Posted on 01/26/2011 1:38:32 PM PST by ken5050
My girlfriend has suffered for years from migrane headaches, She's tried a variety of remedies, with little or no success, and she basically toughs it out when they hit, taking Excedrin. Of late, she's had an increasing occurance of migrane, and they seem to be more debilitating than usual. Someone told me about Adele Davis, and her books, and pantotheric acid (?) and Vitamin B6. I searched Amazon, she has multiple books...so I'm wondering if anyone here has any common experience, or advice as to possible migrane treatments. Thanks
I get them seasonally...usually for a few weeks in mid to late autumn. Although I’ve never had them medically evaluated, I suspect they originate from the onset of colder weather and the effects of shorter days on my metabolism. While they’re usually not of very long duration, I get some relief from soaking in a hot bath tub, and actually increasing my caffeine intake.
Sounds like she is a health concious person. I suspect that she takes vitamins and perhaps a mineral supplement. If that is the case, have her stop taking them for 1 week and drink slightly more water. If that works, then she needs to back off the supplements. If that does not work, have her check with an alergy specialist.
Could be a food allergy, it often is. The problem is, its often more than one, so isolating which ones is sometimes difficult. But it will be something you wouldn’t expect.
Once you’ve figured out the triggers, its much easier to live with. You can have some control, and when you mess up, at least you know what you did (and you can start in with the excedrin early).
In my case, they came during periods of high stress. Mine came with numbness on the whole side of my body, expressive aphasia and extensive visual disturbance during the aura.
I had good success taking Imitrex during the aura.
I learned to control them by the types of food I ate. Pistachios and blue cheese are what set me off. Also certain types of fish oil supplements. Migraine is related to food allergy in my experience. Other allegens are also a factor.
Good luck.
Excedrin Migraine helps but not always then its an ice pack. I’m thinking I may be allergic to some foods etc. & thinking about checking it out with a specialist later this year.
Grab three advil and a caffeinated drink (coke, coffee, etc.).
Take them at the first sign of symptoms.
This works wonderfully for me. It’s all gone in about 15 minutes.
Best advice so far.
Has she had her potassium checked? Low potassium and low magnesium can cause or make worse migraine headaches. They can’t check magnesium very well. Only what’s in the blood not what’s at the cellular level. Just take magnesium, it won’t hurt you and is very safe. The only time there is a danger is if she’s had a heart attack or if her kidney’s are low or not functioning. If you get to much magnesium you’ll just get loose bowels. Start with 400mg. a day and work up over a few weeks to around 800-1000mg a day. When you start getting a touch of the runs, back off until you don’t have that problem anymore. This should help and it sure can’t hurt. Most American’s don’t get enough magnesium anyway, there is a lack of it in our over planted soil.
You have allergies to the flora and fauna at that time of year. Mine are to the mold that grows on fallen leaves. I am more susceptible to migranes when I am more highly exposed to allergens.
After sufferng migraines for 20 years (never diagnosed because I didnt have all the classic symptoms), Imitrex was a Godsend for me. She’ll have to be seen by a Dr
If it is a true migraine then the pain is caused by blood vessels dilating too much, not constricting. So anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen won’t work, she needs a vasoconstrictor, not a dilator (which is why ice works for some people)
That means her blood pressure will have to be checked periodically to keep her prescription- but oh, imagine the relief of stopping the pain before it gets started
Luckily I seem to have aged out of migraines
Oh, and given her age, the change in frequency/intensity may be related to the menopause process and her hormones. As weird as it sounds, she may want to chat with her OB/GYN about it.
Also I've read feverfew is very helpful to some people. Don't know enough about that one though. Never tried it myself.
Find a doc who specializes in migraines. There are some very effective drugs for treating them.
I’m not too sure about that. I’ve lived in enough different places (literally continents apart) that I have doubts about the flora and fauna.
A cup of strong coffee at the first sign of a symptom is known to help some.
However, the last few years they've been gone. I have heard they can be related to gall bladder problems, and I think they stopped around the time my gall bladder was removed. So if something she's doing/eating is stressing her gall bladder, that may be a factor.
True, they are often caused by food allergies.
Also, holistic remedies include trying fresh lemon juice in water or organic apple juice in water (depending on the headache, sometimes one works, sometimes the other), and it should start to lessen in 15 minutes. Also, they say 1 tsp of fish oil every 15 minutes until it is better may help.
I am sorry. They are horrible.
The suggestion was to intake Zero artificial sweeteners (zero diet/sugar free food & drinks). They reduced the migraines to a point of being very infrequent and shorter duration.
http://healingbeats.com/
Doe she drink a lot of diet soda? My ex was addicted to the stuff and it caused migraine-like symptoms. I get migraines and use excedrin. Always works.
Oh, excedrin is still around. It’s our upper of choice at work - they buy it for us. ONE Excedrin about 2:30 or 3:00 and I’m ready to rock on through the rest of the day and on into the night. Caffeine, Aspirin, and Acetaminophen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.