Has anyone tried the newly approved transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device for the treatment of migraines?

[jezzamck]

I suffer from periodic migraine attacks preceded by eye pain (aura) and usually accompanied by stomach upsets. I usually take sumatriptan and ibuprofen in combination to combat these attacks, however a non drug alternative therapy would be preferable.

[Hidden]

I think trials are being carried out in several areas of the UK but once again, older sufferers are excluded. I'm not sure if the gadget is commercially available in the UK yet but I understand it costs about £500.

[teadrinker]

Hm, I'm not sure. Read an article about it on the BBC health website. NICE are saying it "might" help some sufferers and it might be worth a try, but there isn't enough evidence to say how safe it would be long-term, and quite how effective it would be. It also says that 40% of pain sufferers were pain-free 2 hours after using it, but I don't know at what stage in the migraine the sufferers tried it out, so maybe they would have been feeling better 2 hours later anyway?And it only mentions headache and not the other problems like stomach upsets. It also implies from that, that it was used as pain relief rather than as a way of preventing them altogether.

Sounds expensive too.