Migraines can be an enormous obstacle to living your best life. Still, many of the people who experience these intense headaches feel somewhat lost when it comes to finding “the right” treatment. Migraine surgery might offer a glimmer of hope but, also, is migraine surgery brain surgery? Is it risky? Is it effective? The real question beneath all others is usually this: is migraine surgery worth it? We want to discuss that here.
On the one hand, we could say that the benefits of migraine surgery are obvious. They are to us because we see them often. As the patient, though, you don’t have our perspective. So we’ll set the stage. Can you imagine an extended period of time without head and neck pain? What does it feel like to imagine spending time with loved ones or being productive at work? What about imagining losing the stress around your day-to-day well-being? Many of the people we meet express in some way that they live on high alert, wondering if a certain food or environmental factor will trigger a migraine. If you can imagine what it would feel like to be free of migraines, you’re seeing the benefits of migraine surgery. If you are so used to living with migraines that you cannot imagine a life without them, you’re seeing the benefits of migraine surgery.
Statistics indicate that approximately 40% of migraine surgery patients achieve complete relief from their headaches. But even for those who don’t get complete relief, the vast majority of migraine surgery patients experience life-changing improvement. For example, after migraine surgery, if a patient gets a headache, they are usually able to take Advil or Tylenol and have it actually work! About half of the patients who undergo nerve decompression surgery for migraines note that, if they do get a headache, it is nowhere near as bad as the migraines they would get before their procedure. Between those with complete relief and those with significant improvement, 93% of migraine surgery patients feel they are much better off having had the surgery.
If migraines are getting in the way of your best life and you’re feeling close to the end of your rope when it comes to finding solutions, you’re right in line with most of our patients. Migraine surgery is not brain surgery. It is a minimally invasive nerve decompression technique that has worked wonders for many people. To learn more about this procedure, contact our Santa Barbara office and schedule your consultation with Dr. Lowenstein.
