Dr. Mina: The Empathetic Headache Neurologist Behind @MigraineswithMina (Part 2)

Welcome to Chronically Peachy, a podcast co-hosted by Sophia Fang, founder of Peachy Day, and Bernadette of @ChronicAccounts. This space exists for honest conversations that keep it real and peachy about living alongside migraine. 

We share unfiltered stories, break down migraine hot topics, and uplift community conversations with neurologists, experts, and advocates. If you’re looking for validation, accessible info, or just two friends who genuinely get it, you’re in the right place!

About this episode

 Dr. Mina is a board-certified headache neurologist, social media advocate with over 170,000 followers, and a person living with migraine herself. In part two of our conversation with Dr. Mina of @MigraineswithMina, we cover what pushed her to educate on TikTok and Instagram, the migraine myths she'd eliminate first, and the single most important thing she wants every migraine patient to know.

Missed part one? Start there for Dr. Mina's background, the four phases of a migraine attack, and what's coming in migraine treatment research.

What inspires a doctor to create migraine content on TikTok?

Dr. Mina kept seeing chiropractors on TikTok spreading migraine misinformation, and one video finally pushed her over the edge. She grabbed her phone and started talking about migraine the way it should be talked about. 

Her goal from day one was never to go viral or pick fights. It was to build enough trust that people would actually listen to evidence-based migraine information. Seven months in, it's working.

Her most important warning for anyone consuming health content online: not every doctor on TikTok is actually a doctor. Check to see if they have done a headache fellowship or training. If someone isn't transparent about their credentials, that's a red flag. 

McDonald's, hot water, and migraines — what is the top myth a headache neurologist wants you to stop believing?

If Dr. Mina had a magic wand, the McDonald's migraine hack would be gone immediately. The idea that a Diet Coke and fries can stop a migraine attack dangerously minimizes what's actually happening in the brain. Migraine is a neurological disorder involving pain peptides, specific receptors, and a brain network that functions differently from non-migraineurs. It is not a hydration or caffeine deficiency problem.

Close second: the viral scalding hot water foot soak. The supposed science behind it, that hot water pulls blood away from the head, isn't how the body works. What's actually happening is sensory distraction. The brain shifts focus because of the pain stimulus on the feet. Nothing is being treated on a neurochemical level.

Dr. Mina's rule of thumb for evaluating migraine hacks: if it isn't working on a neurochemical level or activating the parasympathetic nervous system the way evidence-based treatments like biofeedback do, it's not treating migraine, it's just distracting from it.

Why does untreated migraine get worse over time?

This is where Dr. Mina gets direct. She regularly sees patients in their 50s and 60s who let migraine go untreated for 15 to 20 years and are now disabled. Many are filing FMLA paperwork. The financial and physical burden is significant, and in many cases, it was preventable.

The neurological reason early treatment matters is central sensitization. The longer the brain experiences untreated pain, the lower the migraine threshold becomes. The brain essentially learns to trigger attacks more easily over time. What starts as episodic migraine can progress to chronic migraine, defined as 15 or more headache days per month, partly because the brain has been allowed to practice the pain cycle without interruption.

Ignoring migraine, even manageable ones, is not a neutral choice.

How do you prepare for a headache specialist appointment?

Dr. Mina's top recommendation before any specialist visit: track your headaches. Not loosely, actually log them.

Most patients either underestimate or overestimate their migraine burden because they're relying on memory. A headache diary helps your neurologist understand the full picture, establish a baseline, tailor a treatment plan, and measure whether that plan is actually working.

What to track:

• Headache days per month

• Attack duration

• Pain severity

• Associated symptoms (nausea, light sensitivity, brain fog, postdrome)

• Potential triggers

• Any medications taken and whether they helped

  
  

Showing up with this data makes your appointment significantly more productive.

How do you balance being a doctor, advocate, and mom?

Her answer: she doesn't use the word balance. She works with priorities instead.

Non-negotiables are showing up fully for patients and being present for her family. Everything else, a messy closet, an imperfect dinner, gets handled with grace or doesn't get handled at all. Every season of life requires different things and the approach flexes accordingly.

What is important to know about migraine?

Migraine is a treatable neurological disorder. It is not a character flaw, a stress management failure, or something a person causes. It is genetic. It involves a brain network that is structurally and functionally different, and there are medications and treatment approaches that genuinely work.

The most important thing anyone living with migraine can do: stop minimizing symptoms, seek a headache specialist, and get treatment early. The longer you wait, the harder the path back becomes.

To find a board-certified headache specialist, search the American Headache Society directory or ask your primary care physician for a referral. Telehealth options are also available if local specialists aren't accessible.

If your For You page is full of migraine hacks, that's information. It means your symptoms are significant enough that your brain is searching for answers. Go make the appointment.

Migraine care shouldn’t feel like a full-time job.

If you’re living with migraine, you deserve more than guesswork and rushed appointments.

Peachy Day is a migraine prevention app, designed to lighten your load. You can:

• Log in 1 minute a day, even during attacks

• Get personalized health insights on a color-coded calendar

• Make the most of your doctor’s visits

• Get migraine predictions to prevent future attacks

• Build confidence in how you understand and talk about migraine

  
  

Our team brings together 125+ years of experience as migraine patients and 50+ years as headache neurologists, including the founder of Stanford and USC’s Headache Clinic.

Download Peachy Day for free on the App Store or Google Play. 🍑