As someone who suffers from migraines myself, I understand how truly debilitating they can be. The intense pain, the disruption to daily life, and the frustration of trying treatment after treatment with little relief.
For many people, standard medications simply aren’t enough. That’s why I was genuinely relieved to discover an alternative option that’s now widely used to manage chronic migraines and one that doesn’t rely solely on tablets or nasal sprays.
This injectable treatment targets specific muscles in the face, scalp, and neck to help reduce both the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. It’s clinically approved by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) and has shown excellent results for many patients.
Treatment involves a series of injections across your head, neck and shoulder muscles, tailored to your individual symptoms and pattern of headaches. You need a minimum of 2 sessions to accurately assess whether your migraines are responsive to the treatment. If it is, repeated treatments are required.
If migraines are affecting your quality of life, you don’t have to suffer in silence. I’m always happy to discuss whether this approach may be suitable for you.
It is important to note that this is a basic description of migraines and what in-clinic treatments can be performed for symptomatic relief. You must always seek medical review if you think you are suffering from migraines. Please don’t self-diagnose!
Understanding Migraines
Migraines affect millions of people in the UK and worldwide, yet they’re often misunderstood or dismissed as “just a bad headache”. In reality, a migraine is a neurological condition involving recurrent attacks of moderate to severe head pain, often accompanied by:
· Nausea or vomiting
· Sensitivity to light, sound, or smells
· Visual disturbances
· Difficulty concentrating
Migraines can last anywhere from a few hours to several days, and the impact on work, social life, and overall wellbeing can be significant.
According to the NHS, migraines affect around one in five women and one in fifteen men. Migraines can be notoriously challenging to treat, but a combination of treatments and lifestyle adjustments can make an enormous difference.
Common Migraine Triggers
While many migraines have unknown or genetic causes, several well-recognised triggers can bring on an attack, including:
· Stress
· Hormonal changes
· Certain foods or drinks
· Weather and temperature changes
· Bright light or screen glare
· Lack of sleep
· Dehydration
Keeping track of your personal triggers is often key to reducing flare-ups.
Types of Migraine
Understanding the type of migraine you experience can help guide more effective treatment:
· Migraine without aura: The most common type, usually involving throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.
· Migraine with aura: Includes warning symptoms such as flashing lights, blind spots, tingling sensations or smells prior to the onset of pain.
· Silent migraine: Aura symptoms occur without the head pain.
· Chronic migraine: Headaches on 15 or more days per month, with at least eight showing migraine characteristics.
Headache vs Migraine: What’s the Difference?
A standard tension headache usually causes dull, steady pressure on both sides of the head. Migraines, on the other hand, tend to:
· Affect one side more than the other
· Cause pulsating or throbbing pain
· Last much longer
· Be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or sensory sensitivity
Recognising the difference is vital for accessing appropriate, effective treatment.
Migraine Treatment Options
A number of well-established migraine medications can help reduce the severity of attacks both in the acute phase (during an attack) or taken preventatively – when prescribed by your GP or neurologist.
How to Prevent Migraines
Alongside medical treatment, lifestyle adjustments can significantly reduce the frequency of attacks:
· Identify Your Triggers: Keep a migraine diary to try to spot patterns. Triggers vary, and even something like driving in low sun can affect some people. If you cannot find your trigger – do not despair, many of us can’t!
· Maintain a Regular Sleep Routine: Both oversleeping and too little sleep can trigger migraines.
· Stay Hydrated: Dehydration is a common and often overlooked trigger.
· Eat Regularly: Avoid skipping meals and monitor any foods or drinks that may set off symptoms.
· Manage Stress: Yoga, meditation, journalling, or breathwork can be incredibly helpful.
· Move Regularly: Gentle activities like walking or swimming can reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing.
Botulinum Toxin for Chronic Migraine
NICE includes botulinum toxin injections as a treatment recommendation for adults with chronic migraine. Clinical trials have consistently shown this treatment can reduce the frequency, duration, and severity of headaches for many migraine sufferers.
How It Works
· Treatment Cycle: Typically administered every 12 weeks.
· Injection Sites: Multiple tiny injections across seven key areas, including the forehead, temples, scalp, and neck.
· Results: A successful response is usually defined as at least a 30% reduction in headache days per month.
Considering Treatment?
If chronic migraines are limiting your daily life, work, relationships, or wellbeing, you deserve solutions that genuinely help. From personal experience, and through treating many patients, I know how transformative the right approach can be.
If you’d like to discuss injectable migraine treatment or explore whether it’s right for you, please feel free to get in touch. Email: contact@shethanaji.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7903 159640
I’m not just your aesthetic practitioner; I’m here to connect with you. If you have questions or would like to discuss any concerns, please reach out to me. Your queries and thoughts are always welcome.
