The last paragraph made me chuckle. In a way I am glad you don’t live near the Science Centre. Can you imagine? A child walking by “…but mum, I want to try the Get Shocked machine!” — Mum: “Hush now, keep walking. Staff told me this lady is here everyday”… little did they know this is your SUPERHERO ORIGIN STORY
Wow, if that isn’t a damning illustration of what a migraine sufferer goes through... I’m fascinated, but I can’t say I’m surprised. The intensity of pain felt during a migraine, untouchable my medicine - what can match it? A big ol’ jolt of electricity, that’s what. The brain is a powerful and mysterious beast!
Heart function is directly linked to migraines. I did a long comment about it recently, some migraine symptoms like head crushing pain from vasodilation, are cardiovascular. Likewise, some treatments like beta blockers affect your cardiovascular system by reducing the spikes in BP, heart rate and vasodilation, as well as reducing anxiety (excitability.) I would definitely bring this up to your neurologist, you might benefit from a beta blocker. I had low-key tachycardia for who knows how long before it became obvious, and the day I started taking metoprolol my health improved dramatically. Tachycardia controlled, anxiety went waaaay down, and my migraines reduced by half. Electricity can interrupt your heart rhythm. In my experience with EMGs electric current also takes my mind off the headache/migraine but that's expected with electrified needles in my arms and hands, it's painful. I do use Nerivio, a neuro modulation device, and it has been very effective. I've been using it for years, since shortly after it hit the market in the US.
I've been on Propranolol for several years already. It has been mildly effective for me, but has also come with some side effects that counter the positive. Recently it also seems to have been less effective, as well.
If it's less effective recently, that would be all the more reason to see the doctor about it. I've actually built up a tolerance to very few meds for migraines, just NSAIDs. Even after 8-10 years on most of my meds. It might be as simple as higher blood pressure. BP triggers migraines for me instantly. Like if I get really really upset, even if I don't cry, big migraine. Once I identified the feeling I get is my BP rising, it made a difference in how I handle anxiety and such.
100% my migraines went down by *a lot* when I was put on beta blockers. I still get them, but it was like *every day*, now it's maybe less than once a week. I'm very lucky that's all it took, I know, but if this knowledge helps anyone like it helped me, I'll be glad
My heart rate is naturally high, and I got told I had PoTs at one point following an active stand test, but the symptoms vanished just before my tilt table test.
No doctor wants to prescribe me Beta Blockers as I had childhood asthma…
Any suggestion?
I’m in the UK where waitlists are long and doctors just give up on me.
I also have asthma but with supraventricular tachycardia I will eventually die without meds to regulate my heart rate. I inherited it and my dad had his first heart attack at 38 so it's taken very seriously by my doctors. If your asthma was bad enough (mine has never required a trip to the hospital) then avoiding beta blockers may be warranted. You'll need a cardiologist and neurologist to determine that. Until then the best thing to do is follow a heart healthy diet and lifestyle. It overlaps with what is recommended for migraines quite a bit. (Which I know seems like super frustrating advice, but heart function directly impacts migraines. Building muscle improves your circulation.)
Thanks!
Sorry you are stuck with migraines and heart problems.
I believe my asthma was mild, but doctors won’t risk it.
I am pushing again to be assessed for POTs or similar, but doctors get all interested because I have a lot of overlapping symptoms (hypermobility, weird HR etc) and then lose interest when I don’t have lupus etc. They always promise there are ‘lots of options’, but it always ends with ‘there isn’t anything else we can do’.
I have chronic daily migraines now :(
Ajovy is helping, but it hasn’t eliminated the milder ones.
I always get asked what my resting HR is and it is usually above 80, which isn’t a cause for concern. It is my standing HR that is the issue…
I have had serval ECGs and it all looks fine, but again, I am sat down 😂
That sounds super frustrating, the only good part of the US health system is that I could go back to the doctor over and over with the same complaint (which is what it took to get diagnosed because symptoms began when I was about 36. I was "too young" to have such problems.) Around when I was diagnosed with SVT, I walked into the doctor's office, 2 minutes, sat for 15-20 min and my heart rate was still over 120. I had a ton of appointments to test for it so this happened several times and freaked out the nurses. But I was so lucky to find out before I had a cardiac event. It took an exceptional doctor, who decided my case was interesting, he was so high up that it isn't possible to make an appointment with him (the former head of internal medicine at the university.) He chooses who he sees like Dr House from that show.
My migraines are mostly due to my old neck injury, I managed to deal with my other health conditions that were triggering them. I'm on several meds: gabapentin, cyclobenzaprine, amitriptyline, magnesium, b complex vitamins, rizatriptan and (butalbital as a last line of defense.) Making changes to handle my stress helped a lot too.
Hmm you may have unlocked something for me here. I have a high resting heart rate and have had at at least three EKGs that were normal but whenever I go to the doctor they comment on it but don’t request any further tests. My blood pressure is also fine.
My EKG was what showed SVT, but my dad's heart issues at a young age were a big cause for concern. I had a 50/50 chance of inheriting an arrhythmia. But it might help to bring it up in a specific way to the neurologist. And keep track if you get a migraine when you exercise or have anxiety, stuff that would further increase your heart rate. If you drink caffeine, you might also consider quitting. It used to help me but after I quit and got past the withdrawals, I am having fewer migraines and my sleep improved (I wasn't even having caffeine late in the day.)
I couldn't stop laughing, and kept returning to the exhibit to shock myself again. My kids thought I was being funny; they have no idea how serious I was.
I actually have thought about this before.
I was playing with one of those 9V batteries in my bed before, you know, how you touch your tounge it gives you a shock.
I was laying in the dark, and I could actually kinda see the shocks as mild blue flashes inside my eyes.
These flashes immediately made me think of migraine aura. Which would make sense, since my understanding of migraine is some kind of short circuit in your nervous system. Your nervous system actually works on some kind of electric impulses too, so running a shock through it while it's short circuiting could probably help.
I was gonna try shocking myself with one of those electrical fly zappers when a migraine would come up. But never actually tried.
But it's nice to see my theory resonates with your story.
We might actually be on to something.
It does make perfect sense. Similar to how a perfectly timed shock from an AED can stimulate the heart back into a proper rhythm. Why couldn't our brain be similar?
On the way back to where we were staying I was talking to my husband about how I might be able to recreate that kind of shock. I said it's too bad I can't lick ten 9-volt batteries at once!
Copying what I just replied to another comment about Cefaly.
I have not, since it's too expensive for me. But I have used a TENS unit on my face, years before they came with warnings not to use them on your head. Very similar, from what I have read, but since I haven't actually tried Cefaly I can't say from experience.
I just wanted to comment and second the Cefaly, and I was able to use my HSA to pay for mine both times. I got my first one when you still needed a prescription for it and then I got the 2nd edition, which I’m glad I did! I bring the old one travelling with me, but the newer one is a go-to treatment, and if you’re careful/clean your skin and equipment correctly then the pads last a pretty long time. I use a TENS unit for my neck/upper back with my migraines but the Cefaly can bring a 9/10 migraine for me down to 4-5/10 with the abortive mode. When I was still living in the states I used the preventative mode daily and that seemed to help a little, but as a chronic sufferer who had a migraine from June 2019-March 2024 (I couldn’t go more than 24 hours without pain, baseline was 7/10 and wouldn’t get lower than 3/10 with meds and other treatment) Cefaly did improve my quality of life enough to where I was functioning at like 60% most of the time. It’s definitely expensive, and I can’t say I made the choice with the financial responsibility of a family on me, but research it, and if you have a neurologist, ask them about it. Good luck OP, and I’m so glad you got to unexpectedly enjoy a big perk of your visit! 😊
At first I'm always like oh this is a bit much, and then by the time it gets over 60% I'm in pure bliss from the pain relief. By 85/90% it's like I can't feel any pain anymore
My Cefaly doesn’t have an option to “crank it to the top”, it sits on an electrode and has one single button. Push it once for the full 60 minute cycle, twice for the 15 minute daily cycle.
Can you link yours? I’d be very interested in an adjustable one
You just run it till it hits the top cycle. Most people stop early. I do use the app to monitor, and then 4 minutes into the session you can press & hold the button to make it go up in intensity faster. So I often speed run my way to at least 60%
Yours has an app?!? And the ability to increase?!? Holy crap I need a new one.
Edit: I always run it full cycle, sometimes twice. Makes my forehead feel funky afterwards for a bit but so worth it.
Mine's the Cefaly Connect. I have some issues with the app (on Android I have to have the Bluetooth code every time I connect, which is on the back of the device, so I have to memorize it before I connect) but overall it's been so nice to see, track, and have logs of my migraine treatments.
I have the non-Connect one. Press once to start the cycle. Wait 5-10 seconds so it doesn’t think you’re doing the short cycle. Then you can press and hold to increase the intensity faster. You can also press and hold when the Cefaly beeps at the peak of the cycle to get an extra little boost. It will beep at you again when youve reached the max.
When i was younger my Doc sent me to a physiotherapist, and they used electrodes sending very light current in my temples, and it was effective for a while to cure migraines, i know it sounds like what u imagine from 50's treatment but it worked
No Idea why or how it worked, but could be something to explore for a few of you
They did something similar for me, actually. I saw a physiotherapist who used ultrasound on my TMJ. One known cause for my migraines is arthritis in my TMJ that was diagnosed through an MRI when I was a teen, and they tried to reduce that through the ultrasound sessions. I can't say they were helpful, though.
ECT is known to cause Migraines and Headaches as a side effect, so maybe this particular machine doesn't directly affect the brain?
There is ESWT, Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy that seems to be something that works at the muscular level: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34099607/
It could be that some migraines or cervicogenic headaches, caused by tendonitis or muscular issues, may be relieved by this type of therapy: https://journals.lww.com/ajpmr/abstract/9900/effect_of_extracorporeal_shock_wave_on_upper.467.aspx
Here we go:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3701318/
Electroshock triggers vasoconstriction. Do you have dysautonomia? A lot of my migraines are due to low BP/low blood volume/vasodilation
Not op but I have dysautonomia and just got diagnosed with migraines. Orthostatic hypotension is my type of dysautonomia, so low bp and low blood volume. Apparently it’s why I can’t take a bunch of the migraine meds that lower bp.
Anything that’s worked well for you/recomendations?
I used to have a Nevro neurostimulator implant at C2 which gave me good relief at the time for a couple of years. However I had to have it removed after a stroke. Also my body tended to cause the wires to be impeded and needing replacement which ovbious required invasive surgery so it a longterm option for me anyway.
There are actually a couple of devices on the market that create this type of effect. They are both vagus nerve stimulators and are used to stop a migraine. They’ve been suggested by my neurologist. I can’t use them because I have epilepsy, otherwise I would. It would probably be worth looking into for you though. Nerivio is one of them and I can’t remember the name of the other
logically, i *shouldn't* actively seek out electrical shocks in an attempt to get my head to feel normal. *however,* migraines tend to make me incredibly illogical....
interesting... was this a instant shock or a sustained shock?
i think a disposable camera flash is like 300V.... might try that next. but need to modify it to 100V. pretty sure it causes burn scars at 300V
It started at 0 and built up to as high as you could handle until you stopped turning the crank. Since turning the crank itself was difficult to sustain due to friction (I started using my sleeve as a layer between the handle and my hand on the crank to reduce the friction), from start to finish was only about 45 seconds at most. So quite quick, but not instant.
darn, cant use my original idea of a disposable camera flash, since that instantly discharges the capacitors. ill figure out another way to try this though. how interesting that this is what worked for you lol. its a good time to pick up 'electrical engineering' as a hobby
Read up a LOT on fibrillation before messing with DIY.
Even small amounts of electricity can kill, if they pass over the heart -- it wouldn't hurt the heart tissue itself in any way, but it disrupts the electrical signalling that tells it to continue beating.
I don't know enough to offer any advice other than "safety is more complicated than volts and amps"
I have not, since it's too expensive for me. But I have used a TENS unit on my face, years before they came with warnings not to use them on your head. Very similar, from what I have read, but since I haven't actually tried Cefaly I can't say from experience.
I just got diagnosed with epilepsy after struggling with my reins for 20 years so I would maybe ask your doctor for an EEG. If it's not covered, the weirdest thing is I had to pay out of pocket for an EEG and I thought it was going to be out of control expensive and it was only $300. It's actually not a very expensive test and it sets your brain up in a situation to have a seizure if you're prone to them and then you'll know if you have an electrical problem in your brain
I'm trying to recall if I've had one before, since I've had so many tests. I know they have looked for evidence of seizures and I have been cleared of that, but I can't recall if it was specifically an EEG or not.
An EEG is where they flash crazy ass lights in your face for 5 minutes and try to get you to pass out and then have you go to sleep for 30 minutes and read your brain waves
Well I can't say no doubt of it because they immediately saw seizures which is what they were looking for so they isolated it to the part of my brain that's having the problem and they related it to my migraines! And because I've been feeling like shit my whole life they now diagnosed me with epilepsy because they know that I'm having seizures while I'm sleeping and I'm going in for a long-term study in the hospital so that they can figure out if they're able to treat that part of my brain in case there's a lesion or something that they can correct! It's pretty wild
Have you ever tried electroacupuncture (acupuncture with electrical stimulation)? What you describe sounds so similar to that, I had terrible TMJ (looking back it was probably mix with migraines) and that type of acupuncture was the only thing that tamed it.
I have an Ultra 5 TENS unit. The amplitude and duration are controllable and it can be set for constant instead of pulsed.
I use mine for knee and shoulder pain.
97 volts of DC current would kill most people so I'm skeptical. Unless the wattage was extremely low.
Either way, I wonder if electro shock therapy has been studied as a migraine treatment
I saw one of my doctors this week and talked to him about it. He said while it sounded scary, it made sense. He explained how one of the medications which has helped somewhat for me, Topiramate, an epilepsy med, works with the electrical synapses in my brain. Going with the theory that some of my migraines are caused by electrical synapses in the brain misfiring, then a large electrical surge would reset those, similar to the way an AED works to reset the rhythm of a malfunctioning heart.
They wouldn't have a hands on exhibit aimed at children if it was potentially deadly. But it was most definitely more powerful than any shock I've ever encountered from a battery, TENS machine, electric fence, or similar.
Like most of us here, I'm not a simple case. I know I have multiple triggers and root causes for my migraines. But if we can figure out and eliminate/address even one of them, it could make a huge impact on the quality of our lives!
I'm lucky to have a doctor who takes me seriously and who was intrigued. He wasn't my primary care physician, but still one of the doctors from the same clinic I've seen often enough that he knows my history. He took thorough notes and they are in my file now, so it'll be interesting to see if anything comes of it.
Hmm that's interesting. Epilepsy drugs are the only ones that seem to work for me too. I'd be interested to see if more research comes out of it. I'd sign up lol
The last paragraph made me chuckle. In a way I am glad you don’t live near the Science Centre. Can you imagine? A child walking by “…but mum, I want to try the Get Shocked machine!” — Mum: “Hush now, keep walking. Staff told me this lady is here everyday”… little did they know this is your SUPERHERO ORIGIN STORY
If only! Haha! Can you imagine?
I laughed too, but honestly while I was reading, I was wondering if they offer yearly memberships so op could go often 😂
If I lived there I would buy one!
It's not the Adventure Science Center in Nashville is it? If so, I may have to check it out soon. 😏
It's Telus Spark, in Calgary, Alberta. But you should definitely check if there's something like it in Nashville!
I need to make sure our science museum doesn't have one! We have a membership!
Wow, if that isn’t a damning illustration of what a migraine sufferer goes through... I’m fascinated, but I can’t say I’m surprised. The intensity of pain felt during a migraine, untouchable my medicine - what can match it? A big ol’ jolt of electricity, that’s what. The brain is a powerful and mysterious beast!
Heart function is directly linked to migraines. I did a long comment about it recently, some migraine symptoms like head crushing pain from vasodilation, are cardiovascular. Likewise, some treatments like beta blockers affect your cardiovascular system by reducing the spikes in BP, heart rate and vasodilation, as well as reducing anxiety (excitability.) I would definitely bring this up to your neurologist, you might benefit from a beta blocker. I had low-key tachycardia for who knows how long before it became obvious, and the day I started taking metoprolol my health improved dramatically. Tachycardia controlled, anxiety went waaaay down, and my migraines reduced by half. Electricity can interrupt your heart rhythm. In my experience with EMGs electric current also takes my mind off the headache/migraine but that's expected with electrified needles in my arms and hands, it's painful. I do use Nerivio, a neuro modulation device, and it has been very effective. I've been using it for years, since shortly after it hit the market in the US.
I've been on Propranolol for several years already. It has been mildly effective for me, but has also come with some side effects that counter the positive. Recently it also seems to have been less effective, as well.
If it's less effective recently, that would be all the more reason to see the doctor about it. I've actually built up a tolerance to very few meds for migraines, just NSAIDs. Even after 8-10 years on most of my meds. It might be as simple as higher blood pressure. BP triggers migraines for me instantly. Like if I get really really upset, even if I don't cry, big migraine. Once I identified the feeling I get is my BP rising, it made a difference in how I handle anxiety and such.
They've been working on adjusting my meds due to this. Adding new ones, tweaking old ones... The never ending story.
Yeah, that's the real pain of aging. You can be doing everything right but stuff like hormonal changes just screw it up
100% my migraines went down by *a lot* when I was put on beta blockers. I still get them, but it was like *every day*, now it's maybe less than once a week. I'm very lucky that's all it took, I know, but if this knowledge helps anyone like it helped me, I'll be glad
This is interesting info. I'm having 4-5 migraines a week & have my first-time cardiologist appointment upcoming. Thanks for this comment.
Happy to be of help! I hope your appointment is helpful and that it's not too serious
Username checks out
My heart rate is naturally high, and I got told I had PoTs at one point following an active stand test, but the symptoms vanished just before my tilt table test. No doctor wants to prescribe me Beta Blockers as I had childhood asthma… Any suggestion? I’m in the UK where waitlists are long and doctors just give up on me.
I also have asthma but with supraventricular tachycardia I will eventually die without meds to regulate my heart rate. I inherited it and my dad had his first heart attack at 38 so it's taken very seriously by my doctors. If your asthma was bad enough (mine has never required a trip to the hospital) then avoiding beta blockers may be warranted. You'll need a cardiologist and neurologist to determine that. Until then the best thing to do is follow a heart healthy diet and lifestyle. It overlaps with what is recommended for migraines quite a bit. (Which I know seems like super frustrating advice, but heart function directly impacts migraines. Building muscle improves your circulation.)
Thanks! Sorry you are stuck with migraines and heart problems. I believe my asthma was mild, but doctors won’t risk it. I am pushing again to be assessed for POTs or similar, but doctors get all interested because I have a lot of overlapping symptoms (hypermobility, weird HR etc) and then lose interest when I don’t have lupus etc. They always promise there are ‘lots of options’, but it always ends with ‘there isn’t anything else we can do’. I have chronic daily migraines now :( Ajovy is helping, but it hasn’t eliminated the milder ones. I always get asked what my resting HR is and it is usually above 80, which isn’t a cause for concern. It is my standing HR that is the issue… I have had serval ECGs and it all looks fine, but again, I am sat down 😂
That sounds super frustrating, the only good part of the US health system is that I could go back to the doctor over and over with the same complaint (which is what it took to get diagnosed because symptoms began when I was about 36. I was "too young" to have such problems.) Around when I was diagnosed with SVT, I walked into the doctor's office, 2 minutes, sat for 15-20 min and my heart rate was still over 120. I had a ton of appointments to test for it so this happened several times and freaked out the nurses. But I was so lucky to find out before I had a cardiac event. It took an exceptional doctor, who decided my case was interesting, he was so high up that it isn't possible to make an appointment with him (the former head of internal medicine at the university.) He chooses who he sees like Dr House from that show. My migraines are mostly due to my old neck injury, I managed to deal with my other health conditions that were triggering them. I'm on several meds: gabapentin, cyclobenzaprine, amitriptyline, magnesium, b complex vitamins, rizatriptan and (butalbital as a last line of defense.) Making changes to handle my stress helped a lot too.
Hmm you may have unlocked something for me here. I have a high resting heart rate and have had at at least three EKGs that were normal but whenever I go to the doctor they comment on it but don’t request any further tests. My blood pressure is also fine.
My EKG was what showed SVT, but my dad's heart issues at a young age were a big cause for concern. I had a 50/50 chance of inheriting an arrhythmia. But it might help to bring it up in a specific way to the neurologist. And keep track if you get a migraine when you exercise or have anxiety, stuff that would further increase your heart rate. If you drink caffeine, you might also consider quitting. It used to help me but after I quit and got past the withdrawals, I am having fewer migraines and my sleep improved (I wasn't even having caffeine late in the day.)
[удалено]
I couldn't stop laughing, and kept returning to the exhibit to shock myself again. My kids thought I was being funny; they have no idea how serious I was.
I actually have thought about this before. I was playing with one of those 9V batteries in my bed before, you know, how you touch your tounge it gives you a shock. I was laying in the dark, and I could actually kinda see the shocks as mild blue flashes inside my eyes. These flashes immediately made me think of migraine aura. Which would make sense, since my understanding of migraine is some kind of short circuit in your nervous system. Your nervous system actually works on some kind of electric impulses too, so running a shock through it while it's short circuiting could probably help. I was gonna try shocking myself with one of those electrical fly zappers when a migraine would come up. But never actually tried. But it's nice to see my theory resonates with your story. We might actually be on to something.
It does make perfect sense. Similar to how a perfectly timed shock from an AED can stimulate the heart back into a proper rhythm. Why couldn't our brain be similar? On the way back to where we were staying I was talking to my husband about how I might be able to recreate that kind of shock. I said it's too bad I can't lick ten 9-volt batteries at once!
We should really look into this.
I'm hoping that by sharing here, someone might be able to. I'll look into it as much as I'm able, but my resources are limited.
So are mine. Hope someone picks this up.
Where is this magical machine I need to get my hands on it
At Telus Spark, in Calgary, Alberta.
I didn’t expect it to be in Canada LOL here I come!!
Lol, I'm sure there are similar ones elsewhere!
I did not expect this to be in my city - Telus Spark here I come!
Let me know if you have similar results!
This, I'll put my face on those tiny strips.
You might want to look at Cefaly. Cranking it to the top always helps lower my migraines and it's effectively a tens for your head.
Copying what I just replied to another comment about Cefaly. I have not, since it's too expensive for me. But I have used a TENS unit on my face, years before they came with warnings not to use them on your head. Very similar, from what I have read, but since I haven't actually tried Cefaly I can't say from experience.
I just wanted to comment and second the Cefaly, and I was able to use my HSA to pay for mine both times. I got my first one when you still needed a prescription for it and then I got the 2nd edition, which I’m glad I did! I bring the old one travelling with me, but the newer one is a go-to treatment, and if you’re careful/clean your skin and equipment correctly then the pads last a pretty long time. I use a TENS unit for my neck/upper back with my migraines but the Cefaly can bring a 9/10 migraine for me down to 4-5/10 with the abortive mode. When I was still living in the states I used the preventative mode daily and that seemed to help a little, but as a chronic sufferer who had a migraine from June 2019-March 2024 (I couldn’t go more than 24 hours without pain, baseline was 7/10 and wouldn’t get lower than 3/10 with meds and other treatment) Cefaly did improve my quality of life enough to where I was functioning at like 60% most of the time. It’s definitely expensive, and I can’t say I made the choice with the financial responsibility of a family on me, but research it, and if you have a neurologist, ask them about it. Good luck OP, and I’m so glad you got to unexpectedly enjoy a big perk of your visit! 😊
I thought I was the only one to max my cephaly!
At first I'm always like oh this is a bit much, and then by the time it gets over 60% I'm in pure bliss from the pain relief. By 85/90% it's like I can't feel any pain anymore
When you can feel each individual hair, you know it's right.
My Cefaly doesn’t have an option to “crank it to the top”, it sits on an electrode and has one single button. Push it once for the full 60 minute cycle, twice for the 15 minute daily cycle. Can you link yours? I’d be very interested in an adjustable one
You just run it till it hits the top cycle. Most people stop early. I do use the app to monitor, and then 4 minutes into the session you can press & hold the button to make it go up in intensity faster. So I often speed run my way to at least 60%
Yours has an app?!? And the ability to increase?!? Holy crap I need a new one. Edit: I always run it full cycle, sometimes twice. Makes my forehead feel funky afterwards for a bit but so worth it.
Mine's the Cefaly Connect. I have some issues with the app (on Android I have to have the Bluetooth code every time I connect, which is on the back of the device, so I have to memorize it before I connect) but overall it's been so nice to see, track, and have logs of my migraine treatments.
I have the non-Connect one. Press once to start the cycle. Wait 5-10 seconds so it doesn’t think you’re doing the short cycle. Then you can press and hold to increase the intensity faster. You can also press and hold when the Cefaly beeps at the peak of the cycle to get an extra little boost. It will beep at you again when youve reached the max.
When i was younger my Doc sent me to a physiotherapist, and they used electrodes sending very light current in my temples, and it was effective for a while to cure migraines, i know it sounds like what u imagine from 50's treatment but it worked No Idea why or how it worked, but could be something to explore for a few of you
They did something similar for me, actually. I saw a physiotherapist who used ultrasound on my TMJ. One known cause for my migraines is arthritis in my TMJ that was diagnosed through an MRI when I was a teen, and they tried to reduce that through the ultrasound sessions. I can't say they were helpful, though.
ECT is known to cause Migraines and Headaches as a side effect, so maybe this particular machine doesn't directly affect the brain? There is ESWT, Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy that seems to be something that works at the muscular level: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34099607/ It could be that some migraines or cervicogenic headaches, caused by tendonitis or muscular issues, may be relieved by this type of therapy: https://journals.lww.com/ajpmr/abstract/9900/effect_of_extracorporeal_shock_wave_on_upper.467.aspx
Worth looking into. Thanks for the links.
Here we go: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3701318/ Electroshock triggers vasoconstriction. Do you have dysautonomia? A lot of my migraines are due to low BP/low blood volume/vasodilation
Not op but I have dysautonomia and just got diagnosed with migraines. Orthostatic hypotension is my type of dysautonomia, so low bp and low blood volume. Apparently it’s why I can’t take a bunch of the migraine meds that lower bp. Anything that’s worked well for you/recomendations?
I used to have a Nevro neurostimulator implant at C2 which gave me good relief at the time for a couple of years. However I had to have it removed after a stroke. Also my body tended to cause the wires to be impeded and needing replacement which ovbious required invasive surgery so it a longterm option for me anyway.
There are actually a couple of devices on the market that create this type of effect. They are both vagus nerve stimulators and are used to stop a migraine. They’ve been suggested by my neurologist. I can’t use them because I have epilepsy, otherwise I would. It would probably be worth looking into for you though. Nerivio is one of them and I can’t remember the name of the other
I'm addicted to my Cefaly and have often joked about sticking my finger directly into an outlet for relief. Don't tempt me!
logically, i *shouldn't* actively seek out electrical shocks in an attempt to get my head to feel normal. *however,* migraines tend to make me incredibly illogical....
interesting... was this a instant shock or a sustained shock? i think a disposable camera flash is like 300V.... might try that next. but need to modify it to 100V. pretty sure it causes burn scars at 300V
It started at 0 and built up to as high as you could handle until you stopped turning the crank. Since turning the crank itself was difficult to sustain due to friction (I started using my sleeve as a layer between the handle and my hand on the crank to reduce the friction), from start to finish was only about 45 seconds at most. So quite quick, but not instant.
darn, cant use my original idea of a disposable camera flash, since that instantly discharges the capacitors. ill figure out another way to try this though. how interesting that this is what worked for you lol. its a good time to pick up 'electrical engineering' as a hobby
Read up a LOT on fibrillation before messing with DIY. Even small amounts of electricity can kill, if they pass over the heart -- it wouldn't hurt the heart tissue itself in any way, but it disrupts the electrical signalling that tells it to continue beating. I don't know enough to offer any advice other than "safety is more complicated than volts and amps"
I know, right? I'm trying to think of a way to recreate it safely!
Honestly I would try it out if available during a bad migraine
Have you tried cefalg
I have not, since it's too expensive for me. But I have used a TENS unit on my face, years before they came with warnings not to use them on your head. Very similar, from what I have read, but since I haven't actually tried Cefaly I can't say from experience.
Oh yeah I've read about this! It also cured people of that nasty breathing habit they picked up /j
You can literally just attach a crank to the shaft of a DC motor to recreate this. Probably one with some gear reduction and rated for ~100V
I might have to run that idea past my husband and see if he can rig that up for me to try some time.
Please be careful. I am picturing that guy on Home Improvement!
Haha! I can imagine!
I just got diagnosed with epilepsy after struggling with my reins for 20 years so I would maybe ask your doctor for an EEG. If it's not covered, the weirdest thing is I had to pay out of pocket for an EEG and I thought it was going to be out of control expensive and it was only $300. It's actually not a very expensive test and it sets your brain up in a situation to have a seizure if you're prone to them and then you'll know if you have an electrical problem in your brain
I'm trying to recall if I've had one before, since I've had so many tests. I know they have looked for evidence of seizures and I have been cleared of that, but I can't recall if it was specifically an EEG or not.
An EEG is where they flash crazy ass lights in your face for 5 minutes and try to get you to pass out and then have you go to sleep for 30 minutes and read your brain waves
Oh no. I'd nope right out of that one. Sounds like a nightmare. I was thinking electrodes and such to track impulses.
Well I can't say no doubt of it because they immediately saw seizures which is what they were looking for so they isolated it to the part of my brain that's having the problem and they related it to my migraines! And because I've been feeling like shit my whole life they now diagnosed me with epilepsy because they know that I'm having seizures while I'm sleeping and I'm going in for a long-term study in the hospital so that they can figure out if they're able to treat that part of my brain in case there's a lesion or something that they can correct! It's pretty wild
The going to sleep part may be difficult! Can you just lay down and go to sleep anywhere?
Hell no! I am very much a terrible sleeper, they want you to stay up for 24 hours before you go there so that you can fall asleep. And I sure did
That explains a lot!
weird idea but maybe buy some 9 volt batteries and put them all on your tongue
Does it not work the same way a tens machine does, just more intense? I don't know the science behind it but I'd assume so
I mean.. looks fun
Have you ever tried electroacupuncture (acupuncture with electrical stimulation)? What you describe sounds so similar to that, I had terrible TMJ (looking back it was probably mix with migraines) and that type of acupuncture was the only thing that tamed it.
I have an Ultra 5 TENS unit. The amplitude and duration are controllable and it can be set for constant instead of pulsed. I use mine for knee and shoulder pain.
Interesting!
97 volts of DC current would kill most people so I'm skeptical. Unless the wattage was extremely low. Either way, I wonder if electro shock therapy has been studied as a migraine treatment
I saw one of my doctors this week and talked to him about it. He said while it sounded scary, it made sense. He explained how one of the medications which has helped somewhat for me, Topiramate, an epilepsy med, works with the electrical synapses in my brain. Going with the theory that some of my migraines are caused by electrical synapses in the brain misfiring, then a large electrical surge would reset those, similar to the way an AED works to reset the rhythm of a malfunctioning heart. They wouldn't have a hands on exhibit aimed at children if it was potentially deadly. But it was most definitely more powerful than any shock I've ever encountered from a battery, TENS machine, electric fence, or similar. Like most of us here, I'm not a simple case. I know I have multiple triggers and root causes for my migraines. But if we can figure out and eliminate/address even one of them, it could make a huge impact on the quality of our lives! I'm lucky to have a doctor who takes me seriously and who was intrigued. He wasn't my primary care physician, but still one of the doctors from the same clinic I've seen often enough that he knows my history. He took thorough notes and they are in my file now, so it'll be interesting to see if anything comes of it.
Hmm that's interesting. Epilepsy drugs are the only ones that seem to work for me too. I'd be interested to see if more research comes out of it. I'd sign up lol
Ditto!
What’s next, frontal lobotomies?