Life with Cluster Headaches – Karen’s Story
Karen has been living with cluster headaches and experiencing their debilitating effects for more than 18 years. Despite the employment and social barriers she has faced, Karen has not let her diagnosis control her life. In sharing her story, Karen hopes to connect with others…
Finding Relief After 30 Years of Migraine – Cathy’s story
Cathy has been living with migraine for over 30 years. A few weeks ago, I spoke with her about her long and difficult experience with migraine. She shared her story, hoping it would help others with migraine remain hopeful about finding pain relief. Dealing with…
“Everybody else who has migraine will stand with you and support you” – Zach, a 9-year-old living with migraine
I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Zach in February. Zach is 9 years old and currently in fourth grade. He loves completing crosswords, watching TV shows, and reading. However, Zach’s migraine condition heavily affects his ability to enjoy these activities. Reading is one of the…
Jaidyn’s Diligent Approach to Her Migraine Attacks
Imagine the sides of your forehead pinching in while pain radiates across your entire face. That’s how Jaidyn’s extreme migraine attacks felt. And they started when she was just in 4th grade! Jaidyn had trouble falling asleep due to the frequency and severity of the…
Mastermind
Physicians receive little training on migraine in medical school. The Canadian Headache Society (CHS) has developed an accredited online-learning platform on advancing migraine management in primary care. The program has been certified by the College of Family physicians of Canada. All physicians in Canada are…
The Pain No One Sees – Genia Kuypers shares her story
Genia Kuypers is a 28-year-old writer and chronic illness advocate. She studied at the University of Toronto, and later completed a post-graduate degree in broadcast journalism at Humber College. She can be found on Instagram at @geniakuypers. Below is a piece written by Genia about…
An Advocate for those living with migraine: Christina Sall
I met with Christina Sall over Zoom a few weeks ago. She is a student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and advocate for affordable medication for migraineurs. Christina has suffered from migraine since she was five years old….
gammaCore Sapphire Device for Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation and Migraine
What is it? The gammaCore Sapphire device is a hand-held device that the patient uses to stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck. How is it used? The device is held against the side of the neck on the side on which the patient has…
Gepants: preventives AND an acute treatment for migraine
I heard about gepants, Nurtec, Ubrevly…what are these new medications? First, let’s say that “gepant” is the name of a class, or a family of medications, a bit like “triptan” or “anti-inflammatory”. At present time, there are three members of this family available in the…
Feeling Like a Fraud: Steven’s Story
I had the pleasure of speaking with Steven Smith, a 58-year-old salesman from North Vancouver, British Columbia. He had heard of Migraine Canada™ from the radio and reached out to us to participate in this series. When the migraines first began, Steven believed they were…
Canadian Update: Lasmiditan (Reyvow™ in the US) will not be coming to Canada
An announcement was recently made that lasmiditan, a new medication for the treatment of migraine attacks, developed by Eli Lilly, will not be available in Canada. This news was disappointing as more options are always welcome and needed for people with migraine. Lasmiditan acts on…
gammaCore Sapphire Device for Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation and Migraine
What is it? The gammaCore SapphireTM (nVNS) is a hand-held device that the patient uses to stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck. The vagus nerve is an important highway of communication between the body and the brain and plays an important role in regulating…
