Migraine Sufferers Gain More Options As Scientific Understanding Grows
For those of us who suffer from migraines, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to describe the pain and the suffering to those who aren't "blessed".
Certainly times have improved from the 16th century when, according to MAGNUM, early physicians tried such approaches as drilling a hole through the skull to free "evil spirits," applying a hot iron to the site of pain or inserting a clove of garlic through an incision in the temple.
While treatment wasn't nearly as brutal in the 20th century, Coleman claims they weren't terribly effective either. In fact, he says it was often difficult to convince doctors that his pain was real.
"There was a common perception in this country that migraines were a psychological disorder," he says. "After spending two to three days in agony, with no sleep and projectile vomiting, I was often told by a physician that I wasn't really in any pain."
Until the early 1990s, a common treatment for migraines was narcotics — drugs that essentially put the whole brain to sleep to numb pain. Today medicines are available that can turn off the receptors of the trigeminal nerve and the brain's blood vessels.
A class of drugs, called triptans, emerged on the market in the early 1990s and have provided huge relief to migraine suffers (or migraineurs, as they're sometimes called). These drugs, which can now be taken in pill form, can kill a migraine within minutes since they directly hinder migraine chemistry.
This is good news, since I've really been hoping to avoid having holes drilled into my skull. Being somewhat pain-averse, that option has never really appealed to me....
