Each day, you wonder if a migraine will develop and whether a headache will throw you off track. And this worry is daily thanks to chronic migraines that have had a major impact on your ability to live your life freely.
You’re certainly not alone — about 37 million people, including kids, struggle with migraines in the United States. Around the globe, about 148 million people struggle with chronic migraine.
As part of our comprehensive pain management services, the team at Johnston Pain Management offers effective treatments for migraines, helping our patients break free from chronic head pain.
In the following, we look at both preventive and on-the-spot solutions for debilitating migraines.
One of the best ways to deal with migraines is to prevent them in the first place, and we offer a couple of treatment avenues that focus on just that.
Many people with chronic migraine have certain triggers that lead to headaches, so identifying and avoiding those are important.
To give you an idea, here’s a sample list of common migraine triggers:
A great step in any migraine management plan is to track your migraines to figure out whether there’s something that’s triggering them. If we find some links, we can make a plan to avoid those triggers so that you don’t set off a migraine.
Another good preventive practice is using Botox to prevent migraines. The active ingredient in Botox can block neurotransmitters from sending pain signals to your brain, which can reduce the frequency and severity of your chronic migraines.
But don’t take our word for it. In a comprehensive analysis that included 24 articles, researchers concluded that using Botox for chronic migraines, “Decreases the frequency of migraine attacks per month, pain intensity, medication use, emergency visits, and migraine-related disabilities.”
The last weapons in our migraine arsenal are drugs that include preventive medications that can help you avoid headaches, as well as rescue medications that can help during a migraine attack.
For example, some people respond well to antidepressants, beta-blockers, or anti-seizure medications that prevent migraine headaches from developing. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors are another frequently recommended option for migraine prevention.
And if and when a migraine develops, many people find rescue medications like caffeine, ibuprofen, or triptan medications to be effective.
It’s difficult to say which medications might benefit you, but we can ensure you have an effective and fast-acting migraine toolkit.
The one takeaway we want to leave you with is that there are solutions for migraines. To determine which would work best for your chronic migraines, we invite you to schedule a consultation at one of our three conveniently located offices in Jacksonville, Hampstead, and New Bern, North Carolina.
