Migraine Expert Dr. Seth Haplea shares Migraine management news and commentary at MyMigraineConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48 http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48 http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/8167/migraine-study Mon, 02 Apr 2007 18:11:01 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea The American Migraine Communications Study (AMCS) recently highlighted the need for improved communication between patients and healthcare professionals.  Typically, physicians and patients discuss the frequency of their attacks and ignore other important factors such as the degree and duration of impairment with each migraine.  Physicians should not ask closed-ended questions limited to migraine frequency.  Several open-ended... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/8167/migraine-study http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/7477/forms-acute-therapy Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:28:01 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea             There are several different routes of administration for acute migraine therapy.  Especially in patients with migraine upon awakening, severe nausea or vomiting with migraine, or sudden severe pain with migraine, the speed and effectiveness with which a migraine medication works is critical.  I am going to focus on the“triptan” medications since these... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/7477/forms-acute-therapy http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3437/migraine-prevention Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:16:04 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea There are many reasons to use medications or other strategies to try to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches. When an individual can identify a trigger for his or her migraines, such as certain foods or liquids, menstruation, or other exposures, these circumstances can possibly be avoided to reduce migraine events. If abortive medications are not tolerated, cause side effects, or are ineffective, migraine prevention medications should... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3437/migraine-prevention http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3110/expert-post-migraine Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:30:06 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Dear Dr. Haplea,I was working at a State Prison and was attacked by an inmate. He hit me on the back of my head and I have had migraines ever since. I have seen many doctors but nobody can help me; they put me on morphine for 3 years but it did not help, and now I am on Relafen 500mg but it does nothing. I go to bed with headaches and wake up with headaches. What other alternatives are out there? Should I be taking a different course of... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3110/expert-post-migraine http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3067/expert-migraine-aura Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:23:44 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Dear Dr. Haplea,I've been suffering from "occular" migraines, or migraines with aura for about two years. I get no headache at all; the aura comes on with no warning, lasts about twenty minutes, and is followed by two to three days of absolute exhaustion. During the exhaustion phase, I am non-functioning. I need to sleep about 16-18 hours a day. For the last year, the episodes have occurred once or twice a month, usually during the first... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3067/expert-migraine-aura http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3015/expert-lyrica-side Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:56:29 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Dear Dr. Haplea,I have been prescribed Indocin and Lyrica to help me with rebound. I have a migraine about 25 days out of the month, which Zomig zmt will take care of, but I need to stop the overuse. What I have read about Indocin is that it can cause sudden heart attack or stroke without warning, which could result in death. And what I'm reading on Lyrica is that it causes major weight gain suddenly (I don't need any help with that as... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/3015/expert-lyrica-side http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2928/visit-migraines Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:28:34 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea When it comes to your migraines, there are many pieces of information that you should share with your doctor. To help categorize your headaches as migrainous or non-migrainous, you should be prepared to outline a typical headache from start to finish. You may have symptoms prior to the onset of your headache that let you know that a headache is coming, such as mood changes, upset stomach, visual disturbance, sensory loss, or other... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2928/visit-migraines http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2831/nerve-block-migraine Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:23:41 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Earlier this year it was reported at the annual meeting of neurologists (The American Academy of Neurology) that treating migraine headaches with occipital nerve block was effective. Occipital nerve block is a procedure where anesthetic agents (lidocaine and bupivacaine) are injected near the occipital nerve on the back of the head near the base of the skull on the side of the migraine headache. Within five minutes after the nerve block,... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2831/nerve-block-migraine http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2737/surgery-work Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:33:22 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Over the years there have been reports of people who have migraine headaches and also have a small hole across their heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO), and that surgical closure of the PFO (for reasons other than treating migraine headache) resulted in fewer migraine headaches. Is this really true or just anecdotal? A recent study specifically looking at whether closure of a PFO could alleviate migraine headaches has caused quite a... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2737/surgery-work http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2621/vertigo-migraine Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:13:18 -0000 Dr. Seth Haplea Vertigo (dizziness) is a frequent symptom that accompanies migraine headache. Vertigo can occur during the aura phase, headache phase, or vertigo and headache can occur as separate isolated episodes. Rarely vertigo can be the only manifestation of a migraine attack (migraine-equivalent or aura without migraine headache). If an individual has chronic recurrent attacks of unexplained vertigo, the diagnosis of migraine should be considered. The... http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/48/2621/vertigo-migraine