Migraines - Miamisburg,OH

B.,
So sorry that you are suffering. I had severe migraines for 30 years.
A good supplement program helped me tremendously. I discovered I had a big hole in my heart. When that was repaired, they went away.
Ibuprofen with a caffeinated drink might ease it a little.
Victoria

What works the best for MY migraines are weekly, or biweekly massages and keeping a stock of pseudoephedrine (old school sudafed, the kind you need ID, but not an Rx for), and always having sunglasses on me.

My migraines typically come from one of 3 sources (or on really bad days, all 3) :

- Neck muscle tension (the ganglia -nerve bundles leaving the spine to go out on their merry way through the body) get all scrunched up with them, and it hits my trigeminal or facial nerve which then triggers the blood vessels in me' head.

- Sinus pressure.. also triggers my trigeminal or facial nerve... which triggers a migraine.

- Flat light (like from white skies... sunny skies don't bother me a bit, but most people with migraines are more prone to sunny/bright sky triggers)

Regular massage keeps my tension trigger migraines from happening. Sudafed, if I have it on hand will relieve the sinus pressure before the cascade can happen.

Don't get me wrong... a shot of Imatrex will work in a pinch, but I'd rather prevent them before the start.

I've also been on many many medications that seemed to quit working after a while. I was on topomax for a while and that really seemed to help but it made a lot of things taste funny and all soda tasted flat, there wasn't that fizzy, bubbly feeling at all. A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with gluten-intolerance and that has also seemed to "cure" my migraines. I never ever would have thought eating the bread and crackers that seemed to be the only things I could keep down during a migraine was actually making them worse! Now I eat rice or corn based bread type products and I think I have had one migraine in the past 1 1/2 years- A big change from the weekly and daily occurrences!

One of my DD (age 17) has tried acupuncture and myofascial release (a form of massage) -- but without much success sorry to say. She has chronic migraines (and has for years). Truly, what works best is the meds. She is on preventative as well as medicine for when she gets a migraine. Her neurologist did say at her last visit that we could try Botox but we have not yet tried that. We are pretty open to anything, but sadly the meds work the best. Good luck to you.

Exercise helps a lot. Think about how caffeine affects you, chocolate & fast foods/anything with preservatives. I suffered them for years and have only had 1 bout that was def stress induced in the last year. Also try sliced potato, along your forehead & temples, tie a banada around, it helps. I avoid meds at all costs

I get them too, when I am dehyrdrated. Drink sports drinks, and coke.
I also go for acupuncture once a month, around my period time, as I know they are related to the ending of my period, when my whole systems seems to be weakened.
I like acupuncture because it is preventative in nature.. not just crisis care.
One other thing - last time I had a migraine, I was dehydrated. But a friend gave me a massage, and within an hour of that, my headache was gone.
So, I would think about and recommend massage too.
GOODLUCK.

If you are looking for Holistic help you might contact Dr. Merkle at the Back to Health Center on Far Hills. Behind Caribou.
He is a chiropractor by trade but he covers so much more.
http://www.bk2health.com/
Best wishes. I get them too if I don't drink enough caffiene by a certain hour and I know how dibilitating they are. :(

My 12 year old son has had migraines since he was 6. I took him to see a more natural doctor than his pediatrician who did an extensive food allergy test. He has diagnosed with a very high intolerance to gluten and dairy, so we've had him on a gluten free diet since December. Although he has had a couple of headaches since we started the diet (more so due to sensory issues, like woodsmoke), they are much more manageable. He needs to be on the diet longer to really see the results but we are optimistic. We have found his behavior and attitude have improved as has his concentration to his school work.

Before this was diagnosed we would take him to a Cranial Sacral Therapist, which would help for a time. We also found that the herbal tincture Lavender Feverfew worked. Tastes nasty, but he would ask for it so I knew it was helping him.I've used it too for migraines and it does help.

Good luck!

Just curious - are you on Depo-Provera for birth control? My migraines AND my fibromyalgia went away when I stopped using Depo.

This might be a long shot but I'll throw it out there. I get migraines. Typically ibuprofen(Advil) is prescribed/recommended. I learned after taking Advil for a knee problem that it causes really bad migraines in me. I can't take ibuprofen for my migraines, I can only take Tylenol. I've been told it's a sensitivity to the Advil.
When I find one coming on I grab a Gatorade, some Tylenol and an ice pack for the base of my neck. I drink a couple cups of caffeinated coffee (typically I only drink one cup of caffeinated coffee a day but I up it by another cup). I then take it easy as much as I can. Of course with 3 home schooled kids and a house to tend to that's only so much but I still try.
I would see what's in the medicine you're taking and maybe ask your doctor if it's possible it could be causing you issues.

I had tons of migraines until I upped the water and exercise and begin using a netti pot each and every morning, which is SO inexpensive! Any drug store carries them and the fine salt packets are around $15 for 100 - you can't beat $5 a month. The warm salt water rinses all the impurities/pollutants/allergans from your sinuses and in effect, sterilizes your sinuses. I'd always had red allergy-ridden eyes as well which disappeared after doing this for several months. If you are routine, you could see improvement in 2-3 weeks. Best of luck to you.

I agree with AG. I just wanted to throw out Topamax if you are willing to try a medicine or one that treats it WHEN it occurs (the name escapes me). I have really bad can't move my finger migranes... I try to not stress out or not look at very bright light and change suddenly (that'll get me sometimes). My laptop is on a low brightness too. Do you know what usually happens before they occur? I had them almost every day a couple months ago and took Topamax and they stopped... I stopped taking the meds because it made stuff taste funny but I still haven't had one since before I took it so maybe you won't get side effects... apparently mine were rare.

I had horrible migraines for over 10 years and they started getting worse and worse and were coming on in clusters. I got rid of mine by changing my diet. I never would have thought they were diet related. I thought they were stress or hormone or sinus related. It turns out when I eat the wrong things I also get tight muscles, aches, sinus issues etc. It's worth a try for you to do what I did. I read all these webpages on changing your diet to eat very little processed foods. (http://www.msgmyth.com/). Then I did a 2 week elimination diet, although I only lasted about 10 days. Then I followed what to avoid on those msg myth websites. I've been migraine free for about 4 years now. Good luck. I hope you can figure it out.

I get terrible frequent migraines too. Fortunately for me Imitrex works really well although I live in fear it won't one day. I have tried several different antidepressants and topomax with no real decrease.

I do know taking copious amounts of magnesium (taking calcium at the same types helps your body absorb it better) and feverfew are supposed to help. I do take them both and noticed that taking the magnesium has not helped with the headaches but did help me sleep better. If you have trouble with insomnia- those two are often connected you could find that taking an antidepressant like amitriptalyne could solve both of your problems. Amitriptalyne is *really* inexpensive. Like... $10 a month without insurance inexpensive.

Good luck!