Dr. Élizabeth Leroux, neurologist at the Brunswick Medical Center and the Polyclinique Centre-Ville de Montréal, is one of those who deplore the lack of support for migraine patients in the province.
“If you have epilepsy, there is no doubt that you will find someone who will help you. If we talk about multiple sclerosis, there are 20 clinics for 100 times fewer patients. There, we have a migraine clinic. I would like migraine sufferers to have access to care without having to beg someone or have a plug», underlines Dr. Leroux.
The doctor, also co-founder of the support and information organization Migraine Québec, would like to see at least 10 clinics created within five years to meet current needs.
“Patients do not have access to services at the moment. I hear horror stories in my office every day!”
— Dr. Élizabeth Leroux
Understanding migraine
Migraine is a chronic illness. We cannot cure it. On the other hand, the possibility of improvement of conditions and symptoms is possible.
“For someone who has frequent migraines, I never aim for zero. I aim for as much improvement as possible. It’s part of how your brain works. It can be modulated, it can be controlled and it can be managed, but I can’t take that out of your brain. The sensitivity to having a migraine remains,” explains Dr. Leroux.
Élizabeth Leroux, neurologist at the Brunswick Medical Center and the Polyclinique Centre-Ville de Montréal (Taken from the Internet)
The headache of a person suffering from a migraine can be accompanied by vomiting and sensory hypersensitivity, as much to sound, light, as to smells and movements. There may also be neck pain, jaw pain, visual loss and even cognitive impairment.
1 to 2% of the population suffers from chronic migraines, that is, approximately 15 or more attacks per month.
“Some people have 20, 25 or 30 attacks per month, this is the most severe form of migraine.”
— Dr. Élizabeth Leroux
Others do one or two per month, but according to Dr. Leroux, “it remains chronic because it lasts for decades [période de 10 ans] and we cannot cure it.”
The causes
Several hormonal pathways are involved in women. Remember that 15% of them suffer from migraine, while this percentage drops to 8% among men.
“Some women do very well when they are pregnant because they don’t have estrogen changes. They do not do very well when they are in pre-menopause and sometimes, some will be almost cured after menopause,” explains Dr. Élizabeth Leroux.
Still according to Dr. Leroux, there are several causes in the neurotransmitters that make certain people sensitive to certain triggers.
“We have to stop saying that we don’t know THE cause of migraines. There are several of them. It’s not like cancer. Migraine is a genetic problem of software, of the brain system. “It’s an anomaly that we know about in neurotransmitters,” she adds.
8% of men suffer from migraines. (Rachata Teyparsit/123rf)
She also specifies that the Source is known and that “the release of inflammatory peptide near the meninges and vessels hurts”.
After 40 years of research, a new medical discovery arrived in 2018, the blockage of CJRP.
“CJRP blockage is a small protein that we all have. But migraine sufferers have a dysfunction in this network and if we block this protein with antibodies or pills, we can treat the migraine and stop the attack.
— Dr. Élizabeth Leroux
According to research, this is the first treatment based on the cause of migraine. There have also been seven new treatments in the last six years in Canada.
Migraine at work
There is at least one person suffering from migraine in every workplace, according to Véronique Clément, general director of Migraine Québec.
To raise awareness among employers and colleagues, the Out of Office Migraine Awareness initiative is being launched this year. This involves being out of office for a minimum of four hours, the average duration of a migraine.
“It’s a message of awareness. We are at work but thousands of people cannot be there because of migraines,” explains Ms. Clément.
Awareness week for this type of headache takes place from June 3 to 7.
Workplaces can also be adapted to reduce the risk of migraines, believes Ms. Clément. For example, by favoring low lights over neon lights and a fragrance-free environment, by providing noise-cancelling headphones for sensitive people or by allowing a flexible schedule.
“There are plenty of measures that can be put in place that will make these people feel heard and supported,” says Ms. Clément.
“We need to normalize migraine because we don’t hear much about it,” concludes the latter.
