Migraine Prevention and Treatment

Are you on the pill? Two different birth control pills caused me to have predictable debilitating migraines the week before my period. Switched brands and now I don't get any more migraines. Happened to me on Ortho Tri Cyclene and the generic Yaz (brand name Yaz does not do this too me)

Honey in a cup of coffee. Honey has an enzyme in it that causes the blood vessels to constrict and when we get a migraine it is the blood vessels expanding around the brain causing a headache. I have read that feverfew works also, it is a plant and you eat two leaves every day in a sandwich, instead of lettuce. I haven't tried it, since honey works for me.

The only thing that helps when get a migraine is Excedrine migraine. But only if I take it right away at the first signs of it starting, which for me is when I get that fuzziness in the peripheral of my vision.

I know how you feel..migranes are the worst! I have been living with them for 22 years now! Done every testing I could think of..allergist, ENT specialist and neurologist. Excedrin Migrane is the best..but, if not careful you can get "rebound" migrane headaches. That is when you take the medication for a few days in a row with the headache - the lingering headache can then be the cause of the med. Must take at on-set of migrane to really work. I was getting migranes 18x a month (not full-fledge migranes b/c I don't allow them to get that bad, I just took Excedrin migrane). Then realized I can't take so many of those and started with doctors & trial runs of meds. I am now down to 7 to 12 migranes a month - still no fun! Only once a year am I "down & out" with one - b/c I don't wait before I take the med. I have a prescription med. "relpax" that works great too! I usually take this first (especially if the migrane starts at night b/c of all the caffeine in Excedrin). If 2 don't work, I follow up with Excedrin migrane - usually it works alone or sometimes I need both - but, I do get rid of it.

I was on Topamax recently (saw others were on here) - and that is something you take daily as a preventive med. It did cut mine down by about 7 a month, but I just got off that (made me kind of forgettful) - the doctor said it's nickname is "dope-amax" - that finalized my decision to get off of that. I hate taking medications, but if I could find one that worked - I would! For now, after being on meds. for years - I am trying to just use the relpax and Excedrin migrane for when I get them. My neurologist next wants me to try nortipline (sp?) - another preventive med., but I am holding off for now.

Good luck with your migranes - totally know how you feel!

I saw all kinds of specialists and had tests done. Nobody could tell me why I get my migraines. They started at 16, some people told me I would outgrow them, I never did. BUT I decided to take matters into my own hands and just see by trial and error. I read somewhere about cell phones causing migraines and decided to give this a try. Incidentally I got my first cell phone at 16, and the first migraine a month or so after. So I went cold turkey and completely stopped using my cell, we got a land line instead. I haven't had a single migraine since! It's been about four years migraine free. Occasionally if I am in a large crowd of people with EMF surrounding me I feel the onset of a migraine, if I can I leave. Of course not all people are like that, but I am very sensitive to Electromagnetic Fields. When I did get them back then, nothing would help and meds would make it worse, i.e. it would subside and then come back even stronger. I saw that when I would ride it out it would go away on its own. That was before I had kids, so I don't know - that would be a lot harder to do now! It is really rare I even get a headache now, only if I am really exhausted and sleep deprived. It is so freeing to be migraine free, I know how torturous it is when you can't even look at light, or talk, or walk, drive... No fun. Wish I knew some natural remedies, I don't at the time as I haven't had the need - and back then four years ago I was more the 'medicated' type, now I will not take medicine for anything.

ACUPUNCTURE. Seriously. It works.

I had them for about ten years. I did acupunture for a few months and have not had them since. Good luck.

I had them for my whole adult life until I discovered Arbonne's Natural Balancing Cream. I had one more headache and then they were gone. They were for sure related to my cycle. I could barely function I had a headache every single day for over 3 years when actually started keeping track. The Dr. gave me all different kinds of meds and I lived on Tylenol and NOTHING WORKED. I feel for you there is nothing worse then a migraine and trying to function, work and take care of the kids and family. I am private messaging you my contact info. Good Luck

You need to see a neurologist. I've had migraines for 25 years, and tried tons of treatments. Currently I'm taking Topamax (prescription) along with Migrelief (magnesium, B2, and feverfew). Whenever I get migraines, 2-3 times a week, I take Vicoprofin and Reglan (for nausea) and lay down with a cold pack over my eyes. I haven't found anything that works well for me, although the Migrelief really seems to be helping more than anything else. I'm hopeful. I hope you find something to give you relief. You really should see a neurologist.

To prevent, I need adequate sleep. If I get too little sleep (like 5 hours) I'm fine the next day and the day after, the migraine monster comes to visit. That's far and away my biggest trigger. At the first sign, I take 800 mg of ibuprofen (4 extra-strength generic advil), take a nap, and then I continue to take advil 4 at a time every 4 hours for 12-24 hours until I don't feel it coming back. I used to worry that this was way too much by my doc said that 2400 mg in one day isn't a big deal and even up to 4800 mg is OK every once in a while and is a better solution than moving on to the heavy-hitter migraine meds such as Imitrex.

My family sees a naturopath who does muscle-response testing to figure out what you are sensitive to, deficient in, etc. and puts together a nutritional and supplement plan according to how you test. Some people think this is quackery but it made sense for me and it really worked. Money is very tight so I can't afford to see her right now nor can I afford the supplements, but before working with her I used to get headaches daily (sinus, tension, jaw-related, migraines, etc.) and now the only ones I get are when I'm congested or don't sleep enough. I've also heard wonderful things about acupuncture and chiropractic and would recommend that you look into those too, particularly acupuncture since yours are hormone triggered. The way that acupuncture can work with female hormones is simply astounding. Good luck!

What are your triggers? Try to be proactive in preventing them. If it's hormonally related, talk with a doctor or pharmacist that specializes in Bio-identical hormones. They can check if you are have an imbalance that is causing the headaches. If you are not sure who to see, look for a "compounding pharmacy" and ask for a referral to a doctor.
Also, compounding pharmacies can make a lot of oral medications into topical medications that are better for you because they won't affect your kidneys, liver & stomach.

I get lots of headaches of all kinds. I get migraines, sinus headaches, headaches from clenching my teeth at night, etc. Excedrine migraine works well for all headaches except TRUE migraines. If it's a true migraine, the only thing I've found that works is Imitrex. If it's a true migraine, it works well, and quickly. If it's not, it will do nothing.

My migraines are also hormone related and were made worse the times I had been taking birth control pills. Mine started the first day of my period or the day before and lasted the duration of my period. They were debilitating; I would have nausea and vomiting, my vision was affected, my balance was affected, I had numbness in my face and extremities, not to mention the pain... they were awful. I started having them as a teenager and I had tried everything possible, including some heavy duty narcotics, nothing worked - I had resigned myself to the fact that I just had to live with it. But then I was seeing a gynecologist for other issues I was having - he wanted me to take bc pills. I mentioned the migraine issue. He deduced that my migraines were a result of a huge drop in my hormone level. He suggested taking the pills constantly -omitting the placebo pills- to suppress my period. I was skeptical, but since I had really heavy, horrible periods, I was more than happy to not have them. I never had a migraine while I was taking the pills.

I ended up having a hysterectomy (I still have one ovary). I had the surgery and stopped taking the pills the same day, resulting in the mother of all migraines, he introduced me to Imitrex and it was like a miracle, but since then, I have only had two or three. That was in 2001. I'm not suggesting a hysterectomy, but perhaps pills to suppress your period could work for you.

Water retention is a possibility. My mom always told us to drink lots of water as that actually can work as a diuretic. 8 glasses a day.

Poor nutrition can be a cause of headaches. For example, some people find that increasing magnesium intake helps. There are actually been studies in this regard. There are supplements that may help or even a detox. However, since you are specifically mentioning your monthly cycle there is a supplement called GLA that comes to mind. It helps even hormonal processes. Email me if you would like a link to my website to see it, or if I can send you a list of supplements that might help.

As far as medications talk to your doctor. There are pills you can take at the onset of the migraine that you dissolve under your tongue for quick relief. And since nausea often accompanies a migraine these are great as you don't have to drink anything.

I get them too and usually around my period too. I always end up taking 3 extra strength Tylenol at least a couple of times in a day to treat it and it only works if I get it on time. Of course lots of water is a must. But just recently I was at my dentists and he suggested that I get a mouth guard. I've never noticed myself grinding my teeth (nor has my husband) but the dentist said that I've got all the signs. He said that it could be the cause of my headaches. Perhaps a mouth guard might help.

Take some Midol. My friend I was a nanny for had me tell my MIL to give it to my FIL when he had one coming on. It has meds in it to do something to the blood vessels, I don't know if it's dilate them or constrict them but it works better than any migraine med he has ever taken.

She would also have me give her pre-teen monsters one when they came in the door roaring and being horrors. With in a half hour they were back to being happy fun loving kids.

I also have hormonal migranes and I switched to Seasonale for birth control. On sesonale, you only have your period every 3 months, so I only need to deal with migranes 4 times a year. Cold packs and Imitrex work for me when I do have one.

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I also have hormonal migranes and I switched to Seasonale for birth control. On sesonale, you only have your period every 3 months, so I only need to deal with migranes 4 times a year. Cold packs and Imitrex work for me when I do have one.

I can't give you any help from the medical side, but lots of suggestions from the natural side.

What is your diet like? The more simple sugars and highly refined/processed food you eat, the more likely you are to suffer migraines (as well as many other health problems!)

How much do you exercise? Of course the cardio is important. But muscle strenghtening, stretching and tension release is most important in avoiding migraines. Ever do yoga? You should!

If you would like some ideas on some natural remedies please visit
Earthclinic.com. I love that site. If you want the history of why these things work, this is not the place. However, it is a great site to get lots of information on how to use natural remedies for any ailment, and TONS of feedback from people who have used these remedies and their experience.

I've tried every migraine treatment I could think of. Homeopathy worked to decrease the intensity of them. Accupuncture not too well. Excedrin or Motrin/Tylenol/coffee with a cold facecloth over my eyes and on the back of my neck in a dark room for 30 mins seems to do the trick. It doesn't help witht he naseua or blurry vision, but helps witht he pain. I also tried a chiropractor which seems to help quite a bit with preventing them & relieving them. Migraines are the worste. Keep trying until you find something that works for you. Good luck.

You can give acupuncture/chinese herbs a try, I have treated many women with migraines and have around 75% success rate, better when they are related to menstrual cycle. Acupuncture works very well at regulating hormones, menopause, infertility, etc.

The key to prevention is knowing your triggers. Do you know what they are? Have you kept a diary/journal to document everything you did, ate, drank, were exposed to on the day of your migraine? This is very important to prevention. Once you know your triggers, you can avoid those things that bring on migraines. However, sometimes we get migraines with no known triggers. This is often my case, as I am a migraine sufferer as well. I know the tell tale sign that a migraine is coming so I have used the excedrine for migraines (though the regular excedrine and "migraine" formula have the same ingredients) when I get a migraine. I cannot use excedrine at the moment because I am pregnant so I use Tylenol instead. Migraines are awful, I know. IF you can catch it when you feel it coming on, sometimes you can nip it quickly by taking Tylenol, at least that has been the case for me. But the Excedrine does work too.

I suffer from migranes as well. I use excedrin migrane and get a massage whenever I can. I have found that the massage does a great job in helping reduce the migranes.

I don't know much about natural remedies, but if you do go to the doctor, I loved Imitrex. It worked wonders and within 20 minutes I could function again, and within an hour, it was gone. I usually only needed one dose to knock it out. However, I'm one of the 2% that had a bad reaction to it. So my doctor put me on Midrin. It was good too, but not as effective as Imitrex, and with the Midrin, you take 2 pills at the beginning and then 1 pill each hour after that until it's gone. The problem for me if I took more than the first 2 pills I got very drowsy. You may want to stay away from caffinee, red wine, too much sugar, and make sure that you are hydrated and eating regularly. For my regular headaches, I use Target brand Tension Headache Pain Reliever. It's the knock off of Excedrin Migraine, but it works great and $3 cheaper.

I had cluster headaches (similar to migraines, but worse) for 15 years. You name it, I tried it...natural and medicinal.

The ONLY thing that worked for me was taking daily preventative meds: topamax and verapamil; and most importantly I quit smoking.

I would highly recommend seeing a neurologist that specializes in headaches.

I hope you get relief soon. I feel your pain!

If you aren't seeing a neurologist - that is the first step. I have had migraines and headaches for about 6 1/2 years now. Its horrible. Sometimes I will get one a month...sometimes 4 or 5. I am currently on 100mg Topamax daily for prevention. Although the only thing it seems to have helped are my daily dull headaches...which is the only reason I have stuck with it. Plus I hear it helps you lose weight :) I also take 100mg Imitrex when I get a headache and it works awesome...except for the fatigue that comes along with it after. But that's better than a headache! I was taking the name brand but now take generic because it is cheaper and it works the same. I have many triggers for mine and many are impossible to avoid. I get all kinds of headaches. It makes life miserable sometimes. My mom and grandma also got them. Eventually they outgrew them and I hope I do the same. It really stinks that there is no cure.

I am surprised no one mentioned IMITREX. It saved me many times. I also avoid foods with MSG and drink lots of water. I found that usually around my period is when my migraines were the worst. The important thing is the need to take the pill as soon as you suspect a migraine. I take it with water and lay down til it subsides. Good luck.....migraines are the worst!

I used to get migraines around the time of my period and noticed that if I didn't get enough sleep or if I drank soda or coffee it would be worse, chocolate sometimes did it too. I started drinking water only about a week before my cycle was due and thru out my cycle and made sure I got at least 6-7 hours of sleep and that seemed to help - also helped lighten my period so it was a double bennefit. I do still get migraines on occasion - usually sleep related or slight dehidration - if I do get them I take excedrine migraine with a huge glass of water and then nap until I don't feel like I am about to vomit if I roll over or sit up. I also will use a cold compress over my forehead and eyes when I lay down for the nap. usually takes about 1-2 hours to go away, sometimes longer but not very often. my 7 year old is really good if I tell him I need to lay down because of my headache - he has seen me vomit because of it and knows I am "sick" and will let me get my nap in.