Help with Mirgraines

Hi Denise,

I know you mentioned no meds, but this has helped me tremendously. Take a can of Coke (regular-not diet or any other kind and it has to be coca cola) and put 2 advil liquid gel caps in it- shake it up and drink it. It usually can prevent a migraine if you catch it fast enough or at least decrease the severity of it. Also, quiet, dark, shower/bath.

Molly

Hi Denise,
I agree with several of the other moms - caffeine helps along with tylenol right when you first feel the symptoms coming on (and not a moment later!). Also for me, stopping hormonal birth control was a HUGE help. Since I went off the pill I haven't had a single migraine (knock on wood!) - whereas before I had at least one per week.

Also lately I have been seeing a really fantastic chiropractor, and I believe that has been helping me as well. It's amazing how much better I feel in general lately. No back pain, no headaches... even my perpetual knee pain is gone. I wish I'd tried this sooner.

In the past when I was getting migraines pretty regularly, I found that Zomig in a low dose took care of them pretty quickly. I know you don't want to use drugs for your migraines, and I feel the same way, but I also know that mid-migraine I always change my mind! =) So I like to keep some around just in case.

Good luck! I know how miserable it can be.

Coffee helps my migraines.
Taking a hot shower and getting my hair all wet and then laying down with it wet(it seems to cool my head off) and relax my neck a little. I never take prescription drugs for migraines, but I have found that if I take Aleve the second I feel a headache coming on, it often makes a HUGE difference. Although I often have this hope that the headache will just go away, and it NEVER does for me on its own...so sometimes I take tylenol and make a cup or two of coffee. I am more of a black tea drinker, but I do enjoy coffee once in awhile. if you hate coffee, then a coke could also do the trick. My migraines are related to my hormones (pregnancy was awful because of this) and then I get them like 10 days before my cycle.
Another thing is to lay down in a dark room and try to sleep. but this can be hard todo when you have two kids!
Good luck!
-K. l

acupressure points. learn which ones are for migraines. also putting you feet in super hot water, as hot as you can stand totally helps. all the blood leaves your head and heads south. also peppermint on the roof of your mouth works. migraines are horrible. i feel for you. i never get them anymore after i went off the pill.

I too do not like taking "drugs" so after suffering from terrible headaches for years a new MD recommended a natural relief. For over a year I have been taking one 250 mg tablet of magnesium. Apparently migraine and cluster headaches are vascular disorders that magnesium can help. It really has helped minimize the intensity and frequency of my headaches. It might be worth you talking with your physician.
Good luck!

Hi Denise! I feel your pain. I suffered from migraines starting in my late teens. At first only a couple a year, then right after DS was born a couple a week! Ended up in the ER twice because I was so disoriented (my migraines came with slured speech, numbness and loss of vision... scary stuff).

I stopped using estrogen birth control (pill, ring, patch) and got the Mirena IUD last Fall. So far, I've not had a single migraine (knock on wood). If you are on birth control, it might be worth talking to your doctor about changing to something without estrogen as hormone related migraines are pretty common.

As for just getting them under control:

Take your meds as soon as you think you are getting a migraine (for me the sign was a tiny flashing light in my eyes... if I ignored it the rest of the symptoms would be there an hour or two later). The brain function part of the migraine is actually everything that happens before the headache (problems with vision, speech, motor function etc). The problem is that once your head hurts it's too late. Extinguishing the migraine means catching it early. Motrin works great for the pain part, but if you don't have a Rx, my experience has been that Asprin helps for extinguishing right at the beginning or at least stopping it from getting so bad.

Stay away from common trigger foods like nuts, avocados, and cheese.

You really should talk to your doctor though. Just because a lot of people get them, doesn't make Migraines normal. I have known people to have success with chiropractic care as well, but unless you know what is causing them (like birth control or food triggers) , you can treat them, but you won't be able to stop them from coming.

HTH
T.

Hi Denise,
I know your pain first hand. I have suffered from Migraines since I was in the 3rd grade and have tried more medication then I care to think about. I used to have several a week and pain so severe I could not lift my head off my pillow and they got so bad that I pass out. After the 2nd passing out and slamming into the wall I had enough. I came upon taking 2 Excedrin Migraine & drinking a full bottle (cold) of FIJI water and laying down in a dark & very quiet room has worked better then what the Dr. gives me. Good luck and hope this helps.
P.s. Try to stay away from foods high in acid, nitrates, chocolate, and processed foods like hot dogs.

I too have suffered from migraines for 4 years now,coffee or soda help along with motrin or aleve right at the START of a headache,like some of the other moms suggested...one thing I did notice sleep helps me also, crying makes them worse and when I was taking birth control pills, Another thing that helped was going to one of those oxygen bars and just sitting and breathing in the oxygen, they are hard to find in my area but they have them at some malls and in Las Vegas..sounds crazy but it helped me...good luck :)

I can't recommend anything but drugs cause I love the ones I have for my migraines.

As suggested before though, if you haven't already keep track of what you eat, drink, do, etc for a month or so, and also keep track of when the migraines occur. This should help you figure out what your triggers are, if any. I've had migraines for as long as I can remember (and since I can remember clear back to being 3 LOL that's a long dang time) and have never been able to link them to any specific triggers.

Although at one point I was getting them every month right before my period, as soon as I quit taking birth control, the every month stopped. But I still get them so I know it wasn't just the pill ... the pill was just aggrivating the situation.

Anyway ... if you can figure out what triggers you have then it'll be much easier to avoid the migraines. If you can't figure out specific triggers I can only recommend Imitrex or Midrin for migraines. They are the ONLY things that have ever worked for me, aside from heavy duty drugs (demerol and morphine).

Good luck and I hope you can find specific triggers :)

Find out your triggers and avoid them. To identify your triggers it helps to keep a food diary for a month or so. You also need to find out if yours are allergy related, and if so, find a way to keep your allergies under control. I would need more information to give some other suggestions, but avoiding your triggers is the best way to manage your migraines.

I recently went to a forum on Toxicity in America where we learned about From Water for Health, for Healing, for Life
by F. Batmangheldij M.D. He also wrote a book called,"you're not sick,you're thirsty." I think it is worth looking into.
The following was found on the website www.watercure2.org
Also see www.watercure.com

Before dehydration hurts you irreversibly, when you’re plum-like cells become prune-like, your body will show its urgent need for water through different types of pain. These pains are the newly understood, drastic ways of showing dehydration.

After much clinical and scientific research, my understanding is that the early indicators of acid burns in the interior of the cells and potential genetic damage that can take place are different forms and intensities of pain. Depending on the degree of dehydration, as well as the extent and the location of acid buildup inside the cells—when greater flow of water should have cleared the acid from that area—the classic pains of the body are produced. They are:

Heartburn
Dyspeptic pain
Anginal pain
Lower back pain
Rheumatoid joint pain, including ankylosing spondylitis
Migraine headaches
Colitis pain
Fibromyalgic pains
Morning sickness during pregnancy
Bulimia
Today, there are 110 million Americans who, at certain times, need pain medications to make life bearable. How pain that is not caused by injury or infection can be produced by dehydration is simple to understand. This very simple mechanism of pain production has eluded us in medicine ever since humankind looked for a way to deal with some of the devastating pains of the human body. The drug industry spends billions of dollars researching painkillers, and even more money advertising their particular brand of pain medication. I don’t believe the answer is in these medications, however. Dehydration can be cured by water, for free.

To understand the mechanism of pain production in the body, we first need to learn about the way the acid-alkaline balance in the body works. An acidic environment causes irritation of certain nerve endings in the body. When this irritation occurs, the brain is alerted about the chemical environmental change, which is translated and manifested as pain to the conscious mind. In other words, it is the acidity in the interior of the body that causes pain.

Normally, when blood that contains an ample amount of water circulates around the cells of the body, some of the water goes into the cells and brings out hydrogen molecules. Water washes the acidity out of the cell and makes the cell interior alkaline—an absolutely essential and normal state. For optimum health, the body should maintain an alkaline state—pH 7.4 is the desired level.

Why 7.4, and what is pH? The relationship between acid and alkaline is scientifically measured on a scale of 1 to 14. This scale is known as pH. From 1 to 7 on this scale is the acid range, 1 being more acid than 7. From 7 to 14 on the scale is the alkaline range; 7 is less alkaline than 14. On the pH scale, 7 is neutral, meaning optimum. Thus, pH 7.4 of the interior of the cell denotes its natural, slightly alkaline state. This state promotes health because it is the state that best suits the enzymes that function inside the cell: They achieve optimum efficiency at this pH. Adequate flow of water in and out of the cell keeps the cell interior in its health-maintaining alkaline state.

You have probably seen historic monuments and buildings with artistic statues and carved masonry that have been damaged by pigeons perching on them and smearing them with their droppings. Bird excrement is highly acidic and eats into the stone. In time, the statues and carvings lose their features and definition. The DNA in the nucleus inside the cells of the body is alkaline and, like stone buildings, is also sensitive to the corrosive effects of acidity.

In our bodies, the kidneys mop up excess hydrogen ions—which cause acidity—from the blood and excrete them through the urine that is formed. The more urine that is produced, the more easily the body keeps its interior alkaline. This is why clear urine is an indicator of an efficient acid-clearing mechanism, and dark yellow or orange urine is an ominous sign of impending acid burns in the interior of the body. People who consider having to pass urine more than two or three times a day inconvenient, and do not drink water so that they do not have to urinate more than they can help, are ignorant of how they are hurting their bodies.

The brain is better protected against acid buildup by the fact that it gets priority for delivery of water for all its needs. The rest of the body may not be so fortunate when dehydration establishes in the body and settles in one or another part for a long period of time. With persistent dehydration, however, the brain, too, becomes damaged from acidity in the cells—hence conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease.

I get them too. First sign that I am getting one is that I see spots, then I can't see at all. Then a period of no symptoms, then wham pain and vomitting.

My DH was fortunate enough to accidentally tell a physical therapist about one of my migraines, and she showed him a pressure point to work on in my neck/skull that helps relieve and sometimes even stop the migraine before it is full blown. The pressure points are at the base of the skull right behind the ears. Most of the time when he activates these pressure points (which you really cannot do properly on your own) a bulk of the migraine passes and I am left with that hangover feeling I usually have the 24 hours after the migraine has gone. It has truly made a difference in my life.

I also know to get to sleep immediately to avoid the major symptoms. It cuts the duration of the migraine down to only an hour or two, as opposed to 6-12 hours of pure misery.

Chiropractic helps me prevent them. If I go every 3-6 months I won't have a migraine.

Diet and hormones play an important role as well. Dairy is a major contributor (including chocolate). I dicovered that a majority of my migraines have occurred between when I am ovulating and right before my period. Perhaps your hormones are out of balance.

You could try to get into a physical therapist, chiropractor, or accupuncturist.

Be sure to google Alternative Medicine: Migraines

Hugs, I feel your pain literally, good luck!

T.
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

I used to get these all the time, but manage to control them. I need more details... when are they triggered? Do you know what triggers them? Any patterns? Any allergies?

Hi,

I wonder how much you allow yourself to rest and just be??? Really do a full inner self exam. I too used to get migraines, and the only thing that helped me was to lay in a dark room and meditate. Controlled deep breathing and relaxing any tension in any part of my body. Since I have started to self monitor and do that thoughout the day, I have not had a migraine.

I found myself getting into a behavioral pattern of using having a migraine as the only time I allowed myself to rest.