natural remedy for migraines??

Alex,

I've tried everything, and to date (24 years of migraines - my first when I was 10yrs old) I have not found an alternative/natural remedy that works well.

The only thing that works for me is Aspirin (in large doses). I cannot take normal migraine relief that have anti sickness drugs included, as the anti sickness drugs make me sick (Stupid, I know)

So, when I know one is starting, I have a large dose of aspirin and lay down for half an hour to an hour. Occasionally ( and i do mean rarely) if I catch the migraine early enough, I have a large sweet cup of coffee and some chocolate and that seems to help (this won't work for everyone I know)

Having a lavender sachet or a hanky with lavender essential oil on it to smell, sometimes helps, but only in that it helps me to relax.

I don't get them, but I found this nifty little link for ya! http://www.ehow.com/how_2090857_use-acupressure-points-migraine-headaches.html

I have migraines every single day, especially throbbing pains on the right side above my eye and i still have found nothing that helps, on medicine daily though.

There are things like forehead strips that you place on your head and they cool it for a while or a stick that you rub on your head called "4head" however they dont give me any relief at all :l

I have a gel pack which I keep in the fridge, I usually just go to bed, draw the curtains and slap the cold thing on my head. I haven't found a single tablet to work for me, and that 4head thing doesn't work either.

I read in a magazine that if you cover each eye alternately for a minute or so at a time that it's meant to help, but I'm never that coordinated once a migraine's hit.

I use Tiger Balm as well as pills. I had a killer of a migraine monday though so I sympathise. Thankfully I don't get them very often. Also you could try keeping a food diary, I had a friend who found hers were triggered by chocolate Not nice to give up chocolate but given the choice between chocolate and migraine theres no choice!

nicholaxoo - Ask doctor about Trigeminal Neuralgia.
I was hospitalised with head and face pains, constant migraines and muscle spasms from my bum up to my jaw.

A-typical and typical migraine (migraines with and without sickness and flashy lights - muscle paralysis in my face - temporary blindness etc) were diagnosed, so was a form of epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia from nerve damage at the top of my spine.

it's not nice to live with and the drugs that they gave me caused me to lose 2 years of my life (my brain couldn't function properly and I've forgetten a lot of things) I still have holes in my memory and sometimes the simplest of things escapes me, but the drugs are not so good.

Also, if they have you on painkillers, check that the side effects of the pain killers isn't migraine. I was on maximum dose of Tramadol for the pain and then found out that one of the side effects to it was migraine. I stopped taking them and my symptoms eased a bit.

Sorry I'm rambling.....

K/x

Oooh trigeminal neuralgia is awful. I used to get that (I still do occasionally), I used to just sit cradling my face and rocking back and forth in tears. The doc put me on painkillers but they took aaaaaaages to kick in.

kimmi- how interesting that coffee and chocolate help you, i noticed that both coffee and chocolate cause my migraines to be alot more intense, and yeah large doses of aspirin where helping me but aspirin is
super bad for your liver so i started taking exedrin, which contains no aspirin, but it takes forever to work. i think i like the lavender sachet idea i might have to give it a try, cause it's so hard to relax
with throbbing pain going accross your head. :/
Oh wow that's so horrible, well im so happy you're not in that situation any more, i actually never have gone to the doctor for my migrines, i think i should go get checked, its scary to think it could be more
than a simple headache.

Kiddo- Thanx so much for the link, i most definately have to try this!

Nicholaxoo p.- that so horrible that you get them everyday, i usually get it once a month for a whole week, it's like my period lol, yeah i tend to get throbbing pain on the left side above my eye which causes me to
see blurry and even get dizzy. i hate it so much cause it keeps me from doing everyday things such as driving, or even being able to attend school. it's such a burden! >

Laurel S.- I too keep a gel pack in my fridge at all times! and nope i cannot coordinate either lol. i found this thing called heat in a click, its like a gel pack except it turns hot i bought it at La vegas, but i think i saw it
at the mall, so im sure you can find it anywhere, anyway, the lady i bought it from said it was very helful with migranes, though it didn't work for me, sadly , it might help you, it tends to help my dad,
it runs in the family which sucks :/

Arty KitKat- The food diary sounds like a good idea, i might have to give it a try! Thank you!

I actually get a lot of massage done on my neck and back which has really helped me stave off a lot of my migraines, at least the ones that I know are related to tense muscles.

My stress migraines (I get an aura with these), I have yet to find a good therapy for them beyond working out regularly. Do you know what your triggers are?? I spent a lot of time figuring out my triggers so I can figure out my risk factors for migraine. I cleaned up my diet like crazy, and entered a lot of sports to keep me active. It keeps the stress down, and I sleep much much better which for me = less migraines.

I actually haven't had a migraine since the summer, which came after a week of working crazy hard and being stressed out about a presentation to a client.

My dad gets migraines too. I've seen clicky heat things before so I know you can get them here, I'll have a look out for one next time I'm out shopping=)

Kimmi and nicholaxoo p. I feel for you about having migraines for years, I too have had them for about 30 years, all day everyday. They got worse when I started high school and my mom thought it was because of my eyes, then I started wearing glasses. I do have to wear glasses because I'm nearsighted, but that wasn't my problem because I still had them. In 2005, I had a different kind of pain in my head, which scared me, so I finally went to a doctor after all the years before suffering from headache/migraines. I had them constantly every day and still do. I had got an MRI done and was then diagnosed with chiari (kee-r-ee) malformation, which is something apparently I was born with, but in any case I had to have surgery on my head. I read up on it, chiari malformations (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. When the indented bony space at the lower rear of the skull is smaller than normal, the cerebellum and brainstem can be pushed downward. The resulting pressure on the cerebellum can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) and can cause a range of symptoms including dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems, headache, and problems with balance and coordination. I had to have part of my skull cut out in the back of my head so there was room for the cerebrospinal fluid to flow where it was supposed to and not in my spine.
My fingers would be stiff and numb sometimes, along with dizziness and I would loose my balance. My doctor and surgeon both explained to me that it would eventually start affecting my limbs which could in turn affect my legs and have trouble walking. There is no known cure except surgery, so without it the symptoms would get worse. I didn't hesitate to have it. The surgery worked for about 2 years, seems like it wore off, but I actually had days where I was pain free, but when I did get one, OTC drugs helped.
I have since went back to getting them again, had another MRI done, my doctor tells me I'm having migraines, but the chiari didn't come back; sometimes it takes 2 surgeries. I refuse to go back under the knife again if it doesn't get life threatening. So I'm like duh, I know I'm having migraines but what's causing them. I don't stress, I can't afford to when my head hurts all of the time anyway. So then I was put medication, but it didn't work, so he tried something else mulitple times; none of them worked, as far as being pain free, they just made the pain tolerable.
Sometimes chocolate helps my migraines, but my head constantly hurts and now I have pain in my neck and back again like before the surgery, but my hands are fine.
Fluorescent lights can make a minor headache turn wicked, natural light is fine, most of the time. I'm just tired of my head hurting and tired of saying that. Nothing works for me, I tried the lavender thing, and I love, love, love lavender, so I'm out of options.
Sorry for rambling, but I know how most of you feel when it comes to having a pain in the head that's a major pain the butt!

try going to a chiropractor.
i had a friend who went and the guy cracked something in her neck and she never gets migraines anymore

I have tried so far;

Chiropractor
Physiotherapy
Accupuncture
Massage
TENS relief
Magnetic field therapy
Aromatherapy
Indian head massage
Pain killers
Food aversion
Spiritual Healing
Pressing the self destruct button repeatedly (lived on a diet of alcohol to make me sleep and forget the pain) - obviously this didn't work
Prayer

I know there are others, but I cannot remember them all.

I still get them, they still cripple me but I've learned to recognise the onset of them and I can normally stop them before they become too bad, and if one does get past me, I have learned what to do and what not to do to deal with the pain.

I have read somewhere that Migraine can be linked to an irregular heartbeat.

Anyway, I'm rambling again.

Sorry

K/x

I have tried so far;

Chiropractor
Physiotherapy
Accupuncture
Massage
TENS relief
Magnetic field therapy
Aromatherapy
Indian head massage
Pain killers
Food aversion
Spiritual Healing
Pressing the self destruct button repeatedly (lived on a diet of alcohol to make me sleep and forget the pain) - obviously this didn't work
Prayer

I know there are others, but I cannot remember them all.

I still get them, they still cripple me but I've learned to recognise the onset of them and I can normally stop them before they become too bad, and if one does get past me, I have learned what to do and what not to do to deal with the pain.

I have read somewhere that Migraine can be linked to an irregular heartbeat.

Anyway, I'm rambling again.

Sorry

K/x