Tag: AHS

Community, News & Research, Society, Treatment

An Urgent Request for Cluster Headache Treatment

Kerrie Smyres

Oxygen is one of the few effective cluster headache treatments, a viciously painful headache disorder that can be disabling. Several years ago, Medicare decided to stop covering it for cluster patients. The American Headache Society appealed to no avail. Now, Nebraska Senator Johanns and Delaware Senator Coons are trying to get the decision reversed and are currently circulating a letter for other senators to sign. The more senators who sign the letter, the higher the chance of success.

Please contact your senator TODAY to ask them to sign the letter requesting that Medicare reconsider covering oxygen for cluster headache treatment. And I do mean today — senators must sign the letter before 5 p.m. ET on Monday, May 19 Thursday, May 22. All you have to do is follow this link, fill out the form and click “submit.” The next page lists your senators as recipients and has a letter already written. You can edit the letter, if you’d like, or just add your name at the bottom and click “submit.” That’s it. I just did it and it literally took less than a minute.

Even if you don’t have cluster headache, please submit a request in the spirit of solidarity. Any recognition of the severity of any headache disorder and improving access to treatment is a win for all of us.

5/19/14: The deadline for senators to sign has been extended from today to Thursday. If you haven’t submitted your comment, you still have time! As of 8 p.m. ET today, nine senators have agreed to sign the letter.

News & Research, Treatment

Traditional & “Sham” Acupuncture Both Effective for Migraine Relief

Kerrie Smyres

I don’t normally republish press releases without further investigation, but I’m going to today because 1) It is from the American Headache Society and quotes my headache specialist, whom I trust immensely; 2) It provides a novel, scientific perspective on why acupuncture may help migraine (the focus is on endorphins and the effect they have on inflammation and pain signals, not the usual talk of meridians and energy flow); and 3) I have a killer migraine.

American Headache Society Supports the Use of Acupuncture in Migraine Treatment: Both Traditional Acupuncture and “Sham” Acupuncture Provide Relief

Mt. Royal, NJ (February 1, 2012) – When it comes to treating migraine, so-called “sham” acupuncture (where needles are inserted only to a superficial depth in the skin and not in specific sites) and traditional acupuncture where needles are inserted in specific sites, both are effective, according to the American Headache Society (AHS).

Citing publicity surrounding a recent Canadian study comparing the effectiveness of the two types of acupuncture, David W. Dodick, MD, AHS president, said both types of acupuncture, particularly when electrical stimulation is involved, may work to release endorphins that are important in controlling signals of pain and inflammation.

“How much of a benefit sham acupuncture can have on the release of these chemicals is unclear,” he said. “This suggests the benefits of treatment may not depend on the exact technique of acupuncture and needle positioning.”

There is ample evidence supporting the value of acupuncture in migraine treatment, Dr. Dodick noted, including four studies that compared acupuncture to standard migraine preventive medications. Acupuncture was found to be at least as effective and produced fewer side effects.  Further, he noted that a randomized clinical trial study published in November comparing acupuncture to topiramate in chronic migraine prevention showed that acupuncture was more effective than topiramate. Topiramate is an anticonvulsant often used in epilepsy.

Dr. Dodick said that needle positioning may be less relevant than acupuncturists believe, and acupuncture should be offered to patients as part of their options for migraine management.  “Further, the long-lasting effects of acupuncture, given that subjects continued to experience a reduction in migraine frequency two months after treatment, is also noteworthy and not a point to be ignored,” he said.

“Along with biofeedback training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and lifestyle changes, acupuncture provides some migraine sufferers with a safe, non-pharmacologic treatment choice, and one that can also be used during pregnancy,” Dr. Dodick said.

Meds & Supplements, News & Research, Treatment

AHS’s Annual Meeting Underway

Kerrie Smyres

The American Headache Society’s 47th annual scientific meeting began today. Press releases are now available for some of the key conference presentations. There’s some good stuff here!

2/9/10: These press releases are no longer available from AHS.

Patient Education

AHS to Host Public Forum in L.A.

Kerrie Smyres

The American Headache Society‘s annual meeting began today in Los Angeles. On Sunday, July 25, findings presented at the scientific meeting will be shared in a public forum. The session will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

The scheduled topics are:

  • What’s new in the study and treatment of headache
  • Migraine and headache in children
  • Chronic daily headache: Who gets it and why?
  • Ask the experts: Answers to your questions

The first sentence of the event press release is “About 28 million Americans – including actor Ben Affleck – suffer from migraine headaches and could benefit from a discussion of the latest advances in headache research and treatment.” Even the AHS knows the importance of a celebrity face.

If you live in L.A., I highly recommend working this meeting into your schedule. To register, call (800) 255-2243 or e-mail achehq@talley.com. For the rest of you, I’m trying to find out if a webcast or transcript of the forum will be available. I’ll let you know what I learn.

12:26 p.m. The forum will not be available by webcast or transcript.

Community

Pacing for the American Headache Society Symposium

Kerrie Smyres

The American Headache Society’s annual symposium is in Scottsdale later this week and I’ll be attending for the first time. Or to be accurate, I’m planning to attend the symposium as long as I’m not knocked out by migraine attacks. There’s a world of difference between attending and planning to attend. A difference you’d think I’d fully grasp after all these years with debilitating chronic migraine. Nope.

I imagined myself waking up early and attending the meeting sessions all day Friday and Saturday. Never mind that sessions begin at 8 a.m., two hours before I usually wake up. Never mind that feeling well enough to be out of the house for three hours on any given day is cause for celebration; doing so two days in a row is nearly unheard of. Never mind that I rarely shower before going out because it depletes my energy (this is a little tricky considering that my almost-nightly migraine attacks include night sweats — I can cope if I’m going somewhere anonymously, but am sensitive about it when I’m around people I know or want to make a good impression).

Although the idealized schedule of events rarely comes to fruition, I don’t usually remember that until I’m over committed. This time I was clever enough to see it a week before the event takes place. I’ve gone through the symposium schedule and made a list of sessions I most want to attend and have narrowed it down to a couple hours each day plus Thursday set-up for the TheraSpecs exhibit and dinner with Migraine.com folks. Ideally, I’ll take over the booth for short stints Friday and Saturday so Hart can catch his breath.

I have no idea how much of the conference I’ll be able to attend or if I’ll be of much help to Hart. Still, I’m patting myself on the back for recognizing my limitations (though I’m by no means happy about them) and creating a realistic plan. Starting off with reasonable expectations is far more promising than my usual approach of hitting the ground running, then crashing and knocking myself out for the rest of the weekend. If I can’t make it to all that I have planned, I won’t be blaming myself for overexerting and making myself sick.

Wish me luck. I hope to gather lots of good information to share with you. And I’m super excited to finally meet Teri Robert, Ellen Schnakenberg and Diana Lee in person!