Is migraine prevention right for you?
“Women often delay getting help for migraines, thinking it’s normal to have headaches. But if they’re affecting your daily life, if they’re stopping you from socialising or going to work or enjoying family life, then it’s time to get help,” says Dr. Ann Nainan, family doctor and Healthily expert.
“Unfortunately there’s a lot of stigma around migraines and they may get dismissed as ‘just a headache’ when they can actually be debilitating. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent them, which include avoiding your triggers and taking preventive medications.”
You and your doctor can come up with a preventative treatment plan if:
- you want to take medication to stop migraines happening
- they’re happening on 4 or more days in a month
- your attacks are very severe or debilitating, even if they’re not very frequent
- acute treatment (medication you take for a migraine that’s in progress) isn’t working or you’re having to use medication very frequently. This could put you at risk of something called medication overuse headache (MOH). This is where you get headaches from frequently using medications to treat a migraine attack as it’s happening. Our article, How to get rid of a migraine, explains more.