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Mercy Medical Center Internist Dr. Dana Simpler

Mercy's Dr. Dana Simpler Discusses Impact Weather May Have On Migraines On WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor"

Weather could be the trigger for many women who suffer from migraines.

Maureen O'Prey suffered from migraines for at least a decade and recently discovered that the weather — low pressure, in particular — had been causing them.

"It's almost like having an ax right in the middle of your head," O'Prey said. "The last storm — the big one that we had the barometric pressure drop by 35 millibars — let me tell you, I definitely felt that immediately before I even heard what the pressure was."

Mercy Medical Center internist Dr. Dana Simpler said migraines are sometimes referred to as "sick" headaches because they make people physically ill. She said there can be many triggers.

"There are people who are clearly very weather-sensitive, and for them, there's not much they can do because you can't stop the weather, but you can take medication for it, thank goodness," Dr. Simpler said.

She prescribed Imitrex for O'Prey, who is supposed to take it in her warning time, which is about 20 minutes before the full-blown migraine.

"I can take the Imitrex and just have a bad headache, which is such a blessing instead of having a migraine, so I can still function and I can teach. I can do all the things that I need to do without being debilitated," O'Prey said. For more information and to view Dr. Simpler's interview on WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor," click this link: http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/23057856/detail.html