Most people with migraine attacks learn that they have more success if they treat their attacks early rather than delaying medication until two or more hours have passed. They find there is a window of opportunity during which they can resolve their headaches completely, but if they wait too long, then in most cases the treatment is not nearly as good, and the attacks run their full course.
Particularly observant victims of migraine attacks might also discover that when their migraines get to a stage called “allodynia” when everything hurts–even a light brush to the skin or contact with a warm object–then treatment is likewise less successful.
The chances to make these kinds of observations have been available to people with migraine for as long as there have been decent treatments. Aspirin was the first good, widely available treatment for migraine attacks, and was manufactured in tablet form as long ago as 1915. But it has been in only the last few years that scientific studies have explored these phenomena in detail, and revealed some of the secrets as to why they occur.
Dr. Rami Burstein and colleagues at the Beth Israel...