Key Questions
- What is one of the first things you should do once you have been diagnosed?
- How do you manage your condition?
- What have you noticed about migraine progression?
- How do you deal with chronic pain?
- What traps can patients fall into?
- How can someone with migraine empower themselves?
- How can the guilt that can accompanies migraine be managed?
- How did you start a lasting patient organization?
- Why did you prioritize migraine over cancer advocacy?
- What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be an advocate?
- What migraine patient issues do you still see today?
- How have you found happiness despite disabling and frequent migraine?
- How and why should we be kinder to ourselves as we struggle with migraine?
- How did migraine advocacy get started in Ireland and Europe?
- How can newly diagnosed migraine patients find support and educate themselves?
Interview Notes
Find more about Audrey Craven and his work here:
Key Questions
- How significant is the disability caused by migraine and headache-related disorders or disease?
- How are diseases compared to each other in terms of the burden they cause and the amount of research funding they receive?
- What is a “DALY?” What does it have to do with migraine?
- How much funding does migraine receive each year?
- How much funding should migraine receive if it was proportionate to its impact on the population and to other diseases?
- What percent of employers consider migraine a valid reason to take sick leave from work?
- What implications does this have for our behavior as an employee?
- What influence does the media have on stigma?
- What advocacy efforts are needed to advance research and create new therapies for migraine?
- What is Headache on the Hill?
- What kinds of stigma confront people with migraine in terms of attitudes, access to treatment, research funding, employability, and eligibility for disability compensation?
- Why is now the time to destigmatize migraine?
- What can we do ourselves?
Interview Notes
Find more about Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD and his work here:
Key Questions
- What are CGRP antibodies, and how do they work preventively to either bind CGRP or to block CGRP receptors?
- What are gepants and how are they used in acute treatment?
- Which patients will be good candidates for CGRP treatments?
Interview Notes
Find more about Lars Edvinsson, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- How effective is Botox in preventing frequency and severity of migraine?
- Are the shots painful and how many are needed?
- What are the side effects of Botox?
Interview Notes
Find more about Bronwyn Jenkins, MD and her work here:
Key Questions
- How might various types of injection-based treatments affect migraine?What is the most appropriate phase of a migraine in which to get a nerve block?
- For chronic migraine, can repeated nerve blocks or Botox injections have a preventative effect?
Interview Notes
Find more about Andrew Blumenfeld, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- What are rebound or medication overuse headaches?
- Why is it so often missed for healthcare professionals?
- What are telltale signs you have MOH?
- Why it’s so important to stop MOH
- How to break the cycle of MOH
- How to reduce the frequency of your attacks with rebound headache?
- How do you know if medication is being overused?
- Which medications do not cause MOH?
- How can those with several pain conditions (such as fibromyalgia) manage?
- How can combinations of treatments help or hinder progress?
- How can patients work with their doctors to overcome rebound headaches?
Interview Notes
Find more about Richard Lipton, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- Why is medicinal cannabis so controversial?
- What evidence is there that cannabis helps patients?
- How might cannabis help those with migraine or headache disorders?
Interview Notes
Find more about Stephen Silberstein, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- What is Traditional Chinese Medicine and how is it different from Western medicine?
- Is there evidence specifically for headache and migraine within Traditional Chinese Medicine?
- How do you advise your patients to manage stress if they recognize that stress is a factor in their migraine attacks?
Interview Notes
Find more about Andrew Shubov, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- What are the most used migraine treatments, according to data you’ve compiled?
- Why might a person with migraine think about changing preventative and acute migraine treatments?
- How does one’s record-keeping of migraine attacks and triggers affect treatment?
Interview Notes
Find more about Francois Cadiou and his work here:
Key Questions
- How important are behavioral practices such as sleep, exercise, hydration, and stress reduction to improving migraine?
- Why is neck pain such a frequent symptom in migraine?
- Which are the best supplements to take to improve migraine?
Interview Notes
Find more about Robert Cowan, MD and his work here:
Key Questions
- What is it like to experience cluster headaches?
- Why are they called suicide headaches, and how do they isolate the patient?
- How can the patient and support groups like OUCH educate physicians about cluster headaches?
Interview Notes
Find more about Scott Bruch and his work here:
Key Questions
- What is “allodynia” that most people with migraine experience at some point?
- Why do some people with migraine experience body pain or sensitivities between migraine attacks as well as during them?
- Can allodynia be a symptom of migraine?
- Is fibromyalgia a comorbid condition with migraine?
- What other common medical conditions involve central sensitization?
- How do these conditions affect migraine? (and vice versa)
- Where does the pain originate and why?
- What factors are likely to lead to more frequent and chronic attacks?
- What role does inflammation play?
- How do you know when you have fibromyalgia?
- How can allodynia and fibromyalgia be effectively treated?
- What medicinal and complementary options are available?
- Does heat or cold help with any of these conditions?
- What are some ways to reduce body pain and stay active?
- Which doctors are patients likely to see for these types of pain conditions?
- What should patients watch out for if they have multiple doctors treating different aspects of pain and migraine?
Interview Notes
Find more about Gretchen Tietjen, MD and her work here:
