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…
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…
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…
Migraine Talks Podcast
Dear Friends, Migraine Canada™ is proud to present its latest media production, “Migraine Talks” with Dr. Elizabeth Leroux. Migraine Talks is a series of 12 episodes which you can listen to on MigraineCanada.org, on Apple Podcast, on Google Podcast, and on Spotify! While exploring the basics…
Canadian Clusterbusters : time to unite
The worst pain of all Attacks of excruciating pain around the eye and temple, just on this one side. A hot poker pushed inside your face. Your eye tears, your nose runs. For an hour or two, you are in hell. The attack is brutal,…
A case demonstrating how a combination of Botox and erenumab can improve person’s quality of life: research from a Quebec team
Both Botox and CGRP antibodies can be effective for Chronic Migraine. Still, 50 to 50% of patients do not get this response for Botox or CGRP antibodies. What if a combination was used? A team from Quebec City reports on a 52 years-old woman suffering…
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…
Key points about physiotherapy for migraine and headaches
What do we know about the role of physiotherapy for migraine and other headaches? What do the physios do? Does it work? How can we tell if it is worth recommending physio to a person? Here are some key points about physiotherapy for migraine and…
