Cefaly
Has anyone actually tried the Cefaly headband treatment? My daughter received a RX but we haven't purchased due to expense. We have exhausted every drug option. Cefaly is made and sold from Canada. It is FDA approved but not covered under our insurance.
I'm hearing mixed results. Check the comments on these posts for other patients' experiences with it: https://migraine.com/?s=cefaly&submit=s. It doesn't seem resoundingly effective for most who try it, but it is life-changing for some people.
I've had mine for just a few days. I have chronic migraines made worse by my over dependence on Imitrex. One reason I was willing to make the investment was the hope that it could help me break my medication habit.
First impressions are good. My first treatment was in the evening prior to bed. I had migraine onset at the time, typical of most evenings for me. It did not stop the migraine but I did feel better and had a great nights sleep until about 4 am when I awoke to a full migraine. Took my Imitrex.
Second treatment was much the same, the feeling after is great, at least for me. I still got a migraine and took my meds. Had another really great nights sleep. That is NOT typical for me.
Day three. Great day. head is 100% pain free, something I never say. Just had my treatment which can be painful in itself but it's bearable. Going to bed shortly and hope to have another deep sleep. No Imitrex today.
If you are very sensitive to pain Cefaly may not be for you. I think you have to be consistent in using the device or it may not do you any good. When you are pain free it can be difficult to put this on knowing that it will cause you to have 20 minutes of pain.
UPDATE: I've had two additional days of treatment. No migraines, no drug use. I'm sleeping very well and only have the aches and pains you might expect in a 60 year old man.
Yesterday was a prime migraine day. All day was high anxiety as I had to deal with my mother's estate (she passed away last month) and my rather unhinged brother. On days like this I am guaranteed a whopper migraine. I had a mild pre-migraine, pressure in the right temple, right sinus congestion, right eye pain. I went to dinner and had a martini which also tends to contribute to onset of a migraine.
After returning home I had my treatment, went to bed with no pain and slept very well. Feel fine this morning. I'm very encouraged.
UPDATE 2: Well it's been just over a week and all has been good. It had to happen and yesterday was the day. I awoke to hot Santa Ana winds, the worst for me. This was accompanied by a migraine, mild by most standards perhaps a 3.5 on a 10 scale. There was a time when this would have been nothing and I would simply ignore it. I lost that ability when I found Imitrex and I now have zero tolerance to head pain.
By noon I did the Cefaly treatment and it offered some relief and I fell fast asleep. Good for me not so good for work. The migraine returned in a few hours so I folded and took an Imitrex. Migraine was gone in about ten minutes. That evening I took my usual Cefaly treatment and went to bed. I feel great this morning.
So in just over a week I have taken 1 Imitrex and had 1 migraine, way down from my daily Imitrex and daily migraine. Overall I feel more alert, more rested. I don't have that post Imitrex zombie effect that was driving me nuts.
Only side effect from the Cefaly is I do get redness and have in fact bled on two occasions in the area where the electrode is applied. This might be related to the very intense laser face lift I had about six months ago. Vanity.
As soon as the FDA approved Cefaly in the US, I got a prescription from my doctor. Unfortunately insurance won't cover it yet, but I am eager to try it so I decided to pay out of pocket and order online. Several websites said they weren't taking orders due to a backlog since the FDA approval. I finally found www.roxon.ca, where I ordered the device and a 3-pack of electrodes for $419.97 CANADIAN, which equated to $384.85 AMERICAN (that included $20 for shipping). I ordered online 3/25 and the website said it would be 14 to 21 BUSINESS days before it would ship. I have called the toll free number twice and been assured that I should receive it around the first week of May, if not sooner. Roxon in Canada (www.roxon.ca) does NOT require a prescription even if shipping to the US, but they clarified that Roxon in the US (www.roxon.us) DOES require a prescription, which I find odd. In the meantime, I have received Facebook postings from Cefaly.com, stating that the device cannot be ordered without a prescription. The Roxon customer service rep in Canada said they are NOT affiliated with Roxon in the US, which I also find odd. I've read a couple of posts here stating that the devices being shipped from Canada are being held up in US Customs, so I'm very anxious to see what happens with mine. Hopefully it will ship late next week. I'll keep you posted...
What a horror story. I wrote to Celafy in Belgium to see if I could get better information then what they had posted to the US and Canada web sites. With a little nagging they told me the exact day the device would become available from the US website. In the mean time I got my prescription which I sent in prior to my order and I requested they pre-process it so it would be cleared as soon as my order was placed. I ordered on a Wednesday from the US web site and I received the device the following Tuesday from Belgium. Not bad, Belgium to California in under a week and it had to get through three different custom offices on the way.
I paid $374.00 US for the device which included one electrode and I ordered two additional packs of three. Shipping included.
