraine...

The influence of estrogen on migraines in women is well established – women often experience migraines before or during menstruation and ovulation and their migraines usually subside during pregnancy and menopause...

The placebo effect is a bane of clinical trials. It is, however, a great tool in clinical practice. It is unethical to prescribe an actual placebo but there is no reason not to try to enhance the placebo effect when prescribing any...

I am honored to participate in a symposium on headache management,“THE CHALLENGE OF MIGRAINE AND CLUSTER HEADACHES”. The title of my presentation is The challenge of migraine: new perspectives in refractory cases...

To gain FDA approval a drug has to be shown to be better than a placebo. The placebo effect is a well-established psychological contributor to the efficacy of most treatments. A group of Italian researchers just published...

Atogepant (Qulipta) is a new migraine drug that was just approved by the FDA for the preventive treatment of migraines. It is the third drug in the family of gepants. Gepants block the CGRP receptor. CGRP is a chemical...

Many migraine sufferers report that their migraines are brought on by the weather. High humidity, high temperatures, and changes in barometric pressure are the most commonly reported triggers. I’ve seen some patients for whom...

Two large studies have established that if you have diabetes you are less likely to suffer from migraines. The first study was done on the entire population of Norway. The authors concluded that both type 1 and type 2 diabetes...

Patients coming to the New York Headache Center have enjoyed seeing my daughter Julie’s artwork since she was 11. This was not just a childhood interest – Julie graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree...

Trudhesa is a new formulation of dihydroergotamine (DHE) nasal spray just approved by the FDA. It appears to be more effective than the original DHE nasal spray (Migranal) that was introduced in 1997. Ergotamine, the first migraine...

The placebo effect is a bane of clinical trials. A drug is considered ineffective if it is only as good as a placebo. And placebo can be quite good. Intriguingly, the placebo effect in clinical trials has been getting stronger over the past...

It is gratifying to know that my colleagues consider my new book, The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain, to be useful for patients with migraines as well as doctors who treat them. Dr. Uwe Reuter of Charité Universitätsmedizin...

Migraine can be triggered by many foods, including sugar, chocolate, smoked, pickled, cured, dried, and fermented foods. There are also foods that can help with migraines. These are magnesium-rich dark leafy vegetables...