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The Secret of Wireless Migraine Relief

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Is the promise of tiny – high tech – wireless – customized migraine treatment finally coming true? A firm in Fort Lauderdale, USA, thinks that its time has come.

StimRelieveThe device, being developed by StimRelieve, is specifically designed for chronic migraine. It’s an implanted device that applies nerve stimulation (occipital or supraorbital).

This in itself isn’t unusual – there are other implanted treatments for migraine which have helped quite a few patients. But the big thing about StimRelieve’s device is that it’s small – very small.

In fact, it’s 95% smaller than anything else out there for migraine.

That means that the device can be implanted using a needle (a standard gauge needle), instead of requiring surgery. Incredible.

How is this achieved? The wireless technology is key here. The implant has a wireless power source (the current plan is that it will be worn behind the ear).

In mid December, the FDA gave StimRelieve the go ahead with a clinical trial. The trial will aim for at least a 30% reduction in migraine symptoms at the 3 month mark. Remember, this type of treatment will be especially for patients with constant migraine attacks who have not been helped by other common treatments.

Now, imagine taking the wireless factor one step further. Imagine that this device could be controlled by your smartphone, allowing you to customize your treatment exactly as you need it.

StimRelieve is just one of a family of micro stimulators that is being developed. An iOS app has already been developed for at least one of these devices.

This could be a big step forward in treatment for those with constant attacks that are not finding help.

Daith Piercing for Migraine: Resources and Updates

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Is daith piercing something that you should try as a migraine treatment? Many people are saying yes.

Back in to 2015, a post I wrote criticized articles that touted the benefits of daith piercing, even though they cited little to no evidence. As a result, a huge discussing has started about the benefits and evidence behind daith piercing.

Daith Piercing for Migraine - Resources
Photo courtesy Mreeow
So we’re going to investigate daith piercing for migraine, on an ongoing basis, with your help.

I’m starting off with some of the information shared in the comments on the original post.

  • Richard pointed us to a YouTube series about daith piercing for migraine from Tanya Welch. See those here: Daith piercing and migraines
  • Danny Buchta, who does piercings, wrote: I have done this piercing for about 50 migraine sufferers in the past two months and all but one have found total relief in the short term and that one still said her migraines have been reduced.
  • Natalie Thompson has a Facebook Group (now a closed group) called The Daith Club – for migraineurs
  • Stephen Stratton has offered to watch the situation closely: Hi guys , I’m from England and came across this thread when searching for related articles, I am a qualified nurse and have a degree in Health Studies, I am also a Body Piercer, over the past few months I have had an increasing amount of migraine sufferer’s contact me for the Daith Piercing as a possibility that it may reduce the frequency or severity of their migraines, as with many comments in this thread, when all else fails … I am now intrigued by the possibility if any casual link, research is virtually non existent and so I have decided to conduct, hopefully, a study – its very early days yet , through social media I have requested that sufferers contact me for the piercing and I will over the next two years monitor any results, if anyone has any information or suggestions that may help me form a sound study, then please get in touch – thank you – steve (migrainestudy@mail.com)
  • This from Amanda: I was a migraine sufferer, constantly having migraines everyday for months at a time. If the weather became cloudy I was hurting. I heard about this piercing and decided a $30 piercing that WAS NOT PERMANENT was well worth the trial after so many meds and hospital visit. It has now been one full month and the only way I can tell when its gonna rain is because of my ankle, not my head any longer. Yes one full month no migraines, it feels amazing to wake up with no pain, I was one willing to try anything…the piercings don’t look too bad and definitely was well worth the $30. If you are suffering and willing to try something that can be undone then by all means try this it helped me
  • Emily wrote: Hi! I wanted to write and tell you my personal experience. I get migraine headaches. I was in the emergency room once a week for headaches so debilitating I could not even speak. I got my daith pierced because $40 is less than my copay. I am about four months post piercing and have not suffered a migraine since. I do get headaches occasionally but pulling on the ring and massaging the area helps to calm it down and gets it to go away within minutes…
  • This from body art tatoos: I have been doing body piercings for over 23 years, I have recently had a increase in the daith piercing ( migraine piercing ). I have been asking customers to keep me informed on there progress, 8 out of 10 customers after one month claim they still are migraine free, several are local nurses that there doctors suggested for the to try it, and so far has worked on most, most have been women and said the pain is very little, and it is a harder piercing to take care of because that part of the ear collects dirt much more than the rest so keep it clean, we have noticed that you must Pierce the side the migraine starts on, but if your migraine starts in the back or front of the head in the center it’s best to Pierce both sides, last week I pierced both sides of one of my tattoo artist daiths for his migraine and to his surprise his migraine went away on the spot, but since then he has only had one small headache that didn’t require him to take medication , so far so good, but like I said in the being it seems to work only for about 80 percent of people who get it done, 10 percent claims of a decrease in pain and other 10 percent claims did not work for them, good luck to those who choose to try it.

This is a representative list – there were a few who said the piercing didn’t help (in one case made things worse), but in most cases the reports were positive.

Your Turn

If you have a story, positive or negative, please share it. If you are aware of any trials, or any doctors who have been reporting on patients who have had daith piercings, please share that as well.

Hydrotherapy for Migraine

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Hydrotherapy is actually a well known treatment among migraine experts. However, nailing down just what it is and how to do it can be difficult.

What is hydrotherapy? Actually, the word is used in some very different ways, so beware if you’re reading about a precise treatment which claims to be “THE” hydrotherapy.

Hydrotherapy is therapy with water. Now, most commonly in medical research, this refers to something that includes some kind of exercise. For example, someone who has trouble exercising due to an injury may find it easier to do more movement in a pool. This is also known as aquatherapy.

Hydrotherapy for MigraineBut hydrotherapy also refers to other aspects of water – cold and heat, minerals in the water, movement of the water (for example, a whirlpool). Sometimes even using a wet towel and your feet in a bowl may be called hydrotherapy.

Hydrotherapy has been studied in clinical trials, but it’s very difficult to study well because there are so many possible variations.

The basic consensus at the moment seems to be that hydrotherapy works, there’s good scientific evidence that it can help you. But we may not be able to tell you exactly what to do for your condition, especially if it’s headache or migraine.

Migraine therapy, including hydrotherapy, has often focused on heat and cold. Depending on how you use it, heat and cold may be beneficial or actually make symptoms worse – which means you may need to do some experimenting.

One study on hydrotherapy and migraine suggested warm arm and foot baths, combined with ice massage for the head, improved quality of life when combined with drug treatment (in other words, it was better than the drug treatment alone). (Here’s some helpful information on ice massage)

Many people recommend hydrotherapy with heat (for example, a warm bath) combined with massage, even if it’s self-massage.

A warm bath is often recommended. However, even a warm bath could trigger or increase symptoms for a migraine patient.

This is an excellent article about how to take a warm bath that actually helps – it has some great tips that should give you the maximum benefit, turning a bath into a migraine fighter: A Better Hot Bath

Other variations of hydrotherapy include:

  • Run cold water over the back of the head for three minutes at the first sign of headache.
  • Hot foot bath with an ice pack on the back of the neck
  • Gentle exercise in a whirlpool.

Common tips include drinking lots of water, keeping your head cool, and combining any hydrotherapy with massage, pressure point therapy, or stretching.

What types of hydrotherapy have you tried that have helped the most? Do you use hydrotherapy to ease symptoms, or have you found it a useful preventative?

More sources and resources:

Better Nerve Blocks for Migraine and Cluster Headache (videos)

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As patients have found relief from sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks, researchers have been looking for ways to make the procedure easier for the patient.

The SPG block is not a new procedure. In fact, as Dr. Alexander Mauskop points out in a recent article (Sphenopalatine ganglion block for migraine and cluster headaches), it was used over a hundred years ago.

Today the research is continuing. Although the SPG block is considered a temporary solution, there is some evidence that there may be a longer term benefit, with some patients reporting that their attacks lessen even after the initial benefit of the block wears off.

But there have been problems with the procedure. Some doctors have used long Q-tips inserted in the nose, but the procedure is uncomfortable and it’s unclear how much medication actually reaches the SPG.

Sometimes needs are also used, and anesthetics.

But new devices are being developed to make the procedure a lot easier and more effective. A device is placed in the nose, and a small spaghetti sized catheter is gently released, getting the medication directly to the SPG with a minimum of discomfort.

Here are a couple of videos to check out.. The first is an actual patient with the Tx360, and the third the Tx360 again (a longer video explaining the procedure to doctors).

Sleepwalking, Headache, and Pain

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Just how common is sleepwalking? Estimates range quite a bit, although a study in 2012 suggested that almost 30% of us walk in our sleep sometime in our lives.

Those who sleepwalk on a regular basis do tend to complain that they’re sleepy during the day. But there may be a lot more to the condition than we realize. Sleepwalking is closely related to other disorders, including depression, headache, and migraine.

Sleepwalking, Headache and Migraine
Photo courtesy Herzi Pinki

The relationship between sleepwalking and migraine is a complex one. For example, depression and migraine are also linked. Magnesium levels are linked to both migraine and sleepwalking. Changing sleep schedules are linked to both. Certain medications may affect both, such as antihistamines, mild tranquilizers and a few antipsychotics. Obstructive sleep apnea is also strongly related to both.

This spring a report on a fascinating sleepwalk study was released. The authors of the study confirmed that migraine and headache were highly associated with sleepwalking. (This doesn’t mean that most migraine patients walk in their sleep. It does mean that if you sleepwalk you are much more likely to have migraine.)

But a fascinating twist is that patients were very unlikely to experience pain while sleepwalking. In other words, banging your knee on the table while you’re sleepwalking is unlikely to even wake you up. In fact, one patient fell off his roof and broke his leg, but didn’t wake up until the morning!

There are obviously many mysteries about pain still to be solved. However, there are some key things you can do about sleepwalking, especially if you have migraine as well:

Focusing on your sleep may actually help relieve migraine and stop sleepwalking. It’s funny in fiction, but it needs to be taken seriously in real life.

For more on the recent study into sleepwalking and pain, read Sleepwalkers feel no pain, remain asleep despite suffering injuries from ScienceDaily. Also check out this Sleepwalking Overview from emedicinehealth.

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The articles on Headache and Migraine News are © 2004-2024 J. Cottrill.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of each article, and to point you to further sources of information. However, this site is for informational purposes only and should never replace a visit to your doctor.