Chronic Migraine Clinic

St Cyril's Rehabilitation Unit is pleased to announce the launch of a new Chronic Migraine Clinic. Referrals to this service are now being accepted.

Facts - Migraine is the most common neurological condition in the developed world being more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined. Despite research into the area, all the mechanisms involved in migraine are still not fully understood. In the UK eight million people suffer from migraine and it is estimated that 1-2% of people worldwide suffer from chronic migraine. People with chronic migraine experience significantly more time absent from work, than episodic migraine patients.

Migraine headaches have specific characteristics and accompanying symptoms that are not seen with normal headaches. The pain of migraine headaches can be severe and accompanied by excessive sensitivity to light, loud sounds or smells as well as nausea and vomiting.

Diagnosis - People diagnosed with chronic migraine have usually been getting headaches on 15 or more days in every month for at least 3 months, with headaches being migraine headaches at least 8 days per month.
Botox^TM - Botulinum Toxin Type A is a natural protein which is extracted from bacteria and works by blocking pain signals which will invariably lead to migraine onset. Botox injections for the treatment of migraine have shown to be an effective and safe treatment for chronic migraine.

The treatment is used as a preventative measure. This means that rather than trying to stop headaches once they have started, it aims to reduce the number of days on which patients suffer headaches therefore improving quality of life.

Botox^TM is licensed to treat chronic migraines in the UK and is now available through our clinic.

Treatment - Treatment consists of a set of injections into the muscles around your shoulder, neck and head, if your headaches are worse in one particular area of your head, further injections in the area may be given (up to 8).Treatment will be needed once every 12 weeks.

Referrals for this treatment will only be accepted from a GP or Consultant. Referral forms and details of the inclusion criteria to this service can be found on our downloads page.