More than a headache

Hi All,

Joan kindly sent me the following information that was given to her as a handout by her doctor at Mass Eye and Ear regarding Migraine. It was written by Drs. Michael Teixido and John Carey at Johns Hopkins Otolaryngology and is called “Migraine - More Than a Headache”. There’s a page describing the migraine diet and also a page about vitamins and dietary supplements. Joan found it helpful and thought others might also.

Thanks for sending this to me Joan. The more information we can amass here on the site from the top docs in the field the better our understanding will be on this junk.

Best … Scott :slight_smile:

Just realised they mention our forum on page 6 as a resource for people to use for more information and support. Great to see Carey knows about the forum. :slight_smile:

Thank you Joan and Scott. Really great informative paper. Wouldn’t it be helpful if all ENT’s, generalists, and neurologists read this?

Thank you it would be most beneficial for all doctors to read this…then they perhaps would know where to start when they come into see them with these symptoms.

I just fixed the links guys. Sorry it wasn’t working for the day. S

Scott, thanks again for all the work you do here!

Thanks Ben. This forum wouldn’t be what it is without you guys either! :smiley:

Lisa –– definitely, this should be standard reading for all doctors - especially of the ENT sort. It covers all the bases in nice and easy language. I think over time, they’ll start to get it eventually. What do you think? Are doctors receptive to info like this?

Scott

Unfortunately, I don’t think Dr.'s are receptive to this diagnosis. When I first went to my primary care about this 2 1/2 years ago, she just wanted to put me on Lexapro (an antidepressant), not even knowing the reason for my dizziness and imbalance. I researched and scheduled my own appointment at Mass Eye and Ear and luckily I got Dr. Priesol. When I went this year to my primary care for an annual physical, I told her I was being treated by Dr. Priesol at Mass Eye and Ear for MAV. I asked her what she thought of that and she responded that she thought MAV was the diagnosis “du jour” (sp?). She sees MAV as a trendy diagnosis. Too bad for people like us that some dr.'s don’t see this as real. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to have found Dr. Priesol at Mass Eye and Ear. I urge everyone not to give up or give in, keep looking for answers and keep looking until you find the Dr. that will listen to you and take you seriously.

Thank you for this article. I was recently referred to Dr. Carey by the doctors at Mass Eye and Ear. Told there was nothing they could do for me so go to Baltimore to Dr. Carey. Have yet to make any appointment with him.
Sally

Sally, which Dr. did you see at Mass Eye and Ear? Did they offer to try you on some of the medications? I think my Dr. at Mass Eye and Ear follows Dr. Carey’s philosophy of treatments.

Interesting article, but like many I think it refers to episodic migraine dizziness as it refers to triggers all the time. I don’t really have any triggers, apart from it getting worse from lack of sleep - its the same old every day, with some days better than others. It would be interesting to see an article that discusses how migraine symptoms can be 24/7 manifestation of dizziness - and why?

Luke

1 Like

Hi Joan,

Have you thought about getting a new primary care doc? :slight_smile: In the past I had a similarly dismissive dr - not just for MAV but for other things too (too boring to go into here). My new dr is fantastic. Very thorough and evidence based but he also asks me what I think. A good combination in my opinion.

As for MAV being a “trendy” diagnosis I don’t think that’s fair. Whenever there’s a “new” diagnosis it seems like there’s suddenly a spike in people suffering from it (eg autism). The sceptic in me says this is because its new and “trendy” but on the other hand it could just mean that people who’ve had the condition have been previously misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. Most of us on this forum have taken years to get a MAV diagnosis, even when our doctors know we’re migraineurs. I think it’s a really positive step, both as a diagnosis and for treatments that MAV is becoming more recognised by the medical community.

Victoria

Hi All,

I had an email from Steve Rauch today that I wanted to share. I sent him the document you sent to me Joan just in case he didn’t already have it for his own patients. He did have it of course (as I thought he might) but he had some other good advice to give as well:

— Begin quote from ____

Thanks. Yes, this is great piece that John Carey and Michael Texeido put together as a handout for the migraine course they give at the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery meeting in the fall each year. I give it out to all my MAV patients. I have also started recommending the book, “The Migraine Brain,” by Carolyn Bernstein, a Boston neurologist who specialises in headache/migraine. It is less prescriptive than David Buchholz’s, “Heal Your Headache,” though I still recommend that, too. And of course, I tell everyone to visit mvertigo.org.

— End quote

For those that may not have heard the interview with Carolyn Bernstein, you can listen to it here. It’s excellent.

Best … Scott 8)

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“The Migraine Brain”
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