NJNI:
Tips For Migraine Sufferers
EDISON , NJ —In America , approximately 28 million people suffer with migraines. According to the National Headache Foundation, 51% of migraine sufferers experience more than 10 migraine attacks each month, often causing them to miss out on things important to them and impeding a sense of quality of life. In addition, the attacks cause sufferers to lose time at work, approximately 157 million work days each year, costing business and industry $50 billion annually.
Philip A. Hanna, M.D., a neurologist and Associate Professor of Neuroscience at The New Jersey Neuroscience Institute (NJNI) at JFK Medical Center in Edison comments, “Headaches and migraines are one of the symptoms that people often feel they must tolerate. They assume there's little one can do but take two aspirin, lie down and wait for it to pass. And if they suffer from it chronically, they believe they must accept their fate. That's simply not true. In fact there are certain treatments that are changing the way patients manage chronic headaches.”
Hanna is at the forefront of those using botulinum toxin (also known as BTX and marketed as BOTOX ® ) for a variety of neurological conditions, including headaches. Says Hanna, “Migraine pain is a real and legitimate condition. Thankfully there are new treatments available…which is why it's critical to talk with your doctor about your migraines.”
What can you do to not let migraine pain stop you from living your life? Hanna offers the following tips to stop migraines before they stop you:
- Get diagnosed. An accurate diagnosis allows you to receive treatment and take control of your condition.
- Work with your doctor. A variety of treatment options and exist and together you and your doctor can determine the most appropriate treatment.
- Find your triggers. Keep a headache diatry noting foods, time of onset, duration of pain, location of pain, and other factors when you experience a migraine. This will allow you to identify patters and triggers.
“With migraine management and preventive medications, migraines don't have to be life altering. Get diagnosed, get treated, so you can get on with your life.”
The New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at JFK Medical Center is a comprehensive facility designed exclusively for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of complex neurological and neurosurgical disorders in adults and children. Services offered at the Institute include programs in minimally-invasive and reconstructive spine surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, brain tumors, dizziness and balance disorders, epilepsy, sleep, memory problems/dementia, cerebral palsy, stroke, and spasticity and movement disorders. As a department of Seton Hall University 's School of Graduate Medical Education , NJNI serves as the clinical setting for SHU's residency training in neurology. For more information on the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, call 732-321-7950 or visit the facility online at www.njneuro.org .