HOUSTON – Natasha Davis said she's had migraines since she was 5-years-old.
“It's probably like the worst feeling in the world in your head, you have this pressure, you have this stabbing pain, it feels like an ice pick is going through your skull.” Davis continued describing the excruciating pain, “And your skin hurts and you're cold and hot all at the same time.”
Once Natasha became a mother, she was desperate to try anything so she could have more quality time with her babies but medications, diet, rest, even the theory that Botox helps didn’t do anything for her.
"I was on a medical trial for all of these different kinds of medicine that they had found kind of helped people with migraines even though they are being treated for other things like fibromyalgia ... None of them helped,” she said. “It was constant. I always had the migraine.”
That's when Dr. Jack Chapman with Migraine Treatment Centers of America suggested a unique alternative called the Omega Procedure.
“A fishing wire that's placed just underneath the skin surface over the nerves and then the patient controls the device with a small remote,” Dr. Chapman explained.
The wires under Natasha’s skin can be felt on her forehead emitting vibrations. She says she can use the remote to turn them up or down. Dr. Chapman says this tricks her nerves so her brain feels a different sensation, eliminating the pain from migraines.
“It's just moving, it just vibrates a little bit like doo doo doo,” Davis said.
Houston is only one of five cities in the country where this procedure is available. Dr. Chapman said patients come in for a trial before implanting the real thing.
“I put these temporary leads just underneath the skin, over the nerves in the front and the back and then we send the patient home,” he said.
Natasha had them surgically implanted last June and says it's given her a fresh start on life.
“I've only had 13 [migraines], which for many people it's like 13 is a big number!” Davis said. “That's way better than it was before where every day I wanted to just stay in bed.”
Chapman said most patients only have a co-pay and the rest is covered by insurance.
Since patients can control the device with a remote, if someone leaves the device off and thinks migraines are gone for good, Chapman said he can also remove the device.