The Mechanics of a Migraine in the Brain and Body

Key Questions
  • Where in the body does a migraine begin?
  • Why should we not “bookend” the migraine phases as beginning and ending with headache pain, what other elements are important?
  • When would it be appropriate for patients and physicians to consider other possible specialties for treatment in addition to neurology?Interview Notes
Interview Notes

Find more about David Dodick, MD and his work here:

Tips to Ensure You’re Getting the Best Care Possible

Key Questions
  • What should be documented in a patient headache diary and how can it assist in treatment?
  • How is a headache clinic different from a primary care physician’s or neurologist’s office?
  • What can a migraine patient do to help make sure migraine is recognized and treated appropriately?
Interview Notes

Find more about Dawn Buse, PhD and her work here:

How Migraine Affects Your Mood: Anxiety & Depression

Key Questions
  • How often do migraine and anxiety or depression occur together?
  • How can we handle the anxiety that comes with worrying about the next migraine attack?
  • Should we tell HR, our managers at work, and friends and family that we have migraine?
Interview Notes

Find more about Dawn Buse, PhD and her work here:

Aging with Migraine: Changes and Long Term Effects

Key Questions
  • When are we most at risk of migraine in our life?
  • What is the biggest factor that pulls people into chronic migraine?
  • Does the chance of stoke change as you age with migraine?
  • What are the telltale signs between a stroke and a migraine attack?
  • What are “late-life migraine accompaniments”?
  • What free and natural remedy is a recognized treatment for pain in migraine (antinociceptive)?
  • How can migraine change as we age?
  • Why might migraine disappear in older people?
  • Why does migraine persist in others?
  • What age does migraine persist until?
  • How are blood vessels related to other serious conditions?
  • What are white matter lesions?
  • What does it mean if you have white matter lesions show up in a scan?
  • Is migraine a self-limiting disorder?
  • What happens to our brain after hundreds or even thousands of attacks?
  • What impact could a lifetime of treatments and painkillers have?
  • What treatment alternatives are there?
  • How concerned should we be about damage to the esophagus or tooth enamel from frequent vomiting or acid reflux?
  • Can migraine cause permanent cognitive difficulties or brain fog?
  • In what scenario should you start low and go slow?
  • What common mistake do patients make with successful treatments?
  • Is complete remission from migraine possible?
  • What perspective is helpful to take as we age?
Interview Notes

Find more about Allan Purdy, MD and his work here:

My Migraine Journey – Terrell Davis

Opening Night kicked off with three Top Experts in Migraine followed by two Celebrities, Kristin Chenoweth and Terrell Davis, sharing their migraine stories.

Key Questions
  • What inspired you to want to share your story today?
  • You first experienced migraine as a child. Tell us about what that first attack felt like.
  • How long did it take you to get a diagnosis?
  • Migraine is often thought of as a woman’s disease. Have you ever felt there’s a stigma around people with migraine, especially as a male?
  • Has this made it difficult to tell someone you had migraine, either in your work or personal life?
  • Football projects a very masculine and rough and tough image. How have you seen stigma play out in the NFL and in your career?
  • Take us back to your Superbowl experience. What were you feeling physically?
  • How did your teammates and coaches react to your migraine attack?
  • You’ve shared that your migraine attacks are often triggered by exercise, yet running was your main job. How did you manage that?
  • What has helped you with deal with the pain over the years?
  • What motivating lessons about managing stress and handling adversity did you learn from migraine and football?
  • Are there any words of inspiration you would like to share with the audience on how to manage the pain and their relationships?
  • How important has it been for you to have access to a qualified healthcare team to manage your migraine?
  • Do you have any advice for those seeking to understand their condition better?

What’s Holding Us Back From Getting the Care We Need?

Opening Night kicked off with three Top Experts in Migraine followed by two Celebrities, Kristin Chenoweth and Terrell Davis, sharing their migraine stories.

Key Questions
  • What can we learn from other rights movements?
  • Why is migraine still “unspoken”?
  • What is stigma and how does it hold us back?
  • What are the most credible reasons for calling in sick to work?
  • Does migraine stigma affect the choices made by doctors and research scientists?
  • How well funded is migraine?
  • Why do we need more research?
  • What is the reality for people with migraine?
  • How big is the mountain between us and a cure?
  • What is the cost of silence?
  • What can we do about stigma?
  • What is Headache on the Hill?
Interview Notes

Find more about Dawn Buse, PhD and his work here:

Cultivating Resilience and Strength Through Migraine

Opening Night kicked off with three Top Experts in Migraine followed by two Celebrities, Kristin Chenoweth and Terrell Davis, sharing their migraine stories.

Key Questions
  • How does migraine affect those around us?
  • How would family and relationships be different without migraine?
  • How would your career and finances be different without migraine?
  • Is it ok to mourn?
  • Do we have a right to feelings like anger, frustration or guilt?
  • How do people with migraine feel about living with migraine?
  • Is there anything positive about living with migraine?
  • How can people with migraine survive and thrive?
  • How should people with migraine treat ourselves?
  • How can we find our tribe?
  • Should we ask for or accept help?
  • Is there a benefit to helping others or volunteering?
  • When should we see professional help?
  • What role does acceptance play in migraine management?
  • How might our identity be affected by migraine?
Interview Notes

Find more about Dawn Buse, PhD and her work here:

The New Era of Migraine: Hope and Help

Opening Night kicked off with three Top Experts in Migraine followed by two Celebrities, Kristin Chenoweth and Terrell Davis, sharing their migraine stories.

Key Questions
  • What has been the journey in migraine as a researcher and doctor?
  • What does cortical spreading depression look like on a PET scan?
  • What is the global health impact of migraine?
  • How many years do people with migraine lose to the disease?
  • How has the knowledge of migraine shifted recently?
  • Do blood vessels cause migraine pain?
  • What is the typical timeline and phases of a migraine attack (visual image)?
  • How does the pathophysiology of migraine influence clinical management?
  • How did the CGRPs come about and what are they?
  • What are the four major types of CGRP monoclonal antibodies?
  • How does the CGRP development open the door to precision medicine
Interview Notes

Find more about Andrew Charles, MD and his work here:

My Migraine Journey – Kristin Chenoweth

Opening Night kicked off with three Top Experts in Migraine followed by two Celebrities, Kristin Chenoweth and Terrell Davis, sharing their migraine stories.

Key Questions (Kristin Chenoweth)
  • When did migraine first appear in your life? What happened during your first migraine attack?
  • How many attacks were you getting each month at the time of diagnosis?
  • What happens during a typical migraine attack for you?
  • Have you ever been concerned about telling someone you had migraine, either in your work or personal life?
  • Have you ever felt there’s a stigma around people with migraine?
  • What things have you missed or had to turn down because of migraine attacks?
  • How has migraine impacted your career, especially being on stage with bright lights?
  • Balance and dizziness can be an issue for people with migraine, especially vestibular migraine. How do you stay stable onstage?
  • Few celebrities have been so successful on both television – which tends to be in LA; and stage – which tends to be in NY. That involves a lot of travel. How do you manage travel and migraine?
  • When you were accepting your Emmy you had a debilitating migraine attack at the time – can you tell us about that experience?
  • What kind of lifestyle habits do you employ to actively prevent attacks?
  • Do you have any words of inspiration to those suffering from migraine on either managing the pain or handling their relationships at work and with friends?
  • Do you have any advice for those seeking to understand their condition better?

Beyond Guilt and Shame: One Woman’s Journey

Key Questions
  • When did your migraine journey begin as a child?
  • What happened after your diagnosis?
  • What was it like having migraine in school?
  • How did your migraine condition change throughout the years?
  • Was it sudden or gradual?
  • What treatments have you been given?
  • As a wife and mother, how do you deal with the guilt that comes with not being able to fully function in these roles at times?
  • How did migraine eventually lead to fibromyalgia, depression, and anxiety?
  • How did you cope with these comorbidities that often come with migraine disease?
  • What have you learned from a naturopath that you wouldn’t necessarily learn from a headache specialist or neurologist?
  • Has using a more holistic, naturopathic approach improved your health?
  • What led to your advocacy work, and what have you been working on in that area?
Interview Notes

Find more about Jaime Sanders and her work here: