A recent survey presented on June 27, 2005 at the American Headache Society meeting in Philadelphia suggests that doctors need to pay more attention in diagnosing migraines and in giving patients prevention options.

At least 12 million people suffer from migraines in the United States, according to Richard B. Lipton, M.D. of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Surveys were sent to 120,000 households in the U.S. The questions centered around headache symptoms and frequency, usage of migraine prevention medication and impairment as a result of the migraines. Sixty-five percent of the surveys were returned.

The survey found that migraine sufferers do not want to accept the fact that migraines fall into the chronic illness category. Though medication exists to help prevent migraines, many respondents do not want to take a pill daily or are worried about the side effects of such medication.

Dr. Lipton said that patients with four or more migraines each month or three or more disability days due to migraines should be presented with the option of taking prevention medication, including Topamax, Depakote, anti-depressants, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers.

Patients receiving these drugs show a 50% reduction in the number of migraines.

The side effects of the prevention drugs are numerable, so doses should begin at a low level.

By Ellie Kuykendall