Unraveling the Weight Loss-Migraine Connection: A Conversation with Dr. Nina Riggins

In this week’s episode of Talking Head Pain, Joe is joined by Dr. Nina Riggins, a board-certified neurologist who specializes in headache medicine and traumatic brain injury. The episode sheds lights on the intersection of migraine, weight management, and the impact of a new class of weight-loss drugs, GLP-1 agonists. Joe provides his own patient insight by sharing his personal experience with weight loss and migraine. Together, they also discuss the importance of a patient-specific plan and open communication between doctors and patients.

Dr. Riggins is one of the authors of an article published in February, 2024:

Godley F III, Meitzen J, Nahman-Averbuch H, O’Neal MA, Yeomans D, Santoro N, Riggins N, Edvinsson L. How Sex Hormones Affect Migraine: An Interdisciplinary Preclinical Research Panel Review. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2024; 14(2):184. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14020184

Click here for the full article….

Dr. Riggins is the senior author of the article published in the “Journal of Headache”

Title: “Safety of remote electrical neuromodulation (REN) for acute migraine treatment in pregnant women: a retrospective controlled survey-study”

Dr. Riggins published an article called “Legal Aspects of Migraine in the Workplace” by Springer Journal in the “Current Pain and Headache Reports”

November 2022

Click here for the full article at Springer Link….

Dr. Riggins presented results of her research “Randomized Controlled Trial – Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks for Preventive Migraine Management” at the

American Headache Society 64th Annual Scientific Meeting June 9–12, 2022 Denver, Colorado

click link Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain – Wiley Online Library

“Comparative Trial Shows CBT Benefits Veterans With Post-Traumatic Headache” – Pain Medicine News

Click link for Provided Commentary to an article in Pain Medicine NEWS

Dr. Riggins is the senior author of this publication:

Retrospective Chart Review: The Feasibility of a Self-Administered Nasal Spray Targeting the Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) in Treatment of Chronic Migraine.

Article was published in the Journal of Anesthesia and Anesthetic Drugs (JAAD)

Article ” Episodic Migraine and Older Adults” is published in the Journal of “Current Pain and Headache Reports” by Springer Nature on April 6th, 2022

Authors: Nina Riggins, MD, PhD, Annika Ehrlich MS, FNP-C

Click here for the full article at Springer Link….

Nina Riggins is a senior author on the award winning presentation by the Headache Center Fellow at the AHS 2021 meeting “ Self-Administered At-Home Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) Blockade for the Prevention and Acute Treatment of Migraine.”

Dr. Riggins is also a senior author on the virtual poster presented by Pediatric Fellow “ Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Sodium Valproate in Pediatric Patients with Refractory Chronic Headache Disorders: A Retrospective View.”

Article was published in the Journal of Pediatric Neurology.

AHSAM 2020 Highlights

Efficacy of Inpatient Infusions for Patients with Chronic Migraine and History of Head Trauma

Nina Riggins, MD, PhD, FAAN
AHSAM 2020 – Poster session Published on September 17, 2020

Key message

Inpatient infusions of dihydroergotamine, chlorpromazine or valproate sodium should be considered in the management of chronic migraine in patients who have a history of head trauma.

Development of new or worsening headache after cochlear implant activation: A hypothesis-generating pilot study of incidence, timing, and clinical factors.

Dr. Riggins is part of the AHS team “Headache in Primary Care Curriculum Developers”. Goal of the team is to share relevant journal article recaps, highlight new developments in the field and update on any new resources for primary care providers.

First e-Newsletter went live in June 2020. Team summarized an article about Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Women with Chronic Migraine.

“There is promise that if we would change the rate of administration in some cases, maybe from the beginning, we don’t have to observe any of the side effects because they’re not there.”

Nina Riggins, MD, PhD, FAAN: The Effect of Dihydroergotamine Infusion Rates

The headache specialist at UCSF discussed the findings of a retrospective assessment of the impact of the infusion rate of Dihydroergotamine (DHE) on inpatient treatment outcomes.

Headache Clinic Workflows During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Telemedicine and precaution can provide relief safely, according to Nina Riggins, MD, Ph.D, FAAN and Rashmi Halker Singh, MD, FAHS, FAAN

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how clinicians are able to see and treat their patients, and headache specialists are no different. Faced with an unprecedented situation, physicians are turning to each other to determine the best practices for COVID-19 workflows to help their patients while also protecting themselves.

Click Here for the full article at American Headache Society