I have had episodic but heavy migraine attacks triggered by stress, alcohol, allergies and mostly sudden and strong changes in weather (causing sharp rise or fall in air pressure).
After trying the usual suspects including triptanes, which just dumbed me down but didn't really help, a doctor finally recommended me to take a monthly jab of a medication that really tackles the root cause, the blood stream regulation in the head and brain. The drug docks to either transmitters or receptors and blocks the process, causing the reaction to stop in its tracks.
Almost no migraine since then, and if it happens then ever so slightly, no comparison to the severe attacks back then when you just want to drill a hole in your head.
I don't understand why I still read everywhere that the cause is still unknown there is no cure - that's simply not true, but the jab is not cheap, maybe social insurance companies don't like that...
£450 a jab to the NHS in the UK, I’m told, for Emgality: which I’m about to start on. I have migraines of various strengths most days (as a result of being at the wrong end of three road traffic collisions (RTCs), and having to have my neck rebuilt with the help of bits of titanium) – migraines that are mostly neurological in origin (I have lots of nerve damage), and come with a variety of wacky symptoms (and with pain that would floor most elephants).
Over a 25-year period, I have tried every drug under the sun: and the only prophylactic that worked gave me a series of cardiac arrests. Triptans work sometimes; and sometimes they help me sleep. But no amount of caffeine (although, yes, an espresso sometimes helps with tension headaches).
Migraines really are a mystery; and anti-CGRP injections (and pills) work for many (including me, I hope) – but not all; and, I’m afraid to say, often lose their efficaciousness. After Botox, they are just the Next Big Thing, and certainly making some people very, very rich. But they are not the final answer. Until the causes and mechanisms of all the different types of migraines are completely understood, we will always really just be addressing the symptoms… – and, for people like me, that’s not the answer I want to hear.
I'm sorry to hear that you have much worse conditions with migraine than me and wish you the best and that the jab helps you as it does for me!
I'm very lucky that the Austrian social insurance covers the cost for both Emgality and Ajovy. You have to keep the cooling intact until you take it, else it gets ineffective.
I thought it would actually tackle the root cause but you're right, the cause for the out of control blood stream regulation is still not clear.
I have had episodic but heavy migraine attacks triggered by stress, alcohol, allergies and mostly sudden and strong changes in weather (causing sharp rise or fall in air pressure).
After trying the usual suspects including triptanes, which just dumbed me down but didn't really help, a doctor finally recommended me to take a monthly jab of a medication that really tackles the root cause, the blood stream regulation in the head and brain. The drug docks to either transmitters or receptors and blocks the process, causing the reaction to stop in its tracks.
Almost no migraine since then, and if it happens then ever so slightly, no comparison to the severe attacks back then when you just want to drill a hole in your head.
I don't understand why I still read everywhere that the cause is still unknown there is no cure - that's simply not true, but the jab is not cheap, maybe social insurance companies don't like that...
£450 a jab to the NHS in the UK, I’m told, for Emgality: which I’m about to start on. I have migraines of various strengths most days (as a result of being at the wrong end of three road traffic collisions (RTCs), and having to have my neck rebuilt with the help of bits of titanium) – migraines that are mostly neurological in origin (I have lots of nerve damage), and come with a variety of wacky symptoms (and with pain that would floor most elephants).
Over a 25-year period, I have tried every drug under the sun: and the only prophylactic that worked gave me a series of cardiac arrests. Triptans work sometimes; and sometimes they help me sleep. But no amount of caffeine (although, yes, an espresso sometimes helps with tension headaches).
Migraines really are a mystery; and anti-CGRP injections (and pills) work for many (including me, I hope) – but not all; and, I’m afraid to say, often lose their efficaciousness. After Botox, they are just the Next Big Thing, and certainly making some people very, very rich. But they are not the final answer. Until the causes and mechanisms of all the different types of migraines are completely understood, we will always really just be addressing the symptoms… – and, for people like me, that’s not the answer I want to hear.
I'm sorry to hear that you have much worse conditions with migraine than me and wish you the best and that the jab helps you as it does for me!
I'm very lucky that the Austrian social insurance covers the cost for both Emgality and Ajovy. You have to keep the cooling intact until you take it, else it gets ineffective.
I thought it would actually tackle the root cause but you're right, the cause for the out of control blood stream regulation is still not clear.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful response. I hope the injections keep working for you for eternity.