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Winter Holiday GuideEnjoying the Holidays Despite Migraines and Headaches --> Info for you...

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Tammi,   I have no personal expereince with the Occipital Nerve Stimulator (ONSTIM), but will be learning more about it later this week at the American Headache Society conference. I'll be writing about it soon after I return, so you may want to keep an eye on my SharePosts.   Interestingly enough, I called the FDA and asked some questions about this treatment a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what you know, so for now, here's some information I got from the FDA...   ONSTIM is NOT approved by the FDA for the treatment of Migraine or headache. It is still in clinical trials that must be completed and evaluated before it can be approved.   Even though it's not FDA approved, your doctor can prescribe it for Migraine or headache, just as he or she can prescribe medications off-label.   Here's an important part. Very, very few insurance companies will pay for ONSTIM at this point because it's considered "experimental." Some doctors are getting insurance companies to pay for it by fudging the diagnosis and telling them it's for another condition. Most commonly, when the doctor fudges, he or she says the patient has occipital neuralgia. You should know that it is illegal to state an incorrect diagnosis to get insurance approval. That's insurance fraud.   I'm not saying your neurologist would do this, but I do want you to be aware that some doctors do. You can always ask your doctor for a copy of the information he submits to your insurance company.   If you decide not to do ONSTIM, don't lose hope. There are now so many medications in use for headache and Migraine treatment that it's literally impossible to have tried them all. If your neurologist isn't an actual Migraine and headache specialist, and you're not making progress, you might want to consider consulting a Migraine and headache specialist.   Good luck!Teri  
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