Headache and Migraine News

Familial Hemiplegic Migraine: Does it get worse over time?

James — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:11:14 +0000

Many of us with migraine wonder just how much cumulative damage is taking place with such a high level of pain and other symptoms. There’s a great deal of discussion over just how migraine impacts us in the long term.

Like the rest of us, those with familial hemiplegic migraine wonder if the impact tends to get worse over time. A small study of just 6 people (one family) attempted to find out if, in this case, there was a deterioration of things such as cognitive functions and quality of life overall.

Familial Hemiplegic Migraine (FHM) is a very rare type of migraine characterized by weakness or even paralysis usually on just one side of the body.

The study tested the family of 6 and then retested them after 7 years. The study is generally good news. Although the symptoms of FHM can be pretty severe, including dysphasia (trouble understanding words) and motor weakness (muscle weakness, usually on one side of the body), and sometimes headache, the cognitive problems generally did not become worse.

On the other hand, as you may have guessed, there was not a lot of improvement either.

The only impairment that got a little worse with some people was something called visuoconstructional function. This has to do with the ability to understand spatial information and make designs – thing like copying drawings.

It should be good news to patients that disability may not get drastically worse – on the other hand, this study reminds us again that there is a lot of work to be done to better treat FHM.

via Long-term Outcome of Cognitive Functions, Emotional Behavior, and Quality of Life in a Family With Familial Hemiplegic Migraine.

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Familial Hemiplegic Migraine: Does it get worse over time?

These other posts might relate:

Magnesium for Migraine 2 – Combos?

James — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:19:40 +0000

Yesterday we talked about some of the things we’ve learned about magnesium supplements for migraine over the past few years. Today I just want to briefly talk about one more topic – supplements that contain magnesium and something else.

Again, this is something you’ll need to talk to your doctor about. But here are a few things that our visitors have said they are taking with magnesium. The ones mentioned most often come first:

Now that doesn’t include things like normal abortives and other medications. Remember, magnesium will not always eliminate migraine, so usually you’ll use it to cut down on attacks/symptoms, and then compliment it with other treatments.

Now, sometimes these are taken as separate supplements. But there are specially designed combinations of supplements that many have found useful for migraine.

Possibly the most popular is MigreLief, which is a combination of magnesium, riboflavin and feverfew. I would say it’s the magnesium supplement most often mentioned by our visitors, and it has a lot of research behind it.

Another is actually not a preventative, but an abortive. It’s called Migralex, and it contains magnesium and aspirin. People have reported that taking magnesium supplements during an attack helps – and in fact, magnesium has long been given intravenously for migraine.

Now you can check some of the links above for more on these additional supplements, but here’s some of the things our visitors have said. Note that I’m not always quoting their entire comment, just the relevant part.

Angela: I was researching on your website, and came across the articles about magnesium, feverfew, and riboflavin. I said to myself, why not try it?? Well, after only a week of taking the supplements, I was able to quit the daily headache powders, and now, after couple months, the headaches are non-existent most days, and just a dull ache that I can manage on one or two days a week!!

Laurie: I have found after suffering from migraines since a child that taking the magnesium and 200 mg of co-enzyme Q 10 in the morning with breakfast is the golden ticket. Would recommend taking a multi-vitamin and calcium with the evening meal.

okiegem: Then, about two years ago, I read something somewhere about magnesium and coenzymeQ10, and tried them. After a few weeks, I realized my migraines were GONE! I take 400mg CoQ10 and 500mg magnesium oxide, which I get at the local Wal-Mart, and I really am migraine-free! It has truly been life-altering.

Angie: A friend from work told me that her Dr had told her about a Magnesium/Riboflavin (B2) combo that seemed to be helping her, I felt like I had nothing to lose by giving it a try. IT WORKED! The Mag Oxide was not overly helpful, but the Mag Citrate made all the difference in the world.

Liz: I tried everything under the sun as well as multiple doctors and was at the end of my rope. I too decided to take things into my own hands and weaned myself off topamax and zonisimide, then later depakote. I now am ONLY taking supplements. Magnesium, feverfew and CoQ10.

Dawn: Magnesium, feverfew, butterbur, Vit. B and CoQ10 are what I’m using to control the migraines – doing much better and NO side effects!!

Does magnesium work for everyone? Of course not. Obviously I’m quoting from people who have found some success. That way you can see what actually works in real life.

A note on Cluster Headaches

Before closing, one note about cluster headaches. People with cluster have also responded to magnesium supplements, and intravenous magnesium. Here’s an article about magnesium and Botox. And here is what one website visitor had to say:

Terri: I was very suspicious, after leaving the hospital, as to what affects the antibiotic was going to have on my body. After leaning on YOUR SITE that, indeed, an antibiotic can deplete your system of magnesium (3 days ago), I started taking Magnesium 500 and B2 200 and noticed an immediate improvement. We had some bad (rain) weather yesterday which increases my clusters so I can’t tell yet how much improvement I will ultimately have, but I’m thinking this may be the answer for me.

Thanks again for your emails and comments – they are a huge help to others! Keep up the great commenting!

Speaking of commenting, if you have had success with a combo supplement with magnesium, now is your chance to leave a comment!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Magnesium for Migraine 2 – Combos?

These other posts might relate:

Which Magnesium Supplements Work?

James — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:10:42 +0000

We’ve had a lot of discussion here about magnesium for migraine. One of the most popular versions of magnesium for migraine is magnesium citrate. But some ask, what if magnesium citrate isn’t working? Or is there a better magnesium citrate supplement for headache? What about the dosage of magnesium for migraine?

Instead of bringing a lot of new information today, I went over some of the practical suggestions that we’ve discussed here before.

Which Magnesium should I take for migraine?

Here are some of the key suggestions:

Do NOT take a magnesium supplement that contains calcium. Read the label. If you take calcium supplements, take them at another time of day.
Usually, the "ate" forms, such as citrate or glycinate are better absorbed. Although some have recommended magnesium oxide, most people are still going for the "ate" forms.
If magnesium tablets aren’t working well for you, try capsules or liquid/water soluble magnesium.
If you’re getting diarrhea, your magnesium probably isn’t absorbing well. Try another type.

Now, what specific brands or types of magnesium have been recommended here? Here are the most common:

Ultra-Mag Magnesium Complex (also available at Vitacost) (tablets of 400mg, magnesium citrate, taurinate, malate, glycinate, and succinate)
Solaray BioCitrate Magnesium (capsules of 133.3mg, magnesium citrate)
Calm Organic Orange (liquid/water soluble, magnesium citrate)
Trace Minerals Research Mega-Mag (liquid/water soluble, their own blend of magnesium from the Great Salt Lake)
Flora Floradix Magnesium Liquid Mineral Supplement (liquid/water soluble, magnesium gluconate and magnesium citrate)
Solaray Magnesium Glycinate (capsules, magnesium glycinate, 100mg)
Solaray Magnesium Asporotate (capsules, magnesium asporotate, 200mg)

I notice that it can be confusing how much you get in a bottle. Watch for how many capsules, for example, you need to get a serving.

Here are a few specific comments from you our visitors:

Liz says: I had only been told by my neurologist to take Magnesium during menstruation. Also i take a more rare, and highly unavailable kind-magnesium glycinate. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference, but after doing more research I’ve up’d my dose to 400mg/day and will likely double that will menstruating. It has already begun to make a difference!

Judith: Recently (summer 2010) you published a testimonial by a reader who indicated that she had had impressive results by using Solaray brand Magnesium Asporotate. I switched to Magnesium Asporotate in August 2010. In September the frequency of my migraines began to drop off. … I credit the magnesium asporotate with my 8 week freedom from migraines. This is huge!

Angie: I am still on Magnesium, James. I still have severe attacks but also mild ones and less vomitting. I am able to walk my dog even while having an attack…I also found this Mg citrate in liquid form [Flora Floradix Magnesium Liquid Mineral Supplement]. It is what I am taking now.

Aurora: It didn’t stop me from having my attacks, but I am a bit "useful" now than before and the nauseous feeling is lesser so I vomit lesser, too. I found this Magnesium in syrup form—Floradix Magnesium! Tastes like tropical fruits with honey so I don’t have to take those large chewable tables.

Evie: I’ve been taking the Solaray brand of magnesium citrate from Whole Foods because it comes in a capsule which is more easily absorbed than a tablet. … I really noticed a difference and though I’d still get migraines, they were less often and much, much more bearable.

Now, there are some combinations, magnesium + something else, but we’ll talk about those tomorrow. Let’s talk about dosages next.

How much magnesium supplement should I take?

With the disclaimer that you should always talk to your doctor about the dosage that’s right for you, here are some suggestions and comments from our visitors.

First, let me tell you what my research has turned up. Generally, around 400mg per day seems to be a good place to start for migraine. But many are now suggesting larger doses, like 800mg-1200mg. So you’re probably looking at 400-1200mg of magnesium daily, usually in more than one dose (ie 400mg 3x per day). Your doctor will probably recommend starting with a lower dosage and raising it slowly.

Now let’s see some of the experiences of our visitors.

Stephen says: My neurologist told me that the key to dosing magnesium is to increase until it causes diarrhea and then back off until it doesn’t. I am up to 1250 mg and climbing but it is magnesium oxide so I don’t really know how much I am absorbing.

Shari writes: 700 mg of Magnesium was recommended to me by my neurologist.

Rachael: [My doctor] recommended I take 500 mg of magnesium every day. I started this two weeks ago and I have had two minor headaches that I didn’t have to take any medication for and I have not had a migraine since starting the magnesium.

Also we have Liz’ comment above, saying that she wanted to try 400mg and double that during menstruation. We do know that magnesium levels change in women depending on your time of the month. See more about Menstrual Migraine here.

So if you haven’t taken magnesium, give it a try! If your magnesium citrate isn’t working, try a different type of magnesium, or a liquid supplement.

There should be a lot of ideas here to get started. But there’s more – a lot of people are trying combinations, and that’s what we’ll talk about tomorrow.

Meanwhile, what are your suggestions? Is there some form of magnesium you’ve found especially helpful?

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Which Magnesium Supplements Work?

These other posts might relate:

Migraine Awareness Month (USA)

James — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:21:36 +0000

Next month in the USA is Migraine Awareness Month! The idea has been founded and promoted by the National Headache Foundation.

If you’re in the USA and you’d like to help the NHF continue its efforts to "encourage employers, insurers, health care providers, government agencies, and even family members to recognize migraine and other headache disorders as a serious neurobiological disease", you can donate just $5 and get a cool Migraine Awareness Ribbon (who doesn’t want a cool Migraine Awareness Ribbon?!)!

How do you get it? Simply zip over to this page right now, and look for the $5 for 2012 Migraine Awareness button. I’m sure you can take it from there!

And make sure you tell everyone what your new cool ribbon means (yes, even something small like that can make a big difference!)!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Migraine Awareness Month (USA)

These other posts might relate:

Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS Awareness: Migraine and Chronic Headache Big Issues

James — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:52:22 +0000

Today is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. Actually, it’s also Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) Awareness Day.

Both Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS are nasty relatives of migraine. Fibromyalgia in particular is a well-known comorbid condition with migraine. How exactly these interact is a complicated issue.

We do know that chronic headache and/or migraine conditions are very common in patients with fibromyalgia. There are also many treatments common to both.

If you can get a proper diagnosis of ME/CFS and/or Fibromyalgia, your doctor may be able to help you get treatments that are more likely to help with migraine as well. If your doctor can have a more full knowledge of your medical history, she has a better chance of finding treatments that work.

Here is a little more information:

Is Migraine a "Symptom" of Fibromyalgia?
Insomnia is not "normal" (read Nikki’s comment below)
Delayed Food Allergies – One Specialist Speaks Out (videos) – Can food impact migraine and fibromyalgia symptoms?

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS Awareness: Migraine and Chronic Headache Big Issues

These other posts might relate:

Cluster Headaches may ease in Pregnancy (and other surprising facts about women and cluster)

James — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:24:03 +0000

A recently published study explored the unique character of cluster headache in women. Cluster in women has not been studied a lot because it’s so rare. In fact, cluster in men is rare, but it’s much more common in men than in women.

So how are woman clusterheads unique? Here are a few of the findings:

Women tend to develop cluster at a younger age
About half the time, symptoms improve with pregnancy
Women generally don’t respond as well to sumatriptan (nasal spray/injection), but respond better to inhaled lidocaine. Women tend to be less responsive to preventatives in general.
Women tend to have more attacks per day
Cluster attacks are more likely to be triggered by migraine triggers
Women are more likely to have pain in the jaw, cheek and ear
Comorbid conditions for women are more likely to include asthma and/or depression
Women tend to have shorter aura duration than men

The researchers admit that one drawback of this study is that often cluster patients do not get properly diagnosed, or people are diagnosed with cluster when they have something else. Finding a large group to study is very difficult with a rare condition such as cluster.

To read more of the details, check out Female cluster headache in the United States of America: What are the gender differences?

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Cluster Headaches may ease in Pregnancy (and other surprising facts about women and cluster)

These other posts might relate:

Precision Tinted – Especially to Fight Migraine

James — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:03:18 +0000

There has been an increasing interest in tinted glasses for migraine patients. Although tinted glasses are nothing new, research is beginning to bring us some decent science behind using tinted glasses to fight migraine symptoms (see for example this from USA Today: Special tinted glasses may stymie migraines).

There are a number of different approaches. Of course, quality sunglasses have helped a lot of people. There are also custom made precision tinted glasses, where a patient is tested and given a tint that seems to help them the most.

But even custom made precision tinting is an imprecise science, as we continue to learn more about how migraine impacts the brain. And such a service may not be readily available where you are, or within your price range.

However, there is another option. There is increasing interest in precision tinted non-prescription glasses that can be produced at a lower cost in higher quantities. This can be done because certain tints seem to help migraineurs in general, and so lenses can be produced for migraine patients in general instead of being custom made.

Now Available: A New Lens Designed to Fight Migraine

(These are all the same pair of TheraSpecs – it’s the pictures that are tinted differently!)

There’s a new precision tinted therapeutic lens – and the good news is, it wasn’t developed by some engineer in a office building who doesn’t know anything about migraine. These glasses were developed by Hart Shafer and his wife Kerrie Smyres. Many of you will know Kerrie from her blog, The Daily Headache.

This means that the glasses were tried and tested over time by someone dealing with real migraine attacks. (I’ve followed and communicated with Kerrie for many years – I know she’s the real deal)

For example, here’s Hart explaining how they had found some lenses that worked well, but…

But they were far from perfect. When she wore them she also always put on a baseball cap and often held her hands up beside her eyes to block light from the sides and reflections behind. The glasses simply let in too much light from around the lenses, especially from above. That’s when we started talking about the ideal glasses for people who suffer like she does.

Once Hart and Kerrie had come up with a design they liked, they sent them out to various other migraineurs, myself includes. The reports that came back were good.

I’m still experimenting with the ones I have – Indoor TheraSpecs – but I did know right away that I liked them. Here are some of the reasons why:

They are light weight. What migraineur wants something heavy pulling on their face?
They have a wrap-around design. That means that they block out light from the sides, while still giving you a good field of vision.
They’re flexible and strong. They’re not going to break easily – they’re built to last, as an investment in your health.

There’s more. There are indoor and outdoor versions, meaning that the indoor ones are lighter (great for under flourescent lights you can’t escape or in front of a computer screen) and the outdoor ones are polarized, which cuts down glare (seriously, if you’ve never tried polarized sunglasses, you’ll be amazed at the difference).

If you have migraine, and especially if you’ve found that fluorescent lights or computer screens bother you (either when you have a migraine attack or when you don’t), this is an excellent option to consider. Many people have been very surprised at the different that can be made with precision tinted glasses such as the TheraSpecs.

I won’t go into any more detail, because the TheraSpecs have an excellent website of their own with lots of information. If it helps, though, I will say that I am not being paid or given a commission to promote these glasses. I have seen the product, and I’ve been watching the research over the past few years, and I believe that the evidence is there. Take a look and see what you think.

If you’ve tried the TheraSpecs, leave a comment and let us know what you thought!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Precision Tinted – Especially to Fight Migraine

These other posts might relate:

Sugar and Migraines?

James — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:00:19 +0000

Is there a connection between sugar and migraines, or as we like to call them, migraine attacks? Could sugar be a hidden cause or trigger behind many migraine attacks today?

We should start by admitting that there is a difference of opinion about just how much sugar consumption impacts migraine symptoms.

Some say that it’s a major cause or trigger, but most would admit that there is a connection between blood sugar levels and at least some migraine attacks.

To understand the connection, we need to clear up some misunderstandings about sugar. There are all kinds of terms floating around, like "unrefined sugar" (wow, that sounds natural!), or course there’s "natural sugars" (as opposed to supernatural sugars, I suppose) and "sugar from natural sources".

What sugar does…

When we talk about blood sugar, what we’re referring to is glucose. All these different types of sugars (and we could talk about all the different kinds in foods) impact glucose levels in the blood, though to different extents.

So if you want to make it real simple, you can simply say that carbohydrates such as sugar will raise your blood sugar levels.

But here’s the rub – they change glucose levels to different degrees, and on different time tables.

For example, if you eat a raw carrot, it’s sweet (if it’s a good one). It will raise your blood sugar levels.

If you eat a white bagel, it might not taste as sweet, but it will raise your blood sugar levels too.

However, there’s a difference.

You could say it this way, to use a very rough analogy. The sugars in the carrot are carefully packaged up, using a lot of scotch tape and wrapping paper. The sugars in the bagel are hardly packaged up at all – in fact, you just pop open the lid and there you are.

So the when you eat the bagel, the package is very quickly opened and your blood sugar levels rise very quickly.

When you eat the carrot, your body unwraps the sugars slowly, and so your blood sugar levels don’t spike the same way – the glucose is gradually added to your blood stream over time.

Now there are other differences with different types of sugar, which can make the situation much more complex.

So could sugar cause migraines?

But we do know that the migraine brain does seem to have a special alarm that goes off when there are sudden changes. This could do with hormones in your body, with temperature, with sudden exercise, environmental changes, any number of things.

So these things do not cause migraine, but they can trigger migraine attacks.

What is the relationship between sugar and migraines?

Let’s be clear. This does not mean that eating too much sugar will cause migraine. In other words, neither is sugar a direct cause, nor could anyone get migraine disease by eating too much sugar.

But if you’re a migrianeur, predisposed to migraine attacks, eating a lot of sugar – and here we’re talking about "poorly packages" sugars – could lead to more attacks, more symptoms.

How?

It could simply by that alarm that goes off when there are sudden changes in the body. But for some people, it could be something more.

For example, some have noticed a "cumulative effect" – eating sugars over two or three days, for example, may trigger an attack.

Others have found that if they completely cut out refined sugars, they lessened or eliminated their migraine attacks after a time.

There could be some complex reasons for this relationship. We do know that glucose, insulin, and nitric oxide are closely related. We’ve talked about glucose, and if you know anyone with diabetes you know a little about insulin. But people with diabetes are also likely to have impaired nitric oxide pathways. Problems with these pathways could lead to problems with insulin, and with blood sugar levels.

A study in 2009 suggested that migraineurs are also more likely (than the general population) to have impaired nitric oxide pathways.

This could be at least one other clue into why migraineurs may be more sensitive to refined sugars (and refined flours and any poorly packaged carbohydrates) than most people.

Migraineurs should be cautious about blood sugar level spikes. One way people often address this is by using the Glycemic Index. Others have completely cut sugar out of their diets for several months.

What have you tried? Any success stories?

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Sugar and Migraines?

These other posts might relate:

From Current Studies: What Migraine Treatments Work?

James — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:03:06 +0000

New guidelines have just come out based on the evidence we currently have for migraine treatment. We’ll talk about some of the guidelines in a moment, but first there are some key things to remember.

Caution: Dangerous Waters Ahead!

These guidelines were created by checking out the studies that have been published to date. This means that we do or do not have high quality studies that show successful treatment using [whatever medication or supplement]. If we don’t have enough quality studies, the item will be lower on the list.

We should also note that the guidelines are talking about what works in general, NOT what works for you or what is best for you. Some treatments high on the list are also high in side effects. Or they may be dangerous for certain people. Or they may not work well for your particular type of migraine. Do not take this as a list of what to try first. Something lower on the list may be something far better for you that something on the top.

This list also doesn’t address combo-treatments, such as MigreLief (with magnesium, feverfew and riboflavin).

The list does help doctors prioritize what to consider. If you’ve tried a number of things and haven’t tried something high on the list, it may be time to ask your doctor about it.

Highest rated treatments

Here are some of the highest rated treatments for migraine. There are four categories:

Over-the-counter: Petasites (butterbur) (such as Petadolex)
Triptans: frovatriptan (especially recommended for menstrual migraine)
Antiepileptics: divalproex sodium, sodium valproate, topiramate
beta-blockers: metoprolol, propranolol, timolol

Lowest rated treatments

These are the items that had a negative rating, meaning that they’re not recommended at this time: Lamotrigine, Clomipramine, Acebutolol, Clonazepam, Nabumetone, Oxcarbazepine, Telmisartan, montelukast.

Everything in-between

Of course, just because something isn’t on the top of the list doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent, helpful treatment for many people. For example, very close to the top were well-recognized treatments such as amitriptyline, zolmitriptan, feverfew, naproxen sodium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and magnesium.

It should also be noted that Botox migraine treatment was not a part of these studies.

For some of the medications that are being used today, check out Migraine Medications: So many choices.

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

From Current Studies: What Migraine Treatments Work?

These other posts might relate:

Chronic Daily Headache vs. Chronic Tension-Type Headache

James — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:11:20 +0000

Confused about the difference between chronic daily headache and chronic tension type headache? Let’s talk about it.

This month a report came out about the use of Botox for various headache disorders. The meta-analysis (a study of earlier studies) concluded that Botox had been helpful for "chronic daily headache" and "chronic migraines", but had not yet been proven useful for "episodic migraine" or "chronic tension-type headache".

Now of course this doesn’t prove too much – just that the studies so far seem to show that Botox is more useful for people with some diagnoses and not for people with other diagnoses. It could mean some have been studied more than others, or that we have not yet found the right type of Botox treatment, or it could mean that Botox simply isn’t useful in some conditions. We don’t really know.

But what stood out to me was the use of the term chronic daily headache. What does that term actually mean? And why is it different from chronic migraine or chronic tension-type headache?

Having not read the full study, I’m not sure how the authors are using the term, but I suspect from the abstract that they’re taking it from the studies they’re using. Which makes things even more tricky.

Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) is not really a specific term for a headache disorder, but a general term. This means that chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache could both be called chronic daily headache.

CDH could be:

chronic cluster headache
chronic migraine
chronic paroxysmal hemicrania
chronic tension type headache
hemicrania continua
new daily-persistent headache
short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing

With all of these disorders, attacks come either constantly or at least 15 days a month. CDH are a huge problem. It has been estimated that up to 5% of the population have significant CDH symptoms. Most have chronic migraine.

Often CDH is related to the overuse of medication (such as triptans or acetaminophen / paracetamol, in which case you may be diagnosed with one of the above and medication-overuse headache, or it could be diagnosed as one or the other.

Because of the confusion over the terminology, or simply ignorance about the classifications, many patients are diagnosed with chronic tension type headache when they really have a different type of CDH.

Chronic Tension-Type Headache starts with episodic tension-type headache. In other words, first the patient has the occasional TTH, and later ends up with chronic TTH. Usually there’s pain on both sides of the head, feeling like a pressing or tightening. Physical activity probably won’t make it worse, but there is sometimes some mild sensitivity to light or noise, and possibly a little nausea (but not vomiting) – one, but not all three.

Chronic migraine, in contrast, usually starts with migraine attacks which eventually become chronic. The symptoms are migraine-like.

Now with both chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache, your doctor will want to rule out other conditions. It is possible to have the symptoms of chronic TTH, and yet actually have a different diagnosis.

If you have been diagnosed with CDH, try to get a more specific diagnosis. Why? Because as research continues, there are treatments that will be more likely to help you depending on which type of chronic condition you have. The more you can narrow it down, the quicker you can get treatment that works.

For more of a breakdown of CDH types, see the National Headache Foundation’s topic sheet on Chronic Daily Headache.

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Chronic Daily Headache vs. Chronic Tension-Type Headache