Migraine resources
Sometimes when I’m really fed up with the brain fog I’ll anger-research migraines to feel like I’m being productive. And seeing as there are apparently no post about migraine resources on this website (or at least none tagged as such), I thought I would share some of the things I have found:
The migraine trust - a UK based charity that funds research into migraines. This website is a goldmine of very clearly laid out information on migraine types, treatments, research, etc. Very good for personal research, also very good for printing out and showing to doctors, highly recommend. It also has resources about how to get help and advocacy for migraines in various areas of life, and has information spesific to getting treatment through the NHS.
Migraine Canada - Very similar to the migraine trust but based in Canada. The website has a lot of similar information to the migraine trust website but is (in my opinion) slightly more difficult to navigate. It also has advice spesific to the Canadian healthcare system.
The National Headache Foundation - a US based group of doctors. The website has many articles on different types of headache, different types of migraine, differential diagnoses, migraine triggers, migraine treatments, etc. Many of the articles have versions in Spanish. They also have a page about apps for tracking migraines, and a healthcare provider directory for those in the US.
The International Classification of Headache Disorders - literally the manual on diagnostic criteria for every kind of headache, doctors are meant to have read it but many haven’t. I read through the entire thing once trying to find a diagnosis that fit me, maybe don’t do that unless you’re Really frustrated though. This webpage also has versions in Brazilian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish (under the translations tab); and has links to research on treatment for various headache types.
The diagnosis and treatment of chronic migraine - a 2015 paper detailing an evidence based outline for diagnosing and treating chronic migraines, a little technical in places but overall pretty readable, good for understanding the process of getting diagnosed and treated (or for telling doctors how you should be getting diagnosed and treated)
What are migraines? - a video by the Institute of Human Anatomy. An in depth look at the physiology of migraines and the migraine stages. It makes me feel better about the fact that my brain isn’t working. (Content warnings: an actual human brain is used for demonstration throughout the video, there are also medical cadavers visable (under cloth) in the background)
This is far from a comprehensive list I’m sure but hopefully this can be helpful to anyone looking for more information.
Feel free to add other resources if you know any (especially if you know of any in langauges other than english and/or any that are specific to healthcare systems other than the ones mentioned), but please only add resources that are evidence based and not behind a paywall! There’s a lot of migraine misinformation out there and we want to keep this as factual and accessible as possible.
New migraine resource!
The 2021 Brain Prize - This year the brain prize was awarded to 4 researchers for their work on the neurophysiological mechanisms that cause migaines. This pdf goes through our current understanding of the causes of migraines, including this new research, and how this understanding is being used to provide new treatments. It also has information on the history of migraine research, and provides biographies and autobiographies for each of the researchers who were awarded the prize (though the first two autobiographies may need a content warning for doctors being full of themselves)
























