A brief summary of the condition, it’s causes,
common symptoms and treatment pathways
and how Medical Cannabis could help.
A brief summary of the condition, it’s causes,
common symptoms, treatment plans
and how Medical Cannabis can help.
A migraine is a type of severe headache that often occurs on one side of the head, causing throbbing, pulsing pain. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light. Migraines sometimes have a preceding ‘aura’ which can include visual changes (such as dots, floaters or zigzags), dizziness or difficulty speaking.
Other severe headaches include:
It is thought that 1 in 7 people get migraines. People can get migraines at any age, but they mainly come on at puberty and peak around 35-45.
Headaches are very common, affecting 2 in 5 adults. There are many different triggers for headaches, including stress, anxiety, anger, grinding of teeth, bright lights, poor posture, bad weather and chemicals eg in cleaning products.
Migraine sufferers often take regular tablets to help prevent migraine attacks. These are often high-strength and life-long treatments.
Headache treatments range from resting (often in a dark room), drinking water and simple painkillers (eg paracetamol), to specific migraine tablets called triptans. These act in a similar way to the chemical serotonin. This helps settle overactive pain nerves.
In some circumstances, specialist pain clinics can initiate other treatments, such as ketamine infusions.
Patient outcomes vary. Some patients respond well to the treatments, when the correct dose is found. Other patients try several different treatments, or combinations of treatments, and develop adverse side effects to medications, without the intended pain relief.
The cannabinoids in medical cannabis, particularly tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) bind to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system and can reduce the perception of pain.
Some clinical studies and patient surveys suggest that cannabis can help reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. Migraines are also associated with inflammation in certain brain regions. Medical cannabis has anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce this inflammation and ease migraine symptoms.
Medical cannabis can also help with the vascular component of migraines, by relaxing blood vessels that become constricted or dilated in the brain, triggering pain.
Other ways in which medical cannabis can help with migraine or headache symptoms are by settling nausea and vomiting and by helping patients relax, thereby reducing anxiety and promoting better sleep, which could indirectly help with migraine management.
Suffering from a medical condition can be awful, the last thing you want to do is wait months for treatment.
Making sure you are seen and treated as soon as possible is one of our top priorities.
Start your journey to a better quality of life with CB1 Medical today.
Check if you're eligibleWe are proud of our care and the impact it has on the lives of our patients. We give you time
to talk about your pain and you will always be listened to with compassion and empathy.
4.8 overall rating on Google
May 2024
Where do I start?! I have to admit I was very nervous, considering I have tried numerous treatments for my fibromyalgia and EDS and had a medical prescription 3 pages long and really complex medical issues. I was in an awfully high level of pain, even with all that.
Every single staff member from reception, nurses, pharmacy and my lovely Dr Vanessa Hutchinson have been consistently friendly, professional, helpful and incredibly fast in progressing me from initial online enquiry to receiving my prescription (just under 2 weeks and we had the Easter 4 day break in-between!).
In this very short time, my pain levels have reduced significantly (as have my other medications!). I cannot recommend this clinic enough. Thanks CB1 MEDICAL 🙂
March 2024
Staff really nice, and keep in touch to monitor my progress and any questions I may have. I feel very comfortable talking about my situation as no judgement or negative feedback. I feel like my life, health and symptoms are being taken seriously but with care.
Follow up appointment over the telephone was relaxed, no rushing, he answered all the questions about my medication and progress without prejudice, sarcasm and was so easy and a breath of fresh air. I can say that if you are thinking of treatment and support like nowhere else then you will be in very caring and professional hands that really do make you feel that you are important and heard with respect and understanding. 5 stars are not enough.
October 2024
My life has been transformed since starting medical cannabis with CB1 Medical.
Dr Richard Pertwee was friendly and so knowledgeable. The relief I’ve experienced has been nothing short of miraculous. The quality of life I now have is something I never thought possible, started to smell the roses eg I’m incredibly grateful to you all.
Highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling or has ineffective medication.
April 2024
I know when you pay for an appointment, you expect a different service, but honestly, this is beyond what I expected. The appointments were scheduled quickly, and happened within days, mostly late evenings to fit around my work. The doctors listen and I didn’t feel like I was being judged as just a junkie after pain meds. That’s how I feel in an NHS appointment.
The meds were delivered quickly and I got to using them right away. In the last 11 days, I’ve used painkillers once, and only paracetamol. This is down from multiple painkillers multiple times every single day. And I sleep so much better as well.
