Although we often hear about it, migraine remains a little-known and often debilitating chronic illness for people who suffer from it. It also affects three times more women than men.
A headache, more commonly called a headache, is a symptom that can be caused by a multitude of factors. Migraine is a disease that causes attacks of headache accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and sensory hypersensitivity to sounds, light, smells and movements.
This means that the migraine is debilitating for the person who suffers from it and the latter may be forced to miss work (or school for a child) for lack of adequate treatment.
About 12% of Canadians live with migraine, according to the organization Migraine Canada, and it affects all age groups.
In recent years, effective medications for migraine have become available, but they remain little known among family doctors, according to the DD Elizabeth Leroux, neurologist specializing in headache medicine.
She explains that a better understanding of the CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) — a small protein that plays many different roles in the body but is associated with migraine — has brought to market tablets and antibodies that can block this protein. “By blocking this protein, in certain people, we have very impressive results in terms of the severity of the disease,” she indicates.
Yet, even though effective treatments are available, migraine sufferers continue to not be taken seriously when they consult a doctor.
DD Leroux, who works in a Montreal clinic, says she regularly hears stories from patients who were not listened to by their family doctor. In light of the normal results from the medical imaging machine, the doctor tells the patient that there is nothing he can do for him.
This situation enrages DD Red. She herself witnessed prejudice from medical professionals when she decided to specialize in headaches. Colleagues reportedly told him: “It’s a gang of women who complain all the time, why are you going to lose your career over this?” “.
DD Leroux, who founded the organizations Migraine Québec and Migraine Canada, believes that this medical passivity comes from a lack of information, but also from stigma.
She wants us to stop saying that migraine sufferers are simply stressed or don’t drink enough water, two prejudices that still persist today, according to the neurologist.
“I think there is great progress in research, but unfortunately it is not reaching patients since our system has not really focused on migraine,” says Dr. Leroux.
She adds that there is also a stigma based on gender. “It affects women and we know that diseases that affect women are often easier to ignore or stigmatize,” she said.
She points out that some people will only have a few headache attacks per year, but for others it happens daily.
Several conditions or triggers will influence the brain of a migraine sufferer, including genetic factors. Women are more affected by migraines, particularly due to the influence of the menstrual cycle which creates hormonal variations.
DD Leroux believes that the frequency of migraines among patients and the impact of absences on the employment system in Quebec justify the establishment of a network of clinics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also classified migraine as one of the three most disabling pathologies in 2019.
“I try to give the message that migraine is a costly, disabling, unrecognized, stigmatized chronic neurological disease for women,” said D.D Leroux, who will participate on Friday, on the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day, in an event on migraines organized by the Federation of Specialist Physicians of Quebec (FMSQ) which will be broadcast on Facebook.
“Hope is research, science, education and a network of clinics in Quebec. […] But I understand that in the current health system, which is centered on emergency rooms and hospitals, it is certain that this is not the priority. […] At the moment, it’s flat, but we have great options that are not used and I would like people to stop thinking that it’s their fault,” concludes DD Red.
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