Living with migraines: what to ask before you try the next thing
There’s a list somewhere — a note on your phone, a page in a folder, or just the one you carry in your head — of everything you’ve already tried. Some of it was your doctor’s idea, some of it was a friend’s, and some of it you found late at night. People come to us about migraines after they’ve tried a lot of other things, and they usually bring that list. This piece is about the next line on it, whatever that turns out to be.
First, the headache that can’t wait
Before any list: a sudden, severe headache — or the worst headache of your life — is a medical emergency. Call 911 or get to an emergency room now. The same goes for a headache with anything new alongside it: confusion, trouble seeing or speaking, weakness or numbness, a stiff neck with a fever. And a headache that has changed from your usual pattern belongs with your doctor before it belongs anywhere else. Nothing here comes before that.
Everything below is for the long haul — migraines a doctor already knows about, that have been part of your life for a while.
Why the next thing deserves harder questions
After years of good-faith attempts, the next option tends to arrive with hope already attached. That’s human, and it’s also how people end up paying for things that were never going to tell them the truth. Hope is a poor filter. A few plain questions are a better one.
None of what follows is meant to talk you out of anything. It’s meant to make the next thing on the list earn its place, and to give you a way of telling the difference between someone who’s being straight with you and someone who’s selling.
Five questions to put to anyone new
Does it ask you to change your medical care? The answer you want is no. Anything new should sit alongside your doctor or neurologist, not in place of them — and it should never come with advice about your medication. That conversation belongs with whoever prescribed it.
Will it tell you what it’ll do for your migraines? Be wary of a confident yes. Nobody who has just met you, and who isn’t your doctor, is in a position to predict what happens to yours. A promise there tells you something about the person making it.
The most useful thing a new provider can say about your migraines is what they won’t claim.
Does it say plainly what it isn’t? Honest providers put their limits where you can read them before you pay, not in the small print after.
What does it ask of you? Some approaches need daily practice, strict routines or effort you won’t always have to spare. Know what you’re signing up to keep up with, and whether you could keep it up on your worst weeks.
Will they tell you if it isn’t a fit? Ask before you book. Then notice whether the answer comes before the payment or after it.
Keep the list, and bring it with you
The list is worth keeping, and worth taking seriously. Bring it to your doctor, and bring it to anyone new. It shows the person across the table what you’ve already lived through, and it keeps the conversation on you rather than on whatever they happen to offer.
If the headaches date to a head injury
For many of the people who call us about migraines, the story starts with a concussion — medically handled, and headaches that arrived with it and stayed. If that’s you, read our concussion page first. Post-concussion symptoms are the territory we know best, and that page describes it properly.
How we’d answer those five
Your medical care continues exactly as it is. We’re glad to coordinate with providers you already trust, and we never advise on medication. We won’t tell you what LENS would do for your migraines — not to be cagey, but because we don’t predict outcomes. Our limits are at the foot of this page and at the top of our migraines page, in plain words.
As for what it asks of you: small sensors on the scalp, a brief, very low-energy feedback signal, and nothing to perform or practice between visits. Most people feel nothing at all. Regular sessions run about 30 minutes in a comfortable chair, and every visit opens with a check-in on how things are actually going. And if we don’t think LENS is right for you, we’ll say so on the phone, before you book or pay for anything.
Where to read more.
LENS is a wellness service. It works alongside — never in place of — your doctor, therapist, or school supports.
Bring the list to the call. We’ll answer the five questions straight.
We don’t treat migraines and won’t predict what LENS would do for yours — but we’ll listen, answer honestly, and say plainly if it isn’t the right fit, before you book anything.
If we don’t think LENS is right for you, we’ll tell you on the phone — before you ever book or pay for anything.
The call is free · No referral needed · HSA & FSA accepted