Hope for people with those hellish migraines

1. As if someone is hammering a red-hot nail into the side of your head. That's about what migraine feels like. Millions of people suffer from it. But with the advent of new drugs, there is hope for them.

2. As if someone is hammering a red-hot nail into the side of your head. That's about what migraine feels like. Millions of people suffer from it. But with the advent of new drugs there is hope for them.

1. You can't do anything anymore

1. One in three women and one in seven men will experience a migraine in his or her lifetime. During an attack, they are often switched off for several hours up to three days. It is not without reason that migraine is the second most damaging disease worldwide. Children can also get migraines. Their attacks sometimes start very young, from the age of 5. Doctors do not always recognize these as migraines, because they are often accompanied by vomiting and abdominal complaints.

2. One in three women and one in seven men will experience a migraine in his or her lifetime. During an attack they are often switched off for several hours up to three days. It is not without reason that migraine is the second most damaging diseases worldwide. Children can also get migraines. Their attacks sometimes start very young, from the age of 5. Doctors do not always recognize these as migraines, because they are often accompanied by vomiting and abdominal complaints.

2. More than a headache

1. Migraine is a severe, throbbing headache on one side of the head. The pain comes on suddenly. Often it doesn't stop there; patients also suffer from, for example, nausea and hypersensitivity to light and sound. One in three patients sees glare, flashes, or wavy images at the start of an attack. Aura phenomena, doctors call it. All in all, migraines are really different from normal headaches.

2. Migraine is a severe, throbbing headache on one side of the head. The pain comes on suddenly. Often it doesn't stop there; patients also suffer from, for example, nausea and hypersensitivity to light and sound. One in three patients sees glare, flashes, or wavy images at the start of an attack. Aura phenomena, doctors call it. All in all, migraine is really different from normal headaches.

3. That's how it feels

1. If you've never had a migraine, it's hard to imagine how intense and all-consuming the pain can be. When patients try to put it into words, they say this, for example: "It's like banging my head against a brick wall." "Migraine feels like my head is being taken care of by a boxer." "It looks like someone has put a bowling ball on my eye and is pushing it continuously." "It's like an ice pick piercing my head." My head is a balloon of pain that keeps getting inflated. He never jumps, but keeps banging for hours. ' "The only way I can describe it is like my brain suddenly swelling and trying to push through my skull."

2. If you've never had a migraine, it's hard to imagine how intense and all-consuming the pain can be. When patients try to put it into words, they say this, for example: "It's like banging my head against a brick wall." "Migraine feels like my head is being taken care of by a boxer." "It looks like someone has put a bowling ball on my eye and is pushing it continuously." "It's like an ice pick piercing my head." My head is a balloon of pain that keeps getting pumped up. He never jumps, but keeps banging for hours. ' "The only way I can describe it is like my brain suddenly swelling and trying to push through my skull."

4. Diet really doesn't help

1. Many migraine sufferers feel that stress and eating, for example, chocolate or cheese trigger attacks. But that's not right, says neurologist and biologist Gisela Terwindt, who specializes in headaches. At the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, she not only treats many patients with migraine, she also conducts extensive research into it with her colleagues. "Before an attack, for example, you can feel depressed or tired," she says. "Or get extra cravings for certain foods. That is why patients often think that these are 'triggers' for the headache. But in reality. it is exactly the other way around. Those feelings are precisely the result of the approaching migraine. " According to Terwindt, you can compare it to women who feel like tasty things just before their period. Nobody thinks that chocolate causes periods. So the same goes for migraines. "There is therefore no scientific evidence that a particular diet can prevent migraines."

2. Many migraine sufferers feel that stress and eating, for example, chocolate or cheese trigger attacks. But that's not right, says neurologist and biologist Gisela Terwindt, who specializes in headaches. At the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, she not only treats many patients with migraine, she also conducts extensive research into it with her colleagues. “Before an attack, for example, you can feel sad or tired,” she says. “Or get extra cravings for certain foods. That's why patients often think that these are 'triggers' for the headache. But in reality it is exactly the other way around. Those feelings are precisely the result of the approaching migraine. " According to Terwindt, you can compare it to women who feel like eating tasty things just before their period. Nobody thinks chocolate causes periods. So the same goes for migraines. "There is therefore no scientific evidence that a particular diet can prevent migraines."

5. Hormones as culprits

1. Women are three times more likely to suffer from migraines than men. Doctors therefore suspect that female hormones play an important role in the complaints. There are several indications for this. For example, more boys than girls have migraines before puberty. But once they start menstruating, girls amply catch up with the boys. In addition, women often experience the attacks mainly around their period. Medicines also work less well during those periods. And in many cases the complaints disappear completely during pregnancy. During the transition, as the hormone levels rise and fall, the migraine symptoms also change.

6. Does swallowing hormones help?

1. "We have plenty of reason to believe that sex hormones are major culprits," says Terwindt. "It probably has something to do with their effect on the blood vessels in the brain. But we don't know exactly how that works. We will be doing extensive research on that in the coming years. If we understand that, the next step is to invent how we can influence hormones to prevent an attack. " In practice there is already a lot of experimentation with contraceptives. For example, some women with migraines swear by a hormone coil. Others find that swallowing the pill helps them. "Until now, however, there is no hard evidence for this", explains Terwindt. "But we are now also researching this so that hopefully in the future we can offer all women (and men) with migraine a tailor-made treatment."

7. Did you know?

1. ... the word migraine comes from the Greek â € hemicraniaâ € ™? That means 'half a skull'. It refers to the throbbing headache being on one side of the head. ... migraine is a brain disease? The cause is a disorder in the brain. There is nothing psychological about that. ... a migraine attack can last from 4 to 72 hours? Afterwards, patients sometimes feel tired, irritated and less focused for days on end. ... a third of migraine sufferers do not tell others about their illness? They are afraid of being dismissed as a poser. Or to lose their job if they call in sick again.

8. Means to prevent an attack

1. Standard painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen usually do not help with migraines. Fortunately, researchers have found various means in recent decades to help combat a migraine attack. This is how the triptans came onto the market in the 1990s: medicines that suppress an emerging attack. Scientists then discovered that some existing drugs (such as anti-hypertensive drugs and anti-epileptics) can have a preventive effect. When migraineurs take them daily, they reduce the duration and severity of attacks or even prevent them altogether. Unfortunately, it is not clear which of these agents works for whom. It can take a long time to figure that out. And even then, a solution is not found for everyone. Moreover, these drugs often also have side effects.

9. A new drug!

1. People who receive CGRP inhibitors have fewer migraine days. In a small group, the migraine even disappears completely. In terms of treatment, it is sometimes make do for migraine patients, but there is hope. New drugs have recently been developed that have been specifically developed for migraines. "CGRP is a protein that plays an important role in a migraine attack," explains neurologist Gisela Terwindt. "The new drugs are directed against this protein or the 'recipients' to which the protein binds. In this way they prevent headache attacks. Some of the patients benefit greatly from this. If they are given the CGRP inhibitors, they have fewer migraine days. In a small group they even disappear completely. " Not unimportant: users hardly experience any side effects in the short term. Whether this also applies in the long term remains to be seen; that won't become clear for a few years. "They are certainly not a panacea," Terwindt emphasizes. "But it is definitely a big step forward. I am hopeful that the medication will make a huge difference for a certain group of patients." Unfortunately, it is also impossible to predict in advance for whom these new drugs will work and for whom they will not. More research needs to be done on this. Furthermore, it is still unclear whether the costs (per patient expected to be around 6,000 euros per year) for all migraine patients will be reimbursed by health insurance.

10. How much can you swallow?

1. There is something strange about migraines. The pills that are supposed to help against this - if you don't use them properly - can actually make the headache worse. This applies to 'normal' painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen and to the triptans. If you take them too often, there is a good chance that the migraine symptoms will worsen. In fact, two thirds of people with chronic migraines recover after they stop 'overuse'. The rule is that you should not take painkillers more than fifteen days a month and triptans no more than ten days a month. Do you think this is not enough for you? Then be referred to a neurologist specialized in headache. This can help you find the right (dosage of) medicines. In this way you can in many cases at least significantly reduce the complaints. By the way, you must already be a headache patient if you want to aggravate the ailment with too much pain relief. So if, for example, as a rheumatism you take painkillers, but you have never had a headache, you will not provoke a headache.

11. Be careful with cannabis oil

1. If the internet is to be believed, cannabis oil - also called CBD oil - is a true miracle cure for migraines. But according to Terwindt you have to be very careful with it. "If it doesn't help, it won't harm, many people think. But that kite doesn't work with migraine. Cannabis can actually cause headaches. My advice is therefore: don't use it. If you are considering that anyway, then at least consult. with your doctor. "

12. Botox, but not in the cosmetic clinic

1. Most people know botox as a means to fight wrinkles. But botox also sometimes seems to help people who suffer from migraines for more than half of the month. They must have stopped other headache medicines and painkillers first. With migraines, you have to have botox injected into thirty different places around the head every three months, so that it can do its work deep in the brain. This is done by a certified neurologist, who works according to a fixed protocol. Note: cosmetic clinics that claim to get rid of your headache with a few injections are selling you a pitty.

Want to know more? You can find extensive information about migraines at www.hoofdpaal.nl Plus an overview of all headache clinics in the Netherlands. In addition to information, the website www.allesoverhoofdpaal.nl also offers experience stories and tips. The Netherlands also has a Headache Line: 0900 2020 590 (€ 0.25 p / m). There are experienced experts ready to answer questions about headaches or to listen to your story. More about the headache research of the LUMC can be found at: www.lumc.nl/hoofdpaal. Here you can also read more about CGRP and about hormones and migraines. Don't miss anything anymore?

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Don't miss anything anymore?

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