Neurologist prescribed Cefaly?
My neurologist prescribed a Cefaly a device made in Belgium. He advised that as I got chronic migraine this was the best option. Yesterday I had a strong migraine. Although I had taken a ibroprophen and paracetamol before, I used the device. It is intense almost painful but bearable. It felt like a hand massaging my brain. Weird. About 2 hours later no migraine. Not sure if it was the device or the medicine. Next time I will use just the device. Has anyone else used this device? Note: I am not promoting this product just looking to chat to others who have some experience with Cefaly.
This is my first time on this site. I tried Cefaly a few years ago. It was horrible ! It felt like someone was hammering nails into my head. My husband tried it and felt nothing. The company said I had a “reaction” to it and probably couldn’t tolerate it. I sent it back. I hope this helps you.
Oops - hit wrong button again ! You are a wealth of info. I’ve been a nurse for 50 years & am still working part time. I get crazy when dealing with incompetent medical offices and doctors that don’t help. Last visit to my internist office they were installing new software & couldn’t use computers ! Also not one functioning pulse ox working !! Someone just donated $100 million to this hospital and this was the state of this office!!!!
I’m trying to get appt with someone asap. I like to go to younger doctors that are aware of all new treatments. Again, thanks for your help. Here’s a joke that might help us all - “ What do you call person that graduated last in their medical school class ? Doctor !
PS - my name is Maureen
50 years of nursing? We are indeed lucky to have you among us! I can only imagine some of the stories you could tell and insights you must have. I bet that does make you more frustrated when you encounter practices that aren't operating at their best- as you know what it takes. And, love your joke! My mother was a nurse practitioner so, yes, I tend to always agree that nurses are where it's at! Stay in touch, Maureen! A real pleasure to meet you here. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
update. Just to clarify. Cefaly is made in Belgium. Www.Cefaly.com. I am not saying it works or does not work. Just sharing my experience. I have battled with a bad migraine over the last two days and am clear today. Cefaly did abort my migraine for about three hours then it returned. There are two programmes. 1 ABORT programme : for me it aborted for three hours. After that it retuned, but milder and disappeared the next day. Too early to be conclusive. The abort programme is very very intense. As I was already in pain I decided to max it out. It is painful but not unbearable and feels like hands are massaging inside your forehead and brain. There is a setting to stay at a lower intensity so you do not have to max it out. It depends on you. The abort lasts 60 minutes. 2 PREVENT programme: Cefaly instructions are to do this once every day. This is milder and lasts for 20 minutes. I will start prevention programme from tomorrow. All these devices are expensive. Cefaly has a 60 return policy if it does not work. According to my neurologist Cefaly is for chronic not episodic migraine. So that is my experience so far. It does not need a doctors referral. I paid €365. Patches last 20 uses and refills cost me €19 for 3. So to be clear I am not recommending this product. I am trying out Cefaly as I really don’t want to take pills. I am only sharing my experience in the hope that it helps. Thanks for the clarification. I'm curious, if you don't want to take pills, are you open to injection? Sounds like you have chronic migraine so I'm wondering if you've tried Botox: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/botox. or one of the CGRPs that can be taken by injection monthly (these are both preventative treatments): https://migraine.com/cgrp-new-direction-migraine-treatment. Perhaps these can be kept in mind or explored (If they've not been already) in case the Cefaly doesn't end up being effective for you. Of course, it is understood that the process of trying new treatments can be exhausting and you may not be interested in jumping right into another one right away. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
Thank you so much for posting on this and looking for insights on this device. Interesting to hear about your experience with it. It can be challenging to tease apart our response to new treatments when we first start on them as there can be many factors at play regarding what triggers our attacks, how long they may last, etc. When it comes to Cefaly, thankfully, we've had a lot of user feedback on this treatment option. As with every treatment option, feedback is mixed. Please take a look at the following link to learn more about the input of our community members on this topic: https://migraine.com/search?s=cefaly. I hope you will find the articles and community comments helpful. And of course, feel free to ask additional questions here or after the articles you read. We are so glad you are a part of our community. Stay in touch! Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team. Thanks for your support Holly. I went to the neurologist for a prescription to get gammaCore but he insisted on giving me Cefaly. He believes gammaCore is good for episodic and Cefaly is better for chronic migraines. Many people who use Cefaly are not chronic so unlikely to work. Over and above that efficacy is not 100% so many will not get relief. Maybe I am also one. Only time will tell. My personal expectations are that these devices only work for around 50 percent of sufferers but as they are registered effective in many countries they do work but not on everyone. I had Botox many years ago. It did not help. I could try again. I have no fear of injections. In my early life in South Africa (I live in Ireland now) I used to give myself Dihydergot injections. Ergot was used and effective many years ago for migraines. It is refined and diluted from its highly toxic form. Side effect is severe nausea as it hits the stomach, but when injected as Dihydergot is really good. They worked better than anything else ever but no doctors here will prescribe them because they have side effects over time. The other point is that in my Ireland Botox injections cost a lot. €500 to €1000 per session. You need 2-4 sessions to get a benefit. Then you need regular top ups. They are not covered by My medical insurance.
Interesting. Thanks for writing back to fill in some more details as to your journey. I myself (also chronic) tried gammacore and had some initial success before failure. I've never tried cefaly. DHE is still used in the states - especially in emergency rooms as part of a treatment cocktail including toradol, benedryl, and magnesium among other drugs. I've been given it several times and find the side effects too strong. Speaking of, toradol injectables can be prescribed at home and prove quite helpful as a rescue treatment. That might be worth exploring with your doctor. Are you working with a migraine specialist? The costs related to Botox can definitely be prohibitive which is so unfortunate. And, just as is the case with any treatment, it doesn't work for everyone. I would encourage you to explore the class of CGRP drugs with your doctor as they are fairly new and surprisingly effective for many (just how effective varies greatly on the individual). I sent you the link above to explore more about that approach. We are here for you as you navigate this process. It really can be tricky and so deeply demanding, logistically, emotionally, and otherwise. Please know we're here to provide information and support along the way. You are not alone in this. We're grateful you're a part of our community as you clearly have some well-earned wisdom to share from what sounds a long journey with migraine. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
