Tag: acupuncture and migraine
TaVNS and HRV: Clinical Studies El.Ma. Edition
One more chapter in the TAVNS story. We have discussed this patient before, here and here. This is a young woman, migraineur, who has had dramatic and almost complete remission of her migraines. She has had one or two “break through” headaches during her menstrual cycles, but for the most part is headache free and…
Read MoreTaVNS and HRV: Case Study Pa.Co. edition
As another chapter in the story of TAVNS (Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation) in the clinic, this patient seems to have the opposite effect from the previous patient. Obviously, there is a lot of “noise” in the system, but he seems to have lower stress levels during treatment when TaVNS is added. I have yet…
Read MoreMigraines, Neuromodulation, Acupuncture and HRV:Clinical Study El.Ma.
This is another example of a migraine patient showing marked parasympathetic increase, sympathetic decrease with TaVNS or transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation in conjunction with acupuncture. I realize that the data sets are still sparse, but interesting nonetheless. This patient had quick diminution of her migraines after starting acupuncture over 1 year ago and now…
Read MoreAcupuncture and Neuromodulation for Migraines: Clinical Case Study Ne.Be.
This data is from a patient who has been coming to the clinic for acupuncture for migraines for 3 years. His migraines are not totally gone, but he’s extremely happy with the once per month frequency he is now experiencing. He used to have migraines 3 to 4 times per week. Somehow, he was still…
Read MoreAcupuncture Better than Botox, Meds for Migraines
In this study of 108 migraineurs, Acupuncture produced better results than botox or pharmaceuticals. Their succinct conclusion “Acupuncture, botulinum toxin-A injection and pharmacological treatment have beneficial effects on chronic migraine; however, acupuncture showed more effectiveness and fewer complications.” Nice! Caspian J Intern Med. 2017 Summer;8(3):196-204. doi: 10.22088/cjim.8.3.196. Acupuncture and botulinum toxin A injection in the…
Read MoreIncreased Sympathetic Activity in Headache Patients
This article compares autonomic activity in headache patients. They make no distinction between headache and migraine. Though I’d expected as much, they found lower parasympathetic activity and higher sympathetic activity in headache patients. I do have one patient who has had remarkable results with acupuncture, but his stress levels remain quite high. Other than his case,…
Read MoreTAVNS (transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation) and HRV: Jo.Ru., La.Ja. edition
As blog readers may know, I’ve been experimenting with TAVNS in patients, not only to see how they feel with/after treatment, but also to study their HRV (stress levels) with it. As with most of my clinical work, the results are always somewhat equivocal. Since I can never tell if the result is real, ie….
Read MoreStress Monitoring (HRV), Acupuncture and Migraine: Sh.Pa. edition
This data is from a relatively new patient with migraines. She has had few migraines since starting acupuncture treatment, but it’s early yet, so hard to know for sure. This data represents overall stress levels. Parasympathetic Activity represents “rest and digest” autonomic nervous system…
Read MoreModulation of brainstem activity and connectivity by respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation in migraine patients.
This study combines two key areas I’m interested in. One is using auricular vagal stimulation, and the other is migraine. Napadow has been a colleague of mine for over 10 years and he does brilliant work. He’s an expert in brain imaging and fMRI. Frankly, I’ve hesitated to use ear stim in migraine patients because…
Read MoreMelatonin and Migraine
I recommend Melatonin and Magnesium as safe options for migraine prevention. This article looks at one possible mechanism for melatonin’s effectiveness in menstrual migraine. The dosage of melatonin needs to be adjusted since too much (even above 3 mg in many people) can lead to paradoxical wakefulness or morning drowsiness. As much as 1/2 mg…
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