Migraine Treatments

For people who suffer from migraines, finding an effective treatment is integral to improving your quality of life. Migraine symptoms can frequently be severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities, including both your personal and professional life.

At The University of Kansas Health System, we offer several different options for migraine treatments. Because we’re an academic health system, we’re connected to ongoing research and learn of new treatment advances as they develop. Often, our patients are among the first to benefit from new migraine treatments through access to clinical trials.

Migraines are intense headaches that can cause severe pain, sensitivity to light or sound, nausea and/or vomiting. The pain from a migraine headache can be debilitating, and often worsens without prompt intervention. Migraine treatments are aimed at minimizing or eliminating migraine symptoms, allowing you to return to your regular routine.

Some types of migraine treatments are designed to prevent a migraine completely, while others are intended to prevent symptoms from becoming severe. The first step in preventing a migraine is to recognize specific triggers you may have that could contribute to your migraines. Some examples of trigger avoidance include:

• Avoid processed foods
• Get 6-8 hours of sleep each night
• Get regular, moderate exercise
• Limit daily caffeine to 1-2 drinks per day
• Sleep at consistent times every day
• Stay hydrated by drinking at least 6 glasses of noncaffeinated liquid per day

To determine your personal triggers, your doctor may recommend keeping a headache diary. This journal notes the length of the attack, headache days per month, associated symptoms and dietary or environmental triggers.

Effective migraine treatment options can include a variety of medications, including over-the-counter drugs containing aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine. In some cases, steroids may be helpful. In others, BOTOX® injections may be effective.

Our team will likely recommend preventive therapy, such as antihypertensives, antidepressants or antiepileptic treatments. Additionally, you may find relief with physical therapy or biofeedback conducted by a pain psychologist.

Besides trigger management and over-the-counter remedies, your doctor may recommend additional options for migraine treatments if you experience:

• Attacks more than 4 times per month
• More than 2 attacks per month that significantly affect daily activities
• Needing to use acute therapy more than 2 times per week
• Poor response to acute therapy
• Sensitivities or allergies to acute therapy

Different types of migraine treatments work differently to help limit or prevent migraine symptoms:

If other forms of therapy do not provide relief, minimally invasive surgery is an option for some types of migraines. Migraine surgery can significantly reduce migraine symptoms and offer long-term relief for many people with painful, recurrent migraines.

Without any treatment, frequent migraine headaches can prevent you from living a normal life. Although every type of migraine treatment carries some degree of risk, your doctor will help you weigh those risks against your current quality of life.

The specifics of your migraine treatment will vary, depending on your doctor’s treatment recommendations. There are many different ways to deliver migraine treatments:

• Injectable medication
• Migraine surgery
• Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation
• Oral medication, taken as needed
• Oral medication, taken daily

For some people, effective migraine treatment may be as simple as making lifestyle changes, such as cutting down on caffeine and maintaining a regular sleeping schedule. Others, however, will need more advanced therapies or a combination of treatments.