UK: doctors are to recommend acupuncture as headache prophylaxis

[natasa778]

NICE recommends acupuncture and riboflavin in their new guidelines

'Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults'

 

[Esther12]

And sadly, acupuncture's more respectable than what's on offer for CFS.

Since I've started reading medical papers, I've realised that in large areas of medicine we're about 100 years behind where I thought we were.

I've never looked in to things like riboflavin.

 

[Aileen]

Chronic migraines and other headaches in between them is one of my most distressing symptoms. Although most of the information was familiar there were a few tidbits I found interesting. I've been to a specialist clinic at a hospital that focuses on headaches run by a neurologist but wasn't aware of the following: (it has been a number of years though)

Consider an anti-emetic [anti-nausea] in addition to other acute treatment for migraine even in the absence of nausea and vomiting.

I've never heard of this before -- not from a doctor, other patients or literature. Personally, I often find that it HELPS (although it makes it worse initially) after I have several rounds of vomiting. Sometimes the headache won't start to break until that happens. Making a note to self though, just in case my body decides to change its mind re the helpfulness of vomiting in future...

f both topiramate[3] and propranolol are unsuitable or ineffective, consider a course of up to 10 sessions of acupuncture over 5–8 weeks or gabapentin[8] (up to 1200 mg per day)

Tried topiramate (an anti-seizure med) with no benefit and couldn't take propranolol (beta blocker) as my bp is already lower than it should be. Have never heard of gabapentin (another anti-seizure) being used in this way before. Been on it for quite some time so I know it doesn't work this way for me though.

For people who are already having treatment with another form of prophylaxis such as amitriptyline

Didn't know about this drug either. I wonder if there are others that are used in the UK. "Such as" isn't particularly informative.

 

[jimells]

headache is a valid medical disorder

A bizarre statement. Does this mean that some medical disorders are 'invalid'???

Some months ago I found a paper on the NIH website that reviewed studies of a long list of migraine preventatives. I don't recall seeing acupuncture. The most interesting item in the review was Coenzyme Q10. As I recall, the research indicated that >50% reported improvements that met the review's endpoint.

I started another trial of Co Q10 about 3 or 4 months ago. I took it for more than a month before noticing an improvement, which is now substantial. I haven't noticed any improvement in the overall illness, just in the migraines, which would sometimes last three days non-stop.

The neuros keep trying to sell me expensive anti-seizure meds. Most of them have troubling adverse effect profiles. People on the migraine forums call Topamax 'Dopamax', and for good reason. No doctor has ever suggested Co Q10, for the CFS or anything else.