Tim’s Migraine Story – Inspiring!

We consistently receive many wonderful testimonials from MigreLief fans; online, by email, phone calls and “Thank You” letters via the old fashioned U.S. Postal Service.

The positive feedback and touching stories encourage everyone of us, on the MigreLief team at Akeso Health Sciences, to strive harder towards our goal of making a difference and restoring quality of life to migraine sufferers world-wide.

With permission we would like to share a recent testimonial given by the wife of a long-time migraine sufferer.

“TIM’S STORY”

~ My husband has suffered from chronic headache and migraines weekly since he was 18. Trying anything and everything we could think of he has eliminated smoking, alcohol, dairy and caffeine, tried regulating sleep and eating patterns, tried a bite splint, acupuncture and taken drugs such as Topamax, Zomig, Zonisamide, Imitrex, and Maxalt. He has seen Neurologists, Chiropractors and Acupuncturists. Thinking that it might be the root cause he has had Septoplasty, turbinate reduction and a cervical fusion. Nothing worked.

At Christmas time, he had 2 migraines that were worse than usual. He started more research and found MigreLief. Within a week his headaches were actually gone.

We held our breaths and it is now mid-May and he is doing beautifully. He would tell you it has changed his life. He no longer lives his life surrounded by pain. He’s had a few headaches but nothing Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen couldn’t take care of.

Now if you could just find a cure for Tinnitus (ringing in his ears)

You have made a HUGE difference in our family’s life. Thank you.

Tim and his family

Fishers, Indiana

Abdominal Pain in Children & Abdominal Migraines

Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children Maybe A Result of Abdominal Migraine in up to 15% of Children

Abdominal migraines may occur in both adults and children. A new study reported in the medical journal “Headache” states that up to 15% of children who experience recurrent abdominal pain may actually have “abdominal migraine” and that for those children in this group, migraine treatment may help reduce or resolve the recurrent pain.

If your child has been diagnosed with migraine (which can also result in cyclic vomiting and disturbed sleep) any recurrent abdominal pain he/she experiences is 4X more likely to be “abdominal migraine” as opposed to another condition that causes abdominal pain.

It is important to note that the study authors stated that “abdominal migraine” is not well addressed in medical school or during residency and is therefore likely to be missed by many physicians as a potential diagnosis.

The authors also stated that children with just abdominal migraine symptoms are more likely to suffer from migraines as they reach adulthood.

Though there are no studies showing that any of the current prescription drugs used to treat migraine pain, help with “abdominal migraine”, it makes sense, especially when children are involved, to try a dietary supplement regimen created just for kids with all types of migraines (classic, common, abdominal…) Children’s MigreLief and MigreLief-NOW. MigreLief supplements are safe and gentle for children 2 years of age or above.

MigreLief is available in 3 daily formulas

Original MigreLief (Age 2-11)
Children’s MigreLief (Age 12-Adult)
MigreLief+M (Menstrual/Hormonal Migraines)
AND
MigreLief-NOW (Fast-Acting “as-needed” formula for on-the-spot support)

MigreLief Regimen:
Action step 1: Choose a daily maintenance formula and take twice a day.
Action step 2: Keep MigreLief-NOW on hand at all times and take as needed

MigreLief supplements are drug-free and do not interfere with prescription migraine medications.

Visit www.migrelief.com for more information email healthadvisor@migrelief.com with your questions.

Can Migraines Affect the Cognitive Performance of Your Child?

The cognitive performance of 30 children between the ages of 8-12 years old, with migraines, was compared to the cognitive performance of 30 similarly aged children, without migraines, using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

The study, which was conducted at the department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil, found that despite the fact that both groups exhibited normal cognitive performance, the children with migraines had much lower scores in the areas of arithmetic, vocabulary, perceptual organization and resistance to distraction and processing speed.

Future studies, aimed to see if preventing migraines in these children would raise their cognitive performance levels in these areas where they were low, would be of significant interest.

To learn about gentle, safe and effective options for children suffering with chronic migraines, visit: Children’s Migrelief

MIGRAINE DRUG LINKED TO RISK OF WEAKENING WOMEN’S BONES

A WELL KNOWN DRUG USED TO PREVENT MIGRAINES MAY DO SO AT THE RISK OF WEAKENING WOMEN’S BONES.

In an article published in the medical journal “Headache” and written by the departments of neurology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology of the University of Toledo College of Medicine, the researchers stated that the anti-epileptic drug, Topiramate (Topamax) reduced bone mineral density in women who used the drug to treat their migraines. [1]

It was found that 53% of women, who had used topiramate, were found to have osteopenia, which is bone loss that is not normal but not yet diagnosable as osteoporosis.

The researchers also found a correlation between the degree of bone loss and the amount of time the women were using topiramate.

While prevention of migraine is definitely the preferable way to go for chronic migraine sufferers, other safe and natural choices are available that do not introduce bone loss or other side-effects associated with this drug. For more information please go to www.migrelief.com

MigreLief Airing on Lifetime Television June 20th -The Balancing Act

We just finished shooting a segment about Migrelief on The Balancing Act for Lifetime!

Set your DVR’s now to catch us on June 20th!

Image - Curt Hendrix on The Balancing Act Show - Lifetime Television June 20th

Curt Hendrix - Scientist, Creator MigreLief

Don’t Let a Migraine Ruin Your Royal Honeymoon

Anyone who has migraines knows that stress can bring on an attack. Major life changes like illness, moving, changing jobs and certainly getting married and planning a honeymoon, can be very stressful.

What is not as well known, is that migraines can often occur, just after the stressful event has occurred and not necessarily, during it.

One neurologist M.D. reports that she had a surgeon for a patient. The surgeon reported that he got migraines like clockwork on Fridays and Saturdays. Upon questioning, the neurologist learned that the surgeon’s major surgery day was every Thursday and that the stress and pressure of having to perform at a high level was probably causing the migraines a day or two latter.

If you have ever planned a wedding, (let alone a Royal Wedding), you know the tremendous stress, aggravation and politics that can be involved.

The same neurologist, cited examples of how brides, successfully get through the excitement and stress of their big wedding day, leave for their honeymoons, only to experience migraines, a couple of days after the stress is over.

She also points out, that the airplane travel, that is often part of the honeymoon plans, can also trigger migraines and that it is essential to stay very well hydrated during flying. Also, be sure to get up and move around, especially during longer flights. Finally, remember that lack of sleep can also trigger migraines. So bring sleep aids if necessary and speak to your physician about using melatonin for jet-lag, which can disrupt your sleeping patterns.

Here’s hoping that your “Royal Honeymoon” is a royal joy and not a royal pain.

Curt Hendrix

The Royal Wedding: A Royal Headache?

Royals get migraines too! Can you imagine the stress and pressure of being Kate Middleton who is about to marry Prince William in the Royal event of the decade? The enormous amounts of planning, meetings, decisions, paparazzi, reporters, wardrobe choices can easily cause a migraine and history teaches us that the wealth and power of being a royal is not enough to make one immune to these incredibly painful headaches.

King Henry the eighth, Queen Elizabeth I and II, all suffered with migraines. Royalty is no more immune to these debilitating attacks, than are we commoners.

After having what promises to be, one of the most extravagant and fairytale weddings of all time, its hard to imagine a migraine causing the honeymoon night something less than fantasy perfect. Somehow, “not tonight, dear, I have a migraine” just doesn’t seem like an option.

Well there is some interesting research that Kate and all of you other women who may experience a migraine on a special night, should know about.

The often quoted saying “Not tonight dear, I have a headache”, implies that sex makes the pain worse.

Well, a Dr. James Couch, a professor of neurology at the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, reports that several women patients have reported that sex actually helps decrease the pain of their migraines or makes them go away completely, in many cases.

So Couch asked 84 other female migraines if they ever had sex during a migraine? 2 out of 3 patients reported that they did and 61% reported that they experienced some sort of relief. This is pretty impressive since the prescription medicines known as triptans and sold as Immitrex or Zomig, achieve some benefit between 60-80% of the time.

What was even more intriguing was that more than 20% of the women reported that sex stopped their migraines completely!

Couch could only guess as to why sex had this favorable effect on some female migraine sufferers and also laughingly said, “I haven’t really figured out how to follow this information up with a more formal study.”

On the other side of things, professor Randolph Evan of the Baylor College of Medicine says that sex can trigger migraines in 10% of female migraine sufferers.

From the male perspective, 1% of men can actually develop a headaches that is known as “coital cephalalgia” (a fancy way of saying headaches induced by sex) but its uncommon and usually goes away.

But a much more common and real problem is the headache that can be caused by erectile dysfunction pills that men take, like Viagra and Cialis.

The bottom line is that sex may help certain migraine sufferers and it may cause migraines to occur in others.

Evans joking states, since migraines happen randomly and unexpectedly, using sex as a treatment certainly has its limitations, one just cannot grab someone in the office and tell them, “Hey, it’s a medical emergency.”

The real goal of chronic migraine sufferers should be to stop the migraines from occurring, not to spend a lifetime taking pain killers. This may sound like a dream but in fact, it is reality for hundreds of thousands of women. Women, who had tried everything to take back control of their lives, only to be disappointed. If you suffer from chronic migraines, go to www.migrelief.com. It will change your life forever.

Curt Hendrix

Darvocet, a Narcotic Pain Reliever Banned by the FDA

Sometimes migraine pain can make sufferers desperate for relief and prescriptions for narcotic pain relievers like Darvocet were written.

Hopefully, those of you who suffer with chronic migraines are taking steps to prevent their migraines with proven, natural products like MigreLief, rather than continually trying to relieve the often debilitating pain.

But when a painful migraine does occur, and the triptan drugs like Imitrex or Zomig are not working for you, you may require a prescription pain medication.

Recent reports from the FDA indicate that taking Darvocet can cause life threatening heart arrhythmias (a disturbance in the electrical activity of the heart) and Darvocet has been taken off the market.

It is very important to speak with your physician about gradually stopping the use of Darvocet if you are currently taking it. Abrupt withdrawal from the drug can cause serious side-effects.
Curt Hendrix B.S. M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

Antidepressants & Migraines – A Potentially Dangerous Drug Combination

COMBINING ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND MIGRAINE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Taking antidepressants, like Pristiq, along with certain migraine medications can lead to dangerous and even life-threatening side-effects. Many people who suffer from depression also suffer from migraine headaches. Unfortunately, the mechanism of action of many antidepressants is to increase serotonin (a feel-good neurotransmitter) levels in the brain. Triptan drugs like Imitrex, which are used to reduce or end the pain of a migraine attack also work by stimulating serotonin receptors.

This combination of antidepressants and triptan migraine drugs can lead to too much serotonin in the brain. This is not a good thing and can result in a potentially life-threatening condition known as “serotonin syndrome.”

Though not approved for migraine prevention by the FDA, some physicians recommend antidepressants like Pristiq, for this purpose. There is very little data supporting this recommendation and not insignificant risk if they are also used with the triptan drugs like Imitrex or Zomig.

In some people, just the use of triptans alone can result in unhealthy levels of serotonin, leading to serotonin syndrome. This risk increases substantially if these people are also taking an antidepressant like Pristiq or any other of several antidepressants known either as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or SNRI (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors).

The symptoms of “serotonin syndrome” are:

Rapid heart rate and high blood pressure
Agitation or restlessness
Confusion
Dilated pupils
Loss of muscle control or twitching muscles
Heavy sweating
Diarrhea
Headache
Goosebumps
Shivering

In severe cases of serotonin syndrome life-threatening symptoms can occur:

High Fever
Seizures
Irregular heartbeat
Unconsciousness

If you and your physician decide to use this combination of drugs, you must be monitored very closely for any of these signs and symptoms of serotonin syndrome.

If your migraines are bad enough, your physician may decide to stop the antidepressant so that you can use the triptan drugs with less risk (though as mentioned above, they alone, in some users can cause serotonin syndrome).

Many migraine sufferers benefit from a nutritional approach with the combination of magnesium, riboflavin and Puracol® feverfew. Learn more at MigreLief.com

MIGRELIEF

Trusted for over 2 decades: The original multi-patented, physician recommended nutritional supplement for either men, women, or children who suffer from chronic migraine.

» Buy Now

FDA Warning: Topamax Increases Risk of Birth Defects

FDA WARNING: TOPAMAX SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN PREGNANT USERS

Topiramate (brand name Topamax) an anti-seizure prescription drug that is also used for migraine prevention, has been found to significantly increase the risk of birth defects when used by pregnant women.

Infants who were exposed to Topamax while in the womb had a 1.4% prevalence of oral clefts (cleft palates) compared to just .38-.55% with other antiepileptic drugs.

Dr. Russell Katz of the FDA states – “Before topirmate is prescribed, health care professionals should warn patients of childbearing age about the potential hazard to the fetus if a woman becomes pregnant while taking this drug.” “Alternative medications that have a lower risk of birth defect should be considered.”

For those women of child-bearing age, who are also suffering with chronic migraine headaches, and don’t want to expose themselves to this risk, MigreLief the well-known, safe and very effective nutritional medicine for migraine relief, is a great alternative.

More Common and Serious Side Effects of Topamax

Best Hope for Migraine Sufferers, No Matter How You Spell It.

In the search for migraine prevention and relief, migraine sufferers often overlook the power of nutrition.

The leading name in nutritional support for men, women, and children with migraines is spelled, M-I-G-R-E-L-I-E-F. For over 25 years, MigreLief remains the #1 recommended dietary supplement by neurologists and headache specialists for providing comprehensive and targeted nutritional support.

“MigreLief” is the most highly searched migraine supplement on the internet, including its many misspellings!

Whether searching online for “MigreLief (correct spelling),” “Migra Lief,” “MigreRelief,” “Mig Relief,” “Migraleaf,” “MigreLieve,” “MigreLife,” etc., migraine sufferers are hoping to be directed to the best migraine supplement available – – making a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of migraineurs worldwide.

According to Google, there are many misspellings, nevertheless, this has not kept migraine sufferers from finding www.MigreLief.com the official website of AKESO Health Sciences’ popular non-prescription nutritional supplement crested just for migraineurs.

(Most common misspellings according to Google)

MigraLief
MigreLeif
Migra Lief
MigraLeaf
Mig Relief
MigraLeif
MigraRelief
MigReleif
Migraleif
Migrilief
Migre Lief
Migra Life
MigreLeaf
Migrailief
MigreLif
MigraLif
Migrarelif
Mig-relief
Migrelieve

For a faster direct link to the MigreLief formula you seek, visit …..www.MigreLief.com

Migraine or Stroke? Symptoms May Be Similar

By now, many of you have probably heard about or saw T.V. reporter Serene Branson experiencing an unsettling on-air inability to speak while covering the Grammys last night. She lost the ability to form words, and spoke gibberish for 10-20 seconds.

Branson’s physician has stated that she experienced a “complex migraine” and not a stroke. It was also reported by the Associated Press that Branson has been a migraine sufferer since childhood.

The symptoms of a complex migraine, can in fact, mimic a stroke.

Weakness on one side of the body or face
Slurred speech
Mental confusion
Blindness in one eye
See only parts of objects
Numbness and tingling in the fingers, toes, face, or limbs

Since several of the symptoms could be quite dangerous when outside, or driving a car, medications that can prevent these types of migraines are important to use. One would not want to be taking a medication after these symptoms had already occurred.

About 20 to 30 percent of people who experience complex migraines have symptoms or feel sensations before an attack but most people have no warning at all.

Many complex migraine sufferers have found that MigreLief has helped to keep their complex migraines under control.

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.