In the sixth and final episode of the Mind Your Migraine series, Dr Derk Krieger, Professor of Neurology and Senior Consultant Neurologist at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital, and his patient Julia Vetter discuss common misconceptions surrounding the condition.
about 10.4 workdays on average per year are lost by individual migraine sufferers.
To make things more complicated, a large percentage of sufferers don’t even know they have the disease, which can make life extra difficult when interacting with other people – especially in the workplace.
This issue is tackled in episode 5 of Gulf News’ ‘Mind Your Migraine‘ vodcast, hosted by Dr. Deeb Kayed, Consultant Neurologist and Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, MBRU School of Medicine, in discussion with patient Dina Naser.
As someone who has suffered from migraine at work for years and not wanted to rock the boat, Dina asks Dr. Deeb what advice he would give to employers to support team members with the disease.
“To start with, let me make one thing clear - not all headaches are migraine headaches,” says Dr Abubaker Almadani, Head of Neurology Department at Rashid Hospital, Dubai Health Authority.
With more than two decades of experience in the field, Dr Abubaker is one of the most recognised names in neurology in the country. “While I do say that not all headaches are migraines, I must mention that migraine is a very common disease,” adding that around 10-15 per cent of the population could be affected by it. Frequent and debilitating headaches should not be ignored, he advises. “If headaches are severe and debilitating, please consult a doctor. They will be able to advise you on the type of treatment required for the headache you are having,” says the Emirati neurologist. “Also, most headaches do not necessitate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Some people believe they have to do an MRI if they have a headache. An MRI of the brain is not necessary for typical m