Can recommend Cefaly--update

This is my third post on the Cefaly headband/cranial electrical nerve stimulator since I started using it March 20. (See it at www.cefaly.com.) It has changed my life, and I can now say I'd recommend it to any migraine sufferer.

History: I have had migraines since my late teens. They were always really bad and required meds, total bed rest in the dark, and involved light sensitivity, vomiting, intestinal "upset," and 24 to 72 hours of misery and brain fog, but they didn't happen too often until I got older. When I reached my late 50s/early 60s, they started coming once or twice a week, or I would get one per week, but it would last three days. The triptans stopped working. March became my worst month, when I would have them every day for three solid weeks. Most days, I would have two a day; some days, I would have three. This past February, my dr wanted to start me on Topamax, a drug that scares me. Then, in the midst of a four-day migraine hell at my sister's house, my sister ordered a Cefaly online, unbeknownst to me.

I've now used the Cefaly almost every day since then, a total of 15 weeks. In those 15 weeks, I have had only two really bad migraines. (They were the first two I had after starting the Cefaly.) Then I went one week without a migraine, and when it came, it was barely there. I didn't need meds, just the Cefaly; two treatments and it lessened to the point where I could go about my life normally. I have had a total of 9 migraines since then, and they have all been like that--barely there, some aching in my head that normally would have me popping the worthless triptans and then stealing myself for the inevitable. But it doesn't happen now. I use the Cefaly instead--sometimes I might have to use it twice--but I have not yet had a migraine so bad that I required any meds since those first two.

My stats:

In the five weeks before Cefaly, I had 10 migraines (the bad ones, violent pain, vomiting, diarrhea, meds didn't work, in bed, in the dark, light-sensitive, hallucinations...you know the drill.).

In the 15 weeks since Cefaly, I've had 12 migraines, or one migraine every 8 or 9 days as opposed to 1 every 3 to 4 days. With the exception of the first two, the migraines were barely migraines at all. There is/was dull aching in the usual places; a couple of times, I had vague nausea, and once I had an aura, but after a Cefaly treatment or two, I didn't need meds, a dark room, nor did I have to go to bed at all. I didn't always feel absolutely normal--there's sometimes a little of that brain fog happening for the rest of the day and maybe some scalp soreness--but at least I don't have to be in bed, I don't have terrible pain, and I can function. And I have not vomited once. (Sorry if that is TMI, but that's a big deal for me.)

No one can guarantee that Cefaly could help everyone here, but I urge you to give it a try. (You are supposed to use it every day, migraine or not. The company says that 53 percent of those who use it find relief, but if you read the actual study, you see that many of the people who participated did not follow these instructions.)

I feel so much better, and I can't imagine going without it now. I have had to take meds only twice in 15 weeks because the pain just isn't bad enough to warrant it. This has improved my life so much, and I hope someone else here may find it helps them, too.

Note: I hope this doesn't sound too much like a paid advertisement. I am in no way affiliated with Cefaly or paid by them in any way.

Thanks for this Lorente, I've read a bit about Cefaly and it is good to get a first hand, unbiased report. Please continue to keep us updated as this may be a much better method then pharmaceuticals for a number of us.

Thanks for sharing! That is great news for you. I will definitely think more about trying it.

I've ordered my Cefaly (requires a doctor's prescription, but mine readily agreed to send one in.). I will let you all know how well it works for me.  I'm not doing too badly with all the supplements I'm taking, but there is still that stubborn 3-6 days per month hanging on....

I hope it works for you, migrainegirl. My first bit of advice would be to thoroughly read all of the instructions before using it the first time so you are familiar with the programs and how to control the intensity. I used the "relaxation" mode the first two or three times before going on to the "prevention" or "treatment modes"; the relaxation mode seems less intense to me, and it helped me know what to expect. I've also found that Cefaly works best when I use it every day, whether I have a migraine or not. Last week, for the first time since I started using it, I skipped four or five days because of some family things, travel, and house guests, and I developed migraine symptoms yesterday morning and today; not horrible, though, and the pain went away soon after using the treatment mode.

Best of luck. Please post and let us know how it works for you.

I finally received my Cefaly last Friday and have used it each day since (5 days).  When I got it, I had had a headache every day for the past week (following 3 consecutive days of air travel which always causes problems for me).  After using it the first day, I felt a definite decrease in the headache. It probably cut it in half. The same for the following 2 days, cutting it or eliminating it.  The past 2 days no headache.

It seems to work by stimulating the trigeminal nerve, which is the one that goes across your face, behind your eyeball and ends on your forehead.  So if you have the kind of headache that comes with a pain or pressure behind the eyeball and a tightening in the forehead ( which mine did), you mind find some relief.

It feels like a TENS unit, if you have ever had that before. A slight tingling and electrical stimulation. It runs on AA batteries, so it's pretty weak electricity, and it's very easy to control the intensity. You simply press the button when it gets to a level you feel is comfortable. It runs for 20 minutes and automatically shuts off.  I find it rather pleasant honestly. Like a face massage.

So far no negative side effects. I do feel sleepy afterward, so I've decided to do my daily session at night before bed time. The research shows that the number of headache days decreases each month you use it, so it's too soon to say for sure, but so far so good.

Would love to hear some more updates on Cefaly. Hopefully those using it are continuing to improve?

Crunched some more Cefaly numbers today. In the 4 weeks before I began using Cefaly, I had 15 migraines, all what I call "bad" ones, with the usual symptoms, including vomiting and having to stay in bed most of the day. That's 3 to 4 migraine days per week.

In the 22 weeks since I began using Cefaly, I have had 20 migraines, or 1 mig about every 8 days. So the number of migs has been cut by more than half, and the migs I'm having are not "bad" migraines. I have needed triptans only twice in that time, and that was for the two during the first week of use.

I use the Cefaly every day, migraine or not. When I have a migraine and use it, it might take 30 minutes to an hour before most of the pain goes away. Sometimes there is what I call residual pain--nothing serious, just enough so you know it's there--that remains for a few hours after using Cefaly, but then I'll take aspirin or some other painkiller, and that takes care of it.

The migs I do have are just nothing compared to the ones I had pre-Cefaly. I can actually function with these migraines. It is still hard for me to work on the computer or watch tv because I'm sensitive to light at these times, but I can get out of bed, have a cup of tea, talk to people, take a shower...normal stuff, but stuff I couldn't do before.

Like migrainegirl, I find it pleasant to use, very relaxing. Yes, it sounds weird and cosmic and even a bit terrifying to say you're pumping electricity into your brain every day for 20 minutes--which is how I like to describe it to my non-migraine friends, who think it's some kind of snake oil treatment--but migraine is a neurological disorder, and that means nerves/brain, and that means electricity. It's working really well for me so far, and I just hope it continues.

When I stated above that I now have 1 migraine every 8 days, I did not mean that literally. That is an average when I consider that I had 20 migs over 22 weeks. Some months, I had only 1 or 2; other months, I had a maximum of 5.

For me, the value of using Cefaly every day is that the migraines I do have are so. much. less. painful.

Thank you lorente, I am definitely going to ask my doctor about Cefaly.

I hope it works well for you, Kem10. Please let us know.