Migraine Hell...is there a way to avoid drugs?

[Halfasianmomma]

I have been suffering from migraines since I was a teenager. So, it's been a solid 16 years. Back then, they were occasional and I could deal with them with a couple of Tylenols and a nap in the dark.

In my 20s, they got progressively worse and I think they were mostly stress-related. I even ended up in the hospital once due to a migraine. I was never officially diagnosed with migraines, but I assumed that's what they were, given the family history.

When I was preggo, I had some headaches in the first trimester but they vanished when I hit the second trimester. Afterwards and for the first 14 months after DD's birth, I had nothing. It was blissful.

Once my period started again, the migraines started again, but with a vengence.

Now they come every time I have my period, whether I try to skip it with BC or not. There are also other triggers, such as neck and shoulder tension (I have a mild scoliosis and have had 2 car accidents), or recurrent sinus issues.

I am currently seeing a "migraine specialist" and have been charting my migraines rigorously over the past few months, which have been particularly bad. I'm currently taking Frovatriptan, which works but only short-term; before that I tried Fiorinal, Imitrex and Maxalt, which worked but never completely...The pain would always return. My doctor tells me that if things don't improve, he wants to put me on daily "preventative" medication, which could be beta-blockants or other kinds of low-dose anti-depressants, which apparently have been proven to have some kind of effect on chronic pain.

I *really* would like to avoid taking drugs daily but I also need to find a way to deal with my migraines. They get so bad sometimes that I can't go to work.

Any bright ideas? I'm going to be seeing a new massage therapist soon, but I wonder what else has worked for other migraine sufferers.

[Siennaflower]

My dh has been dealing with migraines since his teenage years.  He took Imitrex at one point but it would only work if he was able to catch the migraine before it became full blown, and it usually upset his stomach as well.  I've had to take him to the ER before because he couldn't hardly eat or even move when they got really bad.  Lately however he has been taking Feverfew capsules and they have really decreased in frequency, strength and duration.  Now when he has a headache it's a mild one that goes away with a dose of Excedrin, which had never been the case before.  It's been about 6 months since he started taking the Feverfew and I can only think of maybe 5 mild headaches that he's had so far.  It's really been a life saver for him.

[grahamsmom98]

My dh has had migraines regularly, in the past.  He began taking magnesium supplements (OTC) on recommendation from our doctor (a very natural-minded guy that we love!).  Dh didn't want to take any of the migraine drugs out there with their scary side-effects).  So, he takes the magnesium daily. 

No more migraines.  This has been over a year. 

[Halfasianmomma]

Hi SiennaFlower,

Thanks for your suggestion. Can you tell me how many tablets your DH takes and what strength they are? I'll go to the natural food store to see if I can find some tablets this week-end..

[Halfasianmomma]

Graham's mom...how much magnesium daily?

As you can see, I'm willing to try anything. I so don't want daily medication :(

[grahamsmom98]

My DH takes 400 mg/day with a meal in the morning.  This amount may cause diarrhea for some people.  I would try this amount and if you experience the runs, back off to 300mg and so on.

[luvr2girls]

Hi!  I am copying this from a post that I left on another board-HTH!!!! 3 or 4 years ago, I was in the same posistion you are now in and it was awful! I had daily headaches and migraines weekly. It was almost debilitating. I am unable to take triptans, which are meds specifically for migraines, because they make me very ill, so my dr. treated me by controlling my pain. This usually entailed several ibuprophen followed be a hydrocodone-this left me in a funk/fog/hangover for one to two days AFTER the migraine. I was prone to depression because I often just felt HORRIBLE!! I had to change drs for insurance purposes, and my new dr told me I had just been putting on a big band-aid and not treating the problem itself. She was sending me to a neurologist but wanted to try two things first. She wanted me to try an anti-depressant used to treat chronic pain called nortriptyline, and then a beta-blocker if the other did not work. Well, it worked like a charm. I rarely had migraines, and although I still got headaches, it was not near as ofter nor were they as severe. After a year or two of this, I decided to get off of the meds. I began taking an herb called FEVERFEW and weened myself off of the anti-depressant. I am now 90% migraine free, and never get the horrible would rather shoot yourself in the head then feel that way kinda pain!! I do still get headaches, but they are treated with ibuprophen and/or aleve. If you go to iherb.com, you receive $5 off of your first order and I get a 6 month supply for about $13, I think. There are also ratings on this website-read the ones for FEVERFEW-there are many folks who have success with this. My life is so different now. I would go back to nortrityline in a heartbeat if the FEVERFEW ever quit helping me. It's kinda cheesy to say, but it really did give me my life back! HTH!! (too sleepy to spellcheck!! my apologies!)  

[syn_ack89]

I have been suffering from migraines for 35 years now (gosh, that sounds like a long time - I am really not that old am I? ).

Regarding beta blockers and anti-depressants, I tried them both and neither did anything. I too have taken triptans, darvocet and all kinds of others "fix 'em once you have them" drugs and then eventually stopped working. I tried feverfew, kava kava and st john's wort. Wouldn't recommend any of them. I am leery of the post recommending feverfew because it sounds like spam to me. I also VERY much don't like the idea of weaning yourself off prescribed medicine for an otc herb without working with your doctor.

I am off to investigate magnesium - though I would think that you shouldn't need it if you eat a balanced diet. The best thing for migraines for me (besides being pregnant and post-partum) is eating a balanced diet, exercising and keeping down stress (sleeping would help except I currently have a 16mo old who doesn't like to sleep).

http://www.wisegeek.com/m/what-are-the-most-common-feverfew-side-effects.htm

[Halfasianmomma]

syn_ack...I have really normalized my life in the past year...I slept a solid 8 hours a night, I eat small regular meals throughout the day (I'm hypoglycemic), and I make a specific point to go to the gym to do cardio + weights every week...and yet, my migraines have been the worst in my life in this past year. This is why I'm desperately seeking any solution that might help...

[syn_ack89]

I assume your meals don't include the classic trigger foods...

Basically my experience with feverfew is that it gave me IBS-type reaction so I am inclined against. I am also against the daily meds too. So I guess I am commiserating, but don't have any solutions for you.

[AGF]

My husband has Cluster Headaches  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache)  and sometimes what we consider around here to be a normal migraine.  Here are some things that work for him.

1) Imitrex stat dose -- its the shot you give yourself with a pen.  The Imitrex tablet does nothing for him.  Apparently, it is not pleasant and you can not use it more than twice a day but it provides him relief.  Now is a generic.

2) A high flow of oxygen at onset.  We have an oxygen tank we keep in the closet for when he needs it.  The flow is like 10/L which your insurance company will think you are crazy for, but it is preferable since oxygen is so benign.  

3) For a migraine, he and his sister have found that eating a teaspoon or so of raw ginger and a nap can do wonders.  They were both so happy to find that this works sometimes because it is natural and easy on the body.   Apparently, really gross but better than a migraine.

Also, my neighbor has had eight to ten migraines a month since menopause (always had them otherwise, just not as frequently).  I have no idea what stage of life you are in but she has recently had her ovaries removed in an effort to stop the migraines and it worked! She hasn't had a migraine since and wishes she did it long ago.

Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful to you.  I am so sorry you have this pain. I know how debilitating it can be. 

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by syn_ack89 

I am off to investigate magnesium - though I would think that you shouldn't need it if you eat a balanced diet.
 

There are SO many things that deplete magnesium, it's something to look into for a wide range of health issues (I have never had migraines, I had other low mag issues).  It's not a no-brainer to consume even the RDA of magnesium, and many people have stresses (some very long-term) going on that makes them need more--DH was supplementing 400mg 2x/day for a while for his blood pressure, and we didn't experiment about how much higher he could've gone before he got diarrhea from it. 

Back to the OP--I've written with a few people who've had their migraines stop once they removed gluten from their diets.  I have different issues with gluten, and different low magnesium symptoms, so I can't comment directly, but a gluten free trial for a few months may be worthwhile (the typical advice is 3-6 months gluten free).

Hope you find something to relieve your pain.

[littlemizflava]

something that i know works for migraines is to wear a baltic amber necklace.

[birdie.lee]

I was just going to post about migraine prevention on this board but then I saw this thread and thought I would just post here.  I am so sorry you are suffering from migraines.  I too have migraine headaches.  I just got the book "Heal Your Headache" by Dr. Buchholz and am going to try out the diet.  Does anyone here have any experience with avoiding all the trigger foods?  It probably doesn't help that I'm a vegan too.

I'm definitely going to try out the magnesium.

[aphel]

Forgive me if this has been mentioned, I only skimmed the above posts, but . . . .

Have you tried chiropractic care? I was having chronic cluster headaches that lasted for weeks at a time, and am now, thankfully, much improved. If I stayed on top of my treatments better (school, baby, life!), I dare say I would be symptom free. I was adjusted 3x a week for 4 months. In addition, each time I was adjusted I received a half hour of massage therapy and fifteen minutes of craniosacral therapy. At the four month mark I experienced a COMPLETE loss of migraines of any kind. I stepped down to two sessions a week, and then to only one, for maintenance.

Headaches are the worst . . . . I hope you find something that works for you!

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma 

Hi SiennaFlower,

Thanks for your suggestion. Can you tell me how many tablets your DH takes and what strength they are? I'll go to the natural food store to see if I can find some tablets this week-end..

Sorry it took me so long, he takes 380 mg once a day.  HTH.
 

[jassyp101]

I also recommend taking magnesium (magnesium citrate) to bowel tolerance daily.  This means you figure out the dose that gives you loose stools and back off to just enough that doesn't give you loose stools.  Increase the dose every couple of days until you get some loose stools and then back down to the previous dose that did not give you loose stools.  This is your body's maximum absorbable dose.

I also recommend you have some acupuncture treatments.  I treat many patients with migraines and many are able to manage their migraines with acupuncture and can come off the migraine meds.

Wishing you good health!

[Halfasianmomma]

jassyp...thank you for your detailed instructions. Do you recommend taking the magnesium at specific times during the day? I've read that aborption may be enhanced if the magnesium is taken in the evening, after a meal?

With regards to acupuncture treatments, do you patients need regular treatments to keep the migraines at bay or is the problem mostly solved after an initial blitz of treatments in the beginning? I had a single acupuncture treatment but it ended up triggering a migraine, so I was put off. Instead, I consulted a chinese herbalist for 6 weeks and I have to admit that though her herbs were horrid tasting, she managed to totally stop my migraines for the month I was in treatment...sadly she's off on maternity leave without replacement, so I'm left hanging until she returns. I'd be willing to try acupuncture again, but I'd like to know more about how the migraines are treated...

[Halfasianmomma]

Originally Posted by aphel 

Have you tried chiropractic care? I was having chronic cluster headaches that lasted for weeks at a time, and am now, thankfully, much improved. If I stayed on top of my treatments better (school, baby, life!), I dare say I would be symptom free. I was adjusted 3x a week for 4 months. In addition, each time I was adjusted I received a half hour of massage therapy and fifteen minutes of craniosacral therapy. At the four month mark I experienced a COMPLETE loss of migraines of any kind. I stepped down to two sessions a week, and then to only one, for maintenance.

Thank you for the suggestion. I was seeing a chiropractor but it was only once a week, and it wasn't really eliminating the migraines, just managing them. Perhaps if I found someone who did craniosacral therapy it would yield different results...Anyhow, this is why I'm looking into massage therapy and perhaps also acupuncture. I am also investigating the possibility of getting orthodic inserts since I've been told that one of my legs is shorter than the other, which would throw everything off in my body.  

Thank you for all the suggestions mamas. I REALLY appreciate them!

[kjbrown92]

I had menstrual migraines until I went off gluten. Have you done a food diary to see if they're associated with a particular food? A lot of people find there are certain triggers.

I prefer Mg Glycinate. And I take 6 120mg capsules per day. I actually had a blood test and it came back low in Mg. The Magnesium Miracle is a good book to look at.