Prevention more effective in managing migraines

Main Category: Headache / Migraine
Article Date: 13 Dec 2003 - 0:00 PDT

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In the USA, over 25m people suffer from migraines. According to research, patients are worse off if they wait until the migraine comes and then take medication, and often overuse them (worse off than taking nothing).

Patients often take too much acute medication (which only treats symptoms after a migraine starts) and find that their condition is aggravated.

According to the International Headache Society, overuse means taking pain relievers for more than 15 days in each month.

According to experts, over half of all migraine sufferers are ideal candidates for preventive therapy (only 5% use it).

Researchers found (in a recent study) that patients who switched from acute treatments to a treatment that included prevention and acute therapies went to see their doctors (GPs) less often (50% less), visits to emergency rooms went down by 80%. They also found that these patients ended up spending a great deal less on medication (down to $40 per patient from $140).

Doctors say that Topiramate could be an effective drug for treating migraines (it is used for treating seizures). They found that 50% of migraine sufferers in their study experienced a 50% reduction in the frequency of their migraines (25% had a 75% reduction, 6% saw a complete elimination of their migraines).

Another treatment that shows much promise could be an injection of botulinum

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