Migraine: A Path to Better Days!
Enduring debilitating pain due to ineffective migraine treatment is never something you should simply accept! Perhaps, this is a message that YOU, or a loved one, needs to hear! This June, during Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, we want to share a crucial message: Migraine symptoms can improve. A path to better days DOES exist. Together with the Coalition for Headache & Migraine Patients (CHAMP), we stand united in the belief that more effective treatment options are not just dreams—they are achievable realities. However, too many people, including some healthcare professionals, do not understand this. Dr Gottschalk summed it up in a recent webinar by saying:
“The idea that acute migraine treatment is supposed to work well is some kind of a secret for a lot of people. Apparently, many prescribers don’t understand… that this is an achievable goal.” ~ Christopher Gottschalk, MD
The truth? It’s time for better migraine disease management. It’s time for patients to be truly heard by their doctors. It’s time to stop minimizing the impact of migraine on people’s lives. Let’s stop dismissing the feasibility of effective and tolerable treatments. At Migraine Meanderings, our goal is to help you find both effective treatments and community support. You deserve more NOW, as Jessica P., a member of our team, reminds us in her video story HERE!
How Can I Find Effective Treatment for Migraine?
Migraine is not a one-size-fits-all disease. We all react differently to treatments, with varying symptoms and triggers, and sometimes even what worked once for us may no longer be effective. Add to that the stigma that comes from living with migraine, and the lack of education on headache disorders in medical school, and we find the perfect storm. However, despite the challenges, we want to encourage you that there is still hope! Below are 8 steps to help create a path to better days:
STEP 1: Seek a Correct Diagnosis: An effective treatment plan begins with an accurate diagnosis. Knowing your specific type of migraine, symptoms, and triggers is the foundation for understanding your treatment options and other disease management tools. If you don’t currently see a CERTIFIED headache specialist or want a second opinion, you can use our free doctor locator to find a certified headache specialist near you.
STEP 2: Use the Toolbox Approach: The best way to prevent, reduce, and relieve migraine attack symptoms is to use a Migraine Treatment Toolbox. This toolbox offers a range of treatments, including at-home options such as ice and heat, FDA-cleared medical devices, supplements, medications, and complementary therapies. Your treatment tools should be listed on your personalized Migraine Action Plan.
STEP 3: Develop and Use a Migraine Action Plan: A Migraine Action Plan (MAP) is a written document that outlines strategies for treating migraine symptoms. Which treatments to start and when, how to manage escalating symptoms, how to avoid the ER, and when to get urgent medical attention. Download our FREE Migraine Action Plan. Work with your doctor to create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs.
STEP 4: Connect With Others: Migraine can be an isolating disease, and the impact of connecting with others who also live with migraine cannot be overstated! Fortunately, there is a large and active online migraine community that offers support, disease management tips, information on existing and new migraine medications and medical devices, as well as encouragement. The migraine community is a resilient and compassionate one! Join our Facebook support group to connect with others and share your experiences. You can also visit our community website page for information on our other social media communities.
STEP 5: Disrupt Migraine Progression: Migraine attacks can worsen at any time. Mild, occasional attacks can become more severe and frequent. Symptoms can change or worsen. Triggers may end up highly sensitized and challenging to avoid. However, it is possible to prevent, slow down, stop, and even reverse migraine progression for most people. Follow these steps on our website to help disrupt the progression (also known as chronificiation) of migraine disease.
STEP 6: Treat Early On in the Disease: It is essential to recognize that migraine is highly hereditary. If mom or dad has migraine, their children are more than likely to have it, too. When one parent has migraine, there is a 50% chance that any child will also have it, and with two parents, that chance increases to 75%! In addition, many people with migraine experience their first attack in childhood. Identifying the unique symptoms of migraine early on and treating them appropriately is key to helping children along the path to better days. This will help minimize the risk of disease chronification through adolescence and into adulthood. It’s never too early to prevent migraine from worsening! Learn how to recognize and better manage migraine in children and adolescents through our Stages of Life with Migraine project!
STEP 7: Become a Patient Advocate: Consider becoming a patient advocate and not only learning how to advocate for yourself, but also how to share your voice to help raise awareness of migraine and reduce its stigma. Advocating for yourself and others is a powerful and empowering act. It enables you to feel more in control when living with what is frequently an unpredictable and challenging disease.
STEP 8: Never Give Up Hope: When living with a complex neurological disease like migraine, it is easy to give up hope. Ongoing pain and other debilitating symptoms, as well as lost time at school, in the workplace, and in society. This can all too easily result in anxiety, depression, and a feeling that there is no way out. Even the most empowered patient advocates sometimes feel this way, so there is no judgment. But… there is always hope, and a path to better days.