Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Migraine Surgery for Chronic Migraine Headaches

If you're like me, then you may be surprised to learn that not all migraines are chronic. As it happens, the people in my life who I know personally that suffer from migraines all suffer from chronic migraines. As a result, I thought that everyone who suffers from migraines was the victim of a chronic condition. This is not necessarily true. A chronic migraine condition is technically defined as one in which the patient suffers from migraine headaches 15 or more days per month. There are surgical procedures designed to remedy such a condition. There are also non-surgical treatments. Let's look at a couple of those first.

Non-Surgical Treatments

The main non-surgical procedure used to relieve the pain of migraine headaches is Botox injections. What's more, in order to maintain the relief from migraine headache pain provided by Botox injections, the injections have to be repeated on a regular basis. For chronic migraine sufferers, a more permanent surgical solution is often recommended. While Botox injections have been demonstrated to relieve the pain of migraines in many patients, typically patients who suffer from chronic migraines don't have the same positive results. Thus, surgery is often recommended.

Different Types of Surgery

Two popular types of surgery aimed to provide relief from migraines are trigger site relief and arterial surgery. Most arterial surgery is minimally invasive. The reasoning behind it is that since many migraine headaches are caused by the expansion of arteries, the surgical compression of those arteries could provide (and usually does) relief. On the other hand, the theory behind trigger site relief is that since this arterial expansion causes muscles to restrict certain nerves, which results in pain, cutting those muscles and weakening them could also provide relief. Depending on which type of migraine headaches you have, your doctor will first determine whether you are a good candidate for surgery as well as discover which particular surgery is best for you.

Where To Go From Here

One of the factors that your doctor will consider in helping him or her to determine whether or not you are a candidate for migraine headache surgery is the response you've had to prior forms of treatment. Chances are, if you are in fact suffering from chronic migraines, surgery is going to help. It's just a matter of what kind. So, if you have tried other forms of migraine relief, and they haven't helped, then we strongly recommend you have a conversation with you doctor. Most likely, once you've had the surgery, you'll discover that you are enjoying your life more, and you are a lot more productive.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6711096

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