I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from Allergan to write about the realities of migraine as a neurologic disease. All opinions are my own.
Hi friends! Picture this. It’s a busy holiday shopping day, but you are still having a good day thus far. You got a lot of sleep, you’re having a great hair day, drunk your coffee while it was actually hot, the kids are behaving everything is going your way. Now you’re out shopping. You came with a list so you won’t go over budget, you’re finding all the good sales, again what a good day right? But then suddenly it hits you. In the middle of the store, like a ton of bricks, it’s pounding, it’s painful, it’s officially turned your best day into the worst. It’s a Migraine.
Part 2.
Welcome back, friends. I am so glad that you all have decided to join me for part 2 of my blog featuring Med-IQ. In part 1 entitled Maybe, it’s not just a headache (which you can read here). I told you guys all about the situation that had happened to my mother many years ago. The story of how she inadvertently ignored her headache and had to be hospitalized. Fortunately, my mom was okay and continues to see her doctors for treatment. Unfortunately, there are so many people out there who are not being treated and continue to suffer every day. Well in today’s blog post I am going to fill you guys in on who Med-IQ is, all the research that has been done regarding migraines plus what you can do to help yourself or someone you love. Let’s get into it.
Med-IQ.
So for those of you who did not yet get a chance to read part one of this blog. Or for those of you who just need a refresher, I will give you a little overview of who Med-IQ is. Med-IQ is an accredited Baltimore-based company that focuses on working with healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to provide them with extraordinary education in their field. Providing a range of learning for providers to better meet the needs of their patients and healthcare delivery. Over these last few years, they have broadened their consumer education. They have created more ways than ever to help people like you and I understand things like migraines and how to deal with them.
In the last blog, Med-IQ brought me in to help be that voice for consumer education. To take what you read and apply it to your life with that knowledge and certainty you needed to take those steps towards fighting back against migraines. So, did you? If so how did it go? Maybe you were diagnosed? Or maybe you made an appointment but haven’t quite followed through. Well, no worries because whatever the case may be we now understand migraines a little better right?
Research shows.
Last time I told you guys that According to the (NIH) National Institutes of Health migraines actually will affect every 1 out of 7 Americans. Now based on some survey results from the last blog post we have found out that some of the biggest triggers are followed by stress (84%), weather (60%), and insomnia (72%). With the holidays coming and not being able to attend those fun holiday parties or sadly see your families, you could start stressing big. The seasons are changing which you mean more stress and on top of it, all the pandemic may cause you to not be sleeping very well insomnia. With everything coming in full throttle how can you manage it all? How can you manage your migraines?
Migraine stress management
With migraine management, it is important to know what brings them on. For example, you could take a notebook or use an app on your phone to write down each time you got your migraine, where you were, who you were with, etc. Any information you can jot down that would be helpful. In this instance, we’re talking about holiday stress. So remember our holiday shopping example from the beginning? Maybe the store lights were too bright, that coffee caught up to you, or maybe you didn’t budget as well as you think you did. All of those things could have potentially brought on stress in the middle of that shopping trip causing that pounding, painful migraine.
The upcoming holiday months are very stressful so it’s important you are aware of the triggers. So for these instances, you may want to consider some things. Don’t shop during certain hours, don’t drink so much coffee. Maybe consider shopping online and doing a store pick up. Whatever you can think of to help minimize migraine-related stress.
What are some treatment options?
So recently there have been some new treatment options approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But it is important to remember that some options and medicines work for some people and not for others. You should always have a realistic mindset and expectations because it is not a one-size-fits-all disease. Migraines are rarely if ever, cured, but you can eventually find treatment options so your migraines can be managed optimally. With that said one of the treatment options that are currently available would be triptans. Triptans are tryptamine-based drugs. There are 7 unique kinds of triptans available, though research has stated that they are not always as effective for many patients; 30% of people reported side effects. Some of those side effects included dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and so on.
Ditans and gepants or CGRP antagonists are new migraine treatments as well. According to an interview with Dr. Jessica Ailani, Director of the MedStar Georgetown Headache Center and Professor of Clinical Neurology at Georgetown University Hospital, “Ditans and gepants are both medicines that can be taken as needed and swallowed in pill form or as a dissolvable tablet at the onset of an attack to treat symptoms like headache pain, light/sound sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting.” With Ditans they are a controlled substance that can limit your ability to drive a car for 8 hours. While Gepants are actually a once-daily treatment with low side effects.
There are currently so many options out there but of course, never take any medications or treatment options into your own hands without discussing plans with your doctor to find out what works best for you. If you would like to find out more about t new treatment options, you can check out this link to a Facebook Live interview with Dr. Amaal Starling, Associate Professor of Neurology and Consultant in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Phoenix, AZ, recorded last month here.
Survey says.
Med-IQ is conducting an anonymous survey and would appreciate your input. The survey, which includes additional education on this topic, will take less than 15 minutes to complete. Survey responses are shared only in aggregate. Your responses to these survey questions will provide Med-IQ with important information about your experiences with migraine and related care, which will help us develop future educational initiatives. Once you’ve completed the survey, you will have the option of providing your email address to be entered into a drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 10 $100 VISA gift cards. If you choose to enter, your email address will be used only to randomly draw the winners and notify them of their prize.
Today it is our hope that you have or take what you learned in both blog posts and live the life you deserve.
To learn more about Med-IQ or the survey click here.
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