Hello friends new and old! We are mere days away from another annual Migraine World Summit, an event I have covered in the past in order to help provide you with the latest and greatest migraine information from around the world and from top experts, but also to aid in my own journey understanding how migraine works and what treatment options are out there.

When I was first introduced to the summit it was an exciting opportunity to engage in a guided deep dive into all things migraine – which in early 2019, fresh on disability and fresh off failing the first new CGRP medication Aimovig followed by a terrible response to Botox for Migraine – I desperately needed a better understanding of what doctors were exploring in the realm of treatments and in understanding the full picture of migraine.

In 2021, I decided to withhold my money from the Migraine World Summit and penned my own critique on the extreme lack of racial diversity and consideration for deeper racial disparities that impact migraine. I also have issues with their lack of accessibility – migraine is a disability, and disability requires accommodations. This is something the summit even addresses in their interviews – like how can someone request workplace accommodations and the legal precedent around workplaces providing said accommodations. Except the Summit continues to place accessibility features like transcripts and longer access to the videos behind paywalls.

As such, I will not being paying for access this year either, which may interrupt my ability to cover all the videos.

I again want to highlight how incredibly dehumanizing the Summit and there choices continue to be for disabled members of the migraine community who want equitable access to the latest and greatest information in migraine research. Placing access behind paywalls and asking members of the migraine community, many of whom are very ill and if they’re lucky receive some sort of disability payment that is below or at the poverty line is simply cruel. We are poor. We are desperate to get better. And we can’t afford to pay for this kind of access. Nor should we have to put our tail between our legs and beg organizers to provide free access to anyone who cannot afford it.

I cannot speak to the improvement of how the Summit and staff address race, but I can note that the panel this year seems more diverse than in previous years.

My final note regarding the lack of coverage the last few years, is again, that the Summit is a very dehumanizing experience as someone on the more severe end of the migraine spectrum. Many of the conversations and discussions exclude our lived experience and the attempts of consoling those who haven’t found adequate treatment are frankly insulting and dismissive.

However, after a 4 year break the topics this year have piqued my interest just enough that the risk for a resulting violent depressive episode may be reduced and offset by the new information these professionals have uncovered.

I’ve made the interviews I am most interested in catching bold so you know what I’ll be most focused on covering.

The schedule for the Summit is as follows:

Day 1:

• The Latest Insights on CGRP Targeted Medications in Migraine Treatment
• Paula’s Migraine Journey, Secrets & Next Steps
• Migraine Relief Through Gut Health: Science & Solutions
• Managing the Unique Challenges of Vertigo & Vestibular Migraine

Day 2:

• Part 1: Preventing & Reversing Chronic Migraine
• How Heavy Metals & Trace Elements Affect Migraine
• Are People With Migraine Having More Strokes & Heart Attacks?
• Global Guidelines for Acute Migraine Treatment

Day 3:

• Part 2: Preventing & Reversing Chronic Migraine
• How Poor Sleep Worsens Migraine: What You Need to Know
• How Sinuses, Allergies & Weather Affect Migraine
• Migraine’s Comorbidities: A Look at Associated Conditions

Day 4:

• Exploring Lidocaine, Ketamine & More for Refractory Migraine
• Brain Fog: Understanding the Cognitive Impacts of Migraine
• The Role of Cannabis in Migraine Treatment
• Helping Loved Ones Understand Migraine: Your Discussion Guide

Day 5:

• Nondrug Treatments for Migraine Relief
• Are Psychedelics a Legitimate Treatment for Cluster Headache?
• Triptans Today: Their Role in Contemporary Migraine Treatment
• Navigating NDPH: Blending Patient and Provider Perspectives

Day 6:

• When One Treatment Isn’t Enough: Layering Therapies in Migraine Management
• Fact or Fiction? The Truth About Popular At-Home Migraine Remedies
• Hormones & Migraine: Debunking the Myths of HRT
• Effective, Affordable & Accessible Migraine Preventive Medications

Day 7:

• What We Know About the Biology of Migraine
• Can Pain Reprocessing Therapy Offer Migraine Relief?
• How GLP-1 Medications & Exercise Impact Migraine: Two Experts Weigh In
• When the Doctor Becomes the Patient: Migraine Firsthand

Day 8:

• The Many Faces of Migraine: Five Stories of Challenge & Hope
• Building a Migraine Management Plan That Works
• Understanding & Treating Migraine in Older Adults
• From Research to Relief: New Migraine Treatments in the Pipeline

There’s a substantial amount of the videos that I am curious about including what new information they’re publicly discussing regarding the CGRP medications, what reversing migraine looks like, if their discussion of strokes and heart attacks takes into account COVID infections. I am also interested in how conversations have shifted regarding triptans, psychedelic use, and ketamine.

You can preview the schedule and the key questions for the interviews on the schedule page. This is a feature I don’t think was there when I was attending in previous years, so this is a nice addition to help set your expectations for each video and if you’re short on time evaluate if they’ll be answering any of the questions you have on the subject.

Each new day releases it’s videos at 3pm ET and they are available to watch for 24 hours. The Summit begins on March 20th at 3pm ET and concludes on March 27th.

My coverage of the events will not be live, as I am – first and foremost – interested in actually consuming the information they’re providing. At this point I am not sure what approach I will take to covering the videos – you can see previous coverage on the Migraine World Summit Navigation Panel. I may do a bit of a hybrid between my 2020 and 2021 coverage, where I provide insights and takeaways from the interviews, but may not cover every video.

You can sign up for the summit here, though as an advocate for broad accessibility, I do not encourage you to purchase an access pass or provide financial support. I have the opportunity to be an affiliate and earn commission on any passes that you purchase, and although I am broke as hell, I am not doing that.

I am looking forward to sharing with y’all all that I learn and hope you’ll be able to catch any interviews you may be interested in.

A.