New in the USA: American Headache and Migraine Association
Many migraineurs in the USA have expressed the desire to have a patient operated organization focusing on headache and migraine. Well – good news! The dream is becoming a reality!
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The American Headache and Migraine Association (AHMA) has been created with the help of the American Headache Society (AHS) as a result of a vote on June 21st. The new organization will have a 10 member board, with 5 patients and 5 AHS members. Long time migraineur advocate and health writer Teri Robert will chair the board, and Dr. Paul Winner, chair of the ACHE (the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education), will co-chair. It will be a part of ACHE.
This organization is all about patients connecting. More information will be coming soon, but in the meantime we know that a website is going to be up soon, and that you’ll be able to join at a very modest fee ($15 per year), and that the first conference is already planned!
That’s right – write it in red on your calendar (or perhaps a more migraineur-friendly color) – November the 17th 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona! This is actually at the end of the AHS Scottsdale Symposium, which means some of the country’s top specialists will be available to interact with – you!
Stay tuned for more information! Meanwhile, learn more about the not-so-secret origins of AHMA in this article from Teri Robert.
31 July 2012 @ 6:27 pm
Hi James, I got my first Migraine late 2010. my doctors are finding it really hard to give me long term relief. At the moment to cut a long story short, I am having DHE treatment as an in-patient. I use to go to an infusion center but I was asked to leave because my treatment was taking to long, over the past year my body will only take the DHE treatment over several hours this is going to sound mad but this is how they infuse this medication. First I have Kytril over 2 hrs, then Phenagan over 5 hrs and the DHE over 3 hrs for a maximium of 8 treatments, was 6 but the last two times I have needed the 8. I get about 2 weeks of 5/10 pain after having this, then I have to go in for more. Have you heard of this way of treting someone before, oh by the way the symptoms I get from the DHE is nausea really bad, and my skin feels like it is sun burnt and you can see my skin react if it is given to quickly, the way we have it I get minor reactions now. I have the DHE every 4 weeks or less, I have also tried Botox and it has been about 6 weeks now since the first 31 injections with 155 units used and it has made no difference at all to my headaches. Can you think of anything or combination that might help, thanks Liz.
7 November 2012 @ 1:04 pm
Liz, I would recommend that you stick it out with trying the Botox injections. Try it for at least four rounds, that’s having the injections every 3 months for a year. It took that long for me to see a significant change in my migraines. I’m into my 3rd year of Botox treatments. I receive two full vials for a total of a roughly 50 injections all of my head, neck and shoulders. I am diligent in keeping migraine diaries for my doctor. I document how long each migraine last, the pain intensity level, what area of my head is most affected, how much medication I had to take, and whether or not I was able to function with my daily activities. Adjustments to injection sites are made accordingly. I have suffered with chronic, disabling migraines for 32 years and Botox has given me the most relief. It does not get rid of all of the migraines, however it does decrease the intensity level. And, also remember to be diligent in avoiding your migraine triggers!