Injection therapy commonly alleviates 50-100% of the headache pain for a period of weeks to months. Some people will have a year or more of pain relief.

There is virtually no downside to repeating injections for headaches. We have found that it is usually unnecessary to include a steroid as part of the injection. We always seek to find creative ways to manage headaches without frequent injections or chronic medications, but for those who do well with injections, the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

Typically anesthetic with or without steroid is used. We believe it is more likely the injection procedure itself - the physical act of releasing nerves with fluid - that leads to relief of pain.

A bacterial toxin that paralyzes muscle fibers can be injected. It's very effective at relaxing muscles for a period of 2-3 months.

Provided this technology works for your headache, patients will usually experience 2-3 months of pain relief, which is consistent with the expected duration of action of the medication.

Migraine surgery is a procedure that involves physically decompressing the nerves believed to be generating headaches using a surgical procedure, as opposed to injection therapy. If you are interested, and a good candidate, we will refer you to Dr. David Branch, who is a plastic surgeon with expertise in migraine surgical techniques. He sees migraine surgery patients at our office, as well as his clinic in Bangor.