Migraine and headache research - off to DC!
Not a single medication has ever been developed specifically for
Migraine and headache prevention. Not one, yet we have seven triptans (acute medications used to abort Migraine attacks).
For quite some time, I didn't understand how or why that would be. Some people theorized that the pharmaceutical companies could "cure" Migraine disease, if they wanted to, but were making enough profit on medications such as triptans that they didn't want to produce the "cure." Although I can understand that line of thinking, that's not the case.
In a nutshell, I found that we owe our lack of effective treatments to lack of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding for Migraine disease and headache. Most disease research is funded by the NIH. Once that research is available, the pharmaceutical companies have a basis from which to develop treatments. That's why some people say that one medication and six "me-toos" - the triptans - have been developed for Migraine instead of multiple more unique medications.
Take a look at this excerpt from an editorial published in Headache: the Journal of Head and Face Pain:
"Abundant evidence shows that the seminal studies that lead to innovative pharmaceuticals are most often performed in publicly-funded research laboratories, not those of the pharmaceutical industry. Federal funding of research on epilepsy has always hugely out-paced that for migraine. Over the past several years, mean annual NIH expenditures for epilepsy have been ~$101M compared to ~$13M for migraine, with a comparable disparity in funding every year since 1972 - the earliest year of available records for NIH grants.
What did the federal funding for epilepsy purchase? Fundamental research beginning in the 1970's led to the development of epilepsy animal models that enabled the screening of drugs for anti-convulsant properties. The NIH then funded and provided oversight of this program of accelerated screening of compounds developed by academia and industry. Thirty years later, patients with epilepsy have a considerably wider set of therapeutic options.
Headache medicine is also on the threshold of new insights into the pathogenesis of the primary headache disorders. Animal models relevant to drug screening are beginning to appear. What is needed now is a commitment to headache medicine from federal agencies similar to that which has been appropriately extended to epilepsy... Based on the example of the epilepsies, real benefits will likely be felt by headache patients over time in the form of improved access to specialty care and the development of novel effective therapies."(see link to the full editorial below)
Do I hear someone asking, "So, when is someone going to do something about this issue?" The answer to that question is ... Now.
Allow me to lay it out for you with answers to the questions journalists are trained to ask...
Read more in Migraine and headache sufferers - We're off to DC on your behalf!
Have you seen Michael Moore's Sicko? If you have, what did you think of it? 
The cost of prescription drugs is a major topic of conversation amongst
Migraineurs and other patients who need prescription medications. Even
for those who have insurance that covers medications, the amount paid
by the patient has increased to consume a disproportionate amount of
patient income and has left many patients with difficult medical and
financial choices to make. Part of this phenomenon is coverage limits
that affect the number of doses of triptans that are covered per month,
a number that has recently been decreasing.
If you use triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Amerge, Relpax, Axert,
Frova) and have insurance, you may very well have run into insurance
coverage limits on how many doses are covered per month. For quite some
time, the average seemed to be nine doses. Now, many insurance
companies are lowering the limits to 4-6 doses per month.
A “fighter mom” is a mother with a purpose. She is a mother (or even another family member or loved one) who has become an advocate, working to defeat a serious or even incurable disease affecting her child. Not only is she caring for a child with a demanding medical challenge but she is also raising money for research, raising awareness, and making sure everyone knows there’s a horrible disease that needs our attention. 
What is it about people who are ill or in pain that makes unscrupulous people think we're fair game for their scams and schemes? Medication prices are out of control. Many of us, even with insurance, are spending a disproportionate amount of our income on meds, and many are looking for sources of less expensive meds. 
Do you ever wonder why you seem to know more about your illness than your doctor? Are you frustrated because your doctor is unwilling to let you try a new treatment protocol? If you have one of the “controversial” illnesses like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, are you puzzled as to why some doctors still refuse to believe they exist despite piles of research proving distinctive physiological abnormalities? 
Karen Lee Richards’ career as a writer and patient advocate grew out of her determination to learn more about her own illnesses. Karen first became ill in 1989, but it would be seven more years before she finally received an accurate diagnosis. As she began to talk with other fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (aka myalgic encephalopathy) patients, Karen discovered that her experience was not unusual. At that time it was taking an average of approximately five to seven years for someone to be diagnosed with one of these illnesses. Understanding the frustration, fear and anguish patients go through during those years of not knowing what is wrong with them, Karen decided to do whatever she could to raise awareness about FM and ME/CFS. You can find Karen at 
Stacy Stone developed TMJ disorder when she was mauled by a neighbor's dog in
1992. The disorder causes her symptoms ranging from migraine headaches,
to chronic facial pain and vertigo. She has been diagnosed with post
traumatic stress disorder from the dog attack, chronic daily headaches
and migraines, malocclusion from improper orthodontics, degenerative
disc disorder in her neck, and various neuropathies.. all of which were
symptoms of a much bigger problem, TMJ disorder.
