Results from an online survey in people with migraine – part 2: therapeutic features.

Abstract

Introduction. Migraine leads to considerable personal and societal burden. Often, all aspects of life are affected. At present there are insufficient contemporary data for the state of migraine sufferers in Bulgaria. The aim of the present study is to gather information about the clinical features and burden of the disease via an online survey.
Methods. In the time period from 10th December 2024 to 9Th January 2025 we conducted an online survey for people with migraine through the medical information portal www.diagnosa.info and the
associated Facebook page. We gathered data for types of used therapies, satisfaction with treatment, presence of side effects, interest in new therapies, knowledge about the existence of new medication classes.
Results. The survey was filled by 278 migraineurs. Seventy eight percent (78%) of participants used over the counter pain medications; 49% used prescription medications; 29% practiced lifestyle changes; 25% used physiotherapy; 22% used complementary and alternative medicine; 2% did not used treatment. Forty eight percent (48%) used only over the counter pain. medications, 19% used only prescription medications and 30% used both. Eighteen percent (18%) reported side effects from treatment. Twenty eight percent (28%) reported satisfaction with treatment, 48% had neutral position towards treatment (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) and 24% reported dissatisfaction with treatment. Ninety percent (90%) are interested in potential new therapies but 91 % are not familiar with treatment with monoclonal antibodies.
Conclusions. Over the counter pain medications were the most frequently used medications (78% of participants). Approximately 50% used prescription migraine medications. Most of migraine sufferers had low level of satisfaction from current therapies, had interest in new potential treatments but were unfamiliar with new classes of migraine medications.