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Tag: Migraine

  • Vaporized Cannabis Mitigates Migraine Symptoms

    The inhalation of cannabis flower containing THC and CBD provides superior migraine relief compared to a placebo, according to clinical trial data presented at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society.

    “This is the first placebo-controlled study in this space. It’s the first real — to me — compelling evidence for the anti-migraine effects of cannabis in humans,” the study’s lead researcher said.

    Investigators affiliated with the University of California at San Diego presented the findings. They had previously documented their results in a 2024 preprint paper, concluding, “Vaporized 6% THC+11% CBD cannabis flower was superior to placebo for [migraine] pain relief, pain freedom, and MBS [most bothersome symptom] freedom at 2 hours as well as 24-hour sustained pain freedom and sustained MBS freedom and 48-hour sustained MBS freedom.”

    THC/CBD cannabis was also superior to placebo at relieving migraine-related photophobia (light sensitivity) and phonophobia (sound sensitivity).

    No serious adverse events were reported.

    “Nearly one-third of migraine sufferers have tried cannabis for symptom management, and patients consistently report that it significantly reduces their pain severity and migraine frequency,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “These data further affirm patients’ testimonials.”

    Survey data indicates that migraine sufferers frequently consume cannabis preparations to mitigate their symptoms and reduce their use of prescription drugs. A 2002 literature review of nine studies involving 5,600 subjects concluded: “Medical marijuana has a significant clinical response by reducing the length and frequency of migraines. … Due to its effectiveness and convenience, medical marijuana therapy may be helpful for patients suffering from migraines.”

    Additional information on the use of cannabis for migraines is available from NORML’s publication Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

    NORML

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  • Giving Yourself Grace When You’re a ‘Bad’ Migraine Patient

    Giving Yourself Grace When You’re a ‘Bad’ Migraine Patient

    Even if we know all the right things to do, we’re still human. We may eat a bunch of chocolate or pull an all-nighter. And that can trigger a migraine.

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  • Being Intentional About Your Mental Health and Migraines

    Being Intentional About Your Mental Health and Migraines




    Figuring out what can trigger a migraine can be a stressful, ongoing process. And, often, stress is a trigger in itself. So what’s a person with migraines to do? “I’ve really had to be intentional with my mental and emotional health,” says WebMD’s migraine blogger Michele Jordan. For her, that includes everything from seeing a therapist to journaling. “I can’t change the fact that I have migraines,” she says. “I try to do things that support joy and happiness.”





    Video Transcript


    MICHELE JORDAN: Having migraines for as long as I have has impacted my mental health through the years. It is hard. It is a hard thing to deal with. And you sacrifice a lot– a lot of plans, vacations may change, sometimes your work schedule can be unpredictable. And so many things in life that I’ve wanted to do I’ve had to decline. And that can be hard over time.


    I think migraines or other health conditions can really shine a light on who your true friends are and those family members that truly support you. I’ve kind of moved through life learning to keep the folks who support me as close as possible. We’ve got to work with a variety of people in this world. And so it’s helpful for me to know who I can count on.


    Through the years, I think there’s been more education around migraine, more treatments, more people are open and talking about them. And I think it’s helped society understand that, again, it’s not your typical headache and it really is something that can change your life. I pay attention to the stress meter in my life. And if I feel it’s going up, then I know a migraine might be around the corner and I have to do something to change it. So I’m always on the lookout for ways to manage stress and things that I can do to just decompress and unwind. And so just like with my physical health, I’ve really had to be intentional about my mental and emotional health with migraines.



    I see a therapist. I keep a journal. I try to do things that support joy and happiness. I can’t change the fact that I have migraines. There is currently no cure. But I can manage them. And for me, it’s taking the best care that I can of myself.


    Everybody deals with something in this world. And for me, it’s migraines. Other people are dealing with conditions that are much more debilitating. And I try to keep that perspective that I have migraines. Migraines don’t have me. And there are so many things that I can be joyful about and thankful for in my life. And that definitely helps me make it through some of the hard days and the low days.


    When I want to ask, why me? I look around and I see what I do have and I’m grateful. And that helps.

     








    WebMD Feature


    © 2023 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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  • Cultivate Serenity: Gardening for Migraine Relief

    Cultivate Serenity: Gardening for Migraine Relief




    WebMD’s migraine blogger Michele Jordan loves to garden. She has turned her yard into a “useful garden” where she grows things like lavender and lemon balm that help her when she has a migraine. 

    Read more

    to find out what other plants she’s growing and how the act of gardening itself helps her reduce stress. 


    READ: 

    My Secret Migraine Garden: Herbal Remedies I Use for Pain





    Video Transcript


    MICHELE JORDAN: I have become very interested in gardening. I can’t say that I have a green thumb yet. Maybe it’s light green. But I’ve been interested in finding ways to grow things that can help with my migraines, so I’m growing lemon balm in the garden, which has some calming properties. I do grow lavender as well, and I’m learning how to harvest and dry lavender, which also has some stress-relieving properties if made into an essential oil.


    And so I’ve really been studying and researching that a little bit more because you get the benefit of working in a garden and having some kind of stress-relief through the gardening practice, but also can grow things that may help with migraines. So it’s like a two-for-one.

     








    WebMD Feature


    © 2023 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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  • Managing Migraine With the Right Recipe of Diet and Exercise

    Managing Migraine With the Right Recipe of Diet and Exercise




    Diet and exercise are an important part of any health plan, but it can be especially helpful when dealing with migraines. While migraine tries to “take the fun out of life” from Michele Jordan, one of WebMD’s migraine bloggers, she knows that her best bet is sleep, a healthful diet and exercise. But she knows that sometimes you have to live your life. “I’m starting to understand the relationship between food and my body,” she says.


    Video Transcript


    MICHELE JORDAN: Hi, my name is Michele Jordan. I’m from Los Angeles, California. I have had migraines for over 30 years. And I am a writer.


    I’ve figured out that if I don’t get at least 7 and a half hours of sleep, the next day it’s highly likely that I’ll have a migraine. And so like so many things, migraine just takes the fun out of life a lot of times. So while the rest of my friends and family can pull all-nighters getting work done or stay up all night partying, I have realized that it just– it’s not a great idea for me.


    Or if I do need to stay up late for whatever reason, I really have to make sure that I’m really nice to myself the next day. And I kind of take a break if I need to.


    I really feel that food for me can help or hurt my migraine depending on which path I choose. I find in general that eating healthy, eating more fruits and vegetables, eating lean protein, eating healthy fats has helped limit the frequency of my migraines and sometimes the severity of my migraines.


    Of course I’m human. I was raised in the South. I love to cook, and I love to eat. And so there are times when I know that I’m eating things that aren’t so great for my body.


    But in the moment, I make that choice. And I often regret it a day or so later, sometimes the same day. But it’s helpful because I’m starting to understand the relationship between food and my body more and more. I think I’m acknowledging that it’s the choices that I make that can determine how I feel the next day or the next week.



    One thing that surprised me recently in dealing with migraine symptoms is just how blood sugar and me being hungry can trigger a migraine. I have worked with a nutritionist recently who has helped me understand that going too long without eating really can kick off a migraine for me. I thought it was totally fine just to keep working and writing and going about my day running errands or doing chores if I felt a migraine coming on.


    I have since learned that that’s not a good idea, that the body needs fuel. It needs water. And if it’s not happy, one of the reasons it can have a migraine is because you’re just not taking care of yourself.


    Exercise has been a very helpful thing to do to address my migraines. I find that when I walk regularly, I don’t know how it works, but the blood is flowing. My mind is relaxed. And it seems to help prevent the frequency of some of my migraines when I stick to my walking program.


    When I’m having a migraine, it’s hit or miss. Sometimes if I exercise, it can make it worse. If I catch it early enough, I’ve noticed that sometimes taking a walk or doing something mild like yoga will actually help my migraines.

     








    WebMD Feature


    © 2023 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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  • Ketamine for Migraine: One Person’s Journey

    Ketamine for Migraine: One Person’s Journey


    Nicole Safran was angry. After several years of different migraine treatments, one of her pain doctors suggested that it might be time to try a drug called ketamine. “Absolutely not,” she told her doctor. She knew about the drug’s shady past as a party drug known as “special K” and she didn’t want to be linked to it in any way. 


    But Safran was getting desperate. She had developed chronic migraine after a train accident in 2016 when she was 25. Years later, she was still trying to regain control of her life.


    In retrospect, says Safran, she likely had undiagnosed symptoms of migraine from childhood, most obviously abdominal pain and nausea. But after the accident, which caused a serious concussion, her symptoms increased exponentially. 




    She had throbbing pain in her head, jaw, neck, and sinus area, tingling in the back of her head, light sensitivity, tinnitus, and phantom smells and visual effects (auras), among other symptoms. Doctors diagnosed chronic intractable migraine. “I basically had some level of head pain and migraine symptoms every day,” Safran says. And on many of those days, her symptoms were debilitating. 


    The effects on her work life were immediate. Her managers were confused. She simply wasn’t able to do what she could do before the accident. 


    “I was very close to losing my job.” 


    Her social life took a hit as well. “I’ve lost many friends throughout the process, even though I learned they probably really weren’t friends to begin with. But that’s really challenging when you’re in your mid-20s, living in New York City and your whole world comes crashing down around you and you don’t really know what the future holds.” 


    “People just constantly dismiss you and think, ‘Oh, it’s just a headache,’” Safran says. “No! It’s so much more than that. It is a full-body disease. It impacts every aspect of my life.”


    To make things worse, her response to a laundry list of standard medications and therapies had been patchy at best. She could get some moderate relief some of the time, but nothing seemed to really cut through the constant barrage of migraine symptoms for any length of time. 


    And so in June 2021, after a long discussion with her doctor and some reading about the therapeutic uses of ketamine, she decided to give it a try.

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  • FDA Approves Fast-Acting Nasal Spray for Migraines, Pfizer Says

    FDA Approves Fast-Acting Nasal Spray for Migraines, Pfizer Says

    March 10, 2023 — The FDA has approved a nasal spray that is expected to provide fast relief from migraines, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer said Friday.

    The drug zavegepant will be sold under the brand name Zavzpret and should be available in pharmacies by July 2023, the company said in a news release. The cost of the drug has not been revealed yet.

    Clinical trials published in The Lancet Neurology showed the nasal spray provided migraine relief within 15-30 minutes of use, with the relief lasting up to 48 hours in many patients, Pfizer said. About 1,400 people participated in the trials from October 2020 to August 2021. 

    “Among my migraine patients, one of the most important attributes of an acute treatment option is how quickly it works,” Kathleen Mullin, MD, associate medical director at New England Institute for Neurology & Headache, said in the Pfizer release.

    “As a nasal spray with rapid drug absorption, Zavzpret offers an alternative treatment option for people who need pain relief or cannot take oral medications due to nausea or vomiting, so they can get back to normal function quickly.”

    Pfizer says Zavzpret is the first product of its kind. It works by blocking the peptide receptors that cause inflammation that often comes with migraine.

    Pfizer said the drug was approved to treat acute migraine with or without aura – meaning a severe headache accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms such as dizziness, a ringing in the ears, zigzag lines in vision, or sensitivity to light.

    The American Migraine Foundation says 39 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide live with migraine.

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  • Launch of Migraine Cannabis Study Planned With Patient Support Group MigraineBuds, Chronic Pain Specialist Dr. Sana-Ara Ahmed and the Canadian Institute for Medical Advancement

    Launch of Migraine Cannabis Study Planned With Patient Support Group MigraineBuds, Chronic Pain Specialist Dr. Sana-Ara Ahmed and the Canadian Institute for Medical Advancement

    Patient support group takes matters into their own hands, and seeks out help to conduct a Migraine Cannabis Study

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Nov 10, 2017


    TORONTO, November 10, 2017 (Newswire.com)
    –
     MigraineBuds is an organization started by a patient advocate Jodie Epstein who suffers from chronic migraines. This online support group has information on cannabis specific to migraines and headaches. The MigraineBuds community is 1750 patients strong and growing, which provides a forum for discussing everything cannabis- and migraine-related. Jodie was eager to create a safe, non-judgmental space to have these conversations.

    Migraine affects approximately 10 percent of people worldwide, with many patients unable to find adequate pain management. Many migraineurs also suffer from Medication Overuse Headache (MOH). MOH occurs when pain relief medications are taken too frequently. This can occur when a patient has taken too much caffeine, ergots, or pharmaceutical medications such as opioids, triptans or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

    “The social reform of chronic pain medicine includes medical cannabis as a viable and first choice option for migraine sufferers. Review of medical history indicates that the Cannabis sativa plant was frequently used by physicians to treat acute and chronic migraine headaches in North America and was discontinued when drug prohibition removed the plant from the pharmacopeia. I have been treating chronic migraine sufferers with medical cannabis with great results and look forward to the research benefits for all of society.”

    – Dr. Sana-Ara Ahmed, M.D., FRCPC Anesthesiologist & Chronic Pain Specialist

    What we are looking to study and why

    The MigraineBuds community is interested and keen to participate in clinical research that will help to demonstrate the efficacy of cannabis in the treatment of migraine. The proposed study will also examine the effect cannabis may have on MOH.

    The Canadian Institute for Medical Advancement, a research organization, has agreed to help conduct the study. Accordingly, Dr. Sana-Ara Ahmed, a clinical Anesthesiologist & Chronic Pain Specialist, has agreed to participate in the research study. Dr. Ahmed is an advocate for chronic migraine pain patients and treats numerous patients at her clinic The Health Boutique™. Dr. Ahmed is a specialist and educator in the use of medical cannabis for chronic pain, including migraines, and advocates the use of cannabis as an effective method of treatment.

    “There is a shift in research looking at a patient-centric approach and one in which patients are partners and collaborators in research whose participation is core to the success of any research study. It’s a privilege to be asked to help Jodie and her group with this study,” says Sabrina Ramkellawan, Founder of the Canadian Institute for Medical Advancement.

    To increase the chances of success with this study, a call for Sponsors, Licensed Producers, and Physicians who understand how life-changing this evidence could be for migraine sufferers is being sent out. Study launch is planned for early 2018, and the hope is to have a number of collaborators in this important study.

    Additionally, the organization is also looking for interested potential participants. If you suffer from migraines with MOH, and would like to be a part of migraine history, please connect with Jodie Epstein! jodie@migrainebuds.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/migrainebuds

    For media inquiries and/or research partnerships contact Sabrina Ramkellawan at 416-543-5041 or sabrina@cifma.ca. Website: www.cifma.ca

    Source: Canadian Institute for Medical Advancement

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