Debbie Hounslow (44 years) of a customer services from Buckinghamshire, has suffered from migraines since the age of 18 years. At that time, his left eye began to blur, dizzy and severe headaches.
"It was scary, but the nanny and my mother also suffered from migraines, so I know what it is," said Debbie Hounslow, as reported by Dailymail, Tuesday (27/12/2011).
Debbie advised doctors to use painkillers when a migraine attack coming. Debbie usually only experience a migraine several times a year, but entered the age of 30 years of increasingly severe migraine and relapsed several times each month.
"My migraine more intense and lasts 1 to 3 days. That's an incredible pain, like my skull is being clamped. Pulsed-pulse painful. I also felt nauseous and sometimes cause physical pain," he explained.
Debbie began to consume beta-blockers as a painkiller. The cure is a little help, but can not make really eased migraine.
In 2005, Debbie taking the drug once a week. However, the drug proved to have side effects, so that although not having a migraine, side effects still felt.
"My eyes feel 'foggy' and find it hard to watch TV, read or see computer. Even for simple things like cooking, driving and walking was not possible," explains Debbie.
Debbie so often take leave when a migraine or medication side effects complicate the job. But out of desperation, he has offered Botox, which is supposed to work because of paralyzing the muscles in the neck and forehead that can trigger a migraine.
But he did not like Botox, because he thinks it can poison the system in body. Then in January 2010, he was referred to Dr. Alexander Green at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Doctors told him about the Peripheral Nerve Stimulation, a new procedure in which electrodes implanted into the back of the neck, close to the nerves that send signals to the brain and cause migraines.
The electrodes will be connected with a cable that runs under the skin with a small battery that is implanted under the skin in the abdomen. The battery will send a small electrical pulse signal when there is a migraine. This tool is just like a pacemaker device (pacemaker).
"The doctor said some people have seen their migraine is almost gone after this operation. I thought I had nothing to lose," recalls Debbie.
Operations carried out in July 2010 with local anesthesia. The surgical procedure performed for an hour, physicians insert electrodes and batteries on the left side of abdomen Debbie. He was allowed home after several hours.
"I was taking painkillers for a week, despite the pain in my stomach takes 6 weeks to disappear. You do not see the wire, but the battery (the size of a stopwatch) looks quite slim," he explained.
When it was all painless, Debbie was asked back to the hospital to Dr. Green could regulate electrical pulses.
"It feels like pins and needles, strange at first, but now I'm used to," said Debbie.
Pacemakers that can work continuously or only be activated when Debbie felt a migraine coming. Debbie only had three migraines in 18 months since the operating procedures and even migraine attacks are much shorter and not intense than ever before.
"I went back to work, can cook and go for a walk again. Christmas is the first in more than 20 years I feel confident enough to arrange to meet people for social activities. Now I am in control of migraine, migraine is not controlling me," Debbie closed.
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