Can travelling to a higher altitude trigger migraine attacks?
For some people with migraine, the answer seems to be yes. In people who climbed a mountain in Colorado (4,300 metres high), people with a history of migraine were 2.5 times more likely to develop a headache than those who did not have migraine. They were…
Combining Botox and a CGRP antibody: should it be covered by insurance companies?
It has come to the attention of Migraine Canada™ that many insurance companies are now refusing to cover the combination of Botox and a CGRP monoclonal antibody (BTX + CGRP MAB). Currently available CGRP monoclonal antibodies are erenumab (Aimovig) and galcanezumab (Emgality). Fremanezumab (Ajovy) is…
Tips to keep your mental health for physicians…and everyone else!
Inspired from a document by the Psychiatrist Association of Quebec distributed to physicians. But hey, other people can benefit from good advice too! Living during COVID-19 is not easy. Depending on a person’s character, COVID related stressors, confinement settings, and other factors, different feelings can…
Trigeminal neuralgia
What is trigeminal neuralgia? Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of facial pain. It is caused by a problem with the trigeminal nerve, which is a nerve that is responsible for sensation in the face. The pain is typically described as sharp, brief, electrical. The pain is…
Tension Type Headache
A tension type headache is very different from a migraine. Here are a few facts about tension type headache. What does a tension type headache feel like? The pain is mild to moderate, not severe, which does not prevent you from functioning Pain on both sides…
I have sinus headaches… could it be migraine?
Patients with migraine are often falsely diagnosed as having sinus headache or “sinusitis”. Can a sinusitis cause a headache? YES. A true sinusitis can cause severe headaches, sometimes associated with facial tenderness when the areas over the sinuses are touched or when the person bends…
Sleep apnea and migraine
What is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea means that the breathing stops during sleep, either because the airway gets blocked or because the drive to breathe from the brain stops. Eventually, the low oxygen triggers a gasp for air and the person starts breathing again. What…
How many people have headaches?
Headache is a common symptom that can be caused more than 200 different medical problems (see this link). Some causes are very visible (like brain tumors), but the most common causes like migraine and tension type headache are not visible on available imaging. Tension type…
What should your employer know about migraine?
Does your employer understand what migraine is? Here are a few informations that could be worth sharing. 1. Migraine is more than a headache Migraine is not only a headache. It is accompanied by other symptoms like Sensitivity to light, sounds, smells and movement. Nausea…
Migraine preventives : doses, side effects and contra-indications
Migraine Canada (MC) is a patient association and does not provide medical advice. Nevertheless, basics on medications are public knowledge and many people ask about this type of medical information. The medications provided in the table below are given as general reference. Any decision to take…
Pacing How
Living with migraine is like a roller coaster «I feel like I’m never on top of things. I’m either in the middle of an attack or catching up after one. I feel bad that my co-workers/spouse must cover for me when I am sick so…
I will attend the Migraine World Summit in 2020, here’s why!
Patient advocate Kelly Hayes-Crook shares how this online event helped her to manage migraines better Migraine snuck into my life almost 30 years ago, shortly after a couple of bungee jumping experiences and has never left. Although, the flavour and texture of it has changed,…
