Dr. Weyrich's Naturopathic Functional Medicine Notebook
Introduction
While the term "migraine" is most often associated with headaches, other body systems can also be affected, such
as the abdomen (abdominal migraines) or the eyes (ophthalmic migraines). Migraines can also be associated with
the menstrual cycle.
Please see
conventional, complementary, and alternative medical treatments
for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page.
Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:
The menstrual cycle often interacts with hypothyroidism
to produce cyclical headaches. Most of these patients (95%) respond to treatment
of hypothyroidism
[Barnes1976], [Starr2005, pg 156].
Diagnosis
Migraines are a form of recurrent headache that often runs in families, and diagnosis requires
four of the following six characteristics:
one-sided,
pulsating or throbbing,
moderate or severe,
worsened by ordinary daily activities such as climbing stairs or housework,
accompanied by nausea,
accompanied by sensitivity to light or noise.
There must be no evidence of other disease and at least 4-5 attacks before a physician can be confident
of the diagnosis
[HealingWell].
Note that overtreatment of migraine headaches with pain-killers (e.g. aspirin) or ergots
(e.g. sumatriptan) may lead to chronic daily headaches
[HealingWell].
Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative Treatments
Neuro-Gen High-Performance Neuromodulation (HPN)
HPN has been reported to be useful for treating migraine headaches
[Snook], [Willis].
Dr. Weyrich has been trained to use Neuro-Gen High-Performance Neuromodulation
system by it's inventor, Corey Snook.
However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of migraine headaches
with this technique.
Neurofeedback and biofeedback have been shown to be useful for migraine headaches.
Dr. Weyrich has been certified in neurofeedback since 2008, and more recently
completed an additional residency training program at ADD Clinic of Scottsdale, AZ.
While at the ADD clinic, he treated a few cases of migraine headaches.
Dr. Starr proposes that migraine headaches may be associated with myxedema and mucin
accumulation in the trigeminal nerve (CN-V) that innervates the face and scalp, and states
that increased swelling of the extremities appears to be part of the migraine prodrome
in many patients [Starr2005, pg 155].
ICD-10
Aura:
preceded or accompanied by sensory warning signs or symptoms, such as flashes of light, blind spots,
or tingling in hands or face
[Mayo].
Intractable:
refractory; difficult to treat or fails to respond to standard treatments
[Headache Journal].
Status migrainosus:
A severe unrelenting migraine headache associated with nausea and vomiting
[HealingWell].
Chronic:
occurs frequently over a period of time, generally at least 15 days per month for a period of at least six months
[HealingWell].
Hemiplegic:
aura that includes muscle weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
[WebMD].
HealingWell