Liza Smirnoff, M.D. is a neurologist and headache specialist at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System. For information on migraine treatments and services click here or visit the UHealth Collective.
MEET ANDREA MARRON:
Andrea Marron’s migraines started after giving birth to her second child.
“It feels kind of like someone has a hot wire that’s going through one side of my head,” says Andrea.
She sought help from Liza Smirnoff, M.D., a neurologist and headache specialist at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System.
“Migraine is a disease of the whole brain. So, it really tends to be debilitating,” Dr. Smirnoff says. “Patients can have light, sound sensitivity, a lot of cognitive side effects. Something that I think we don’t normally think about as associated with migraine is slowed thinking, memory impairment.”
When it comes to migraines, women suffer from them more than men, typically due to fluctuating hormone levels during pregnancy or their menstrual cycle, but new treatments are helping patients find relief now more than ever.
“When we think about preventative therapy, this is for patients who are having frequent migraines, so we oftentimes want to consider doing something that’s actually going to lessen how often and how severe their headaches are. So really lessen that burden,” says Dr. Smirnoff.
She prescribed Andrea a new drug designed to block a protein in the brain that triggers migraine attacks.
“It was like a miracle. The migraines just stopped,” Andrea says. “It’s not just the relief from the migraines, it’s also that I’m not so afraid to make plans anymore.”
She is grateful to Dr. Smirnoff and the UHealth team!
“Thank you for giving me my life back!” says Andrea.
FOCUSING ON YOU
Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine is a series of healthcare-related stories airing regularly on WPLG Local 10. For more stories like this one, visit YouTube channels for UHealth, the University of Miami Health System.
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