Natural Remedies for Migraines

My latest findings about migraines:And I am much much better. There are lots of underlying problems which lead to migraines so if you resolve them (or go towards resolving them)then the migraines will be less strong and fewer or you might be able to avoid them altogether. There are 4 main problems

1.) Digestion - always have enzymes with you to take whenever the first sign of a migraine appears and /or after you have cooked food.

2.) Circulation - there is certainly a circulation disorder in a migraine sufferer. So improve circulation-a.) By walking at least an hour a day nonstop 6 days a week b.) Natural supplements that are known to help circulation.

3. Sugar balance - It is important to maintain sugar levels so take stevia instead of sweeteners or sugar or fructose and eat regularly.

4 Nutrients. - Very important to take nutrients that the brain needs ie: magnesium, linseeds, vit B, wheatgerm and beetroot

Other essentials for avoiding migraines:
A- Eat alot of raw food - the minimum per day a big lettuce salad with at least 2 other raw veg and seeds, and apple cider vinegar, cold pressed oil, sea salt or rock salt and cayenne pepper
B. - Completely avoid coffee, black tea, milk and soya products like miso.
C- Sleep in a very well ventilated room.

Good luck

VITAMIN B2 RIBOFLAVIN

It's possible that several of the B-Complex vitamins act synergistically for specific problems, like migraines. Niacin (straight nicotinic acid form of B3) has evidence of working, and there is also evidence that B2 riboflavin can effect the same relief from migraines, but possibly via a different pathway.
[URL=http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b2-000334.htm
Migraine Headache

Several studies indicate that people who get migraines may decrease the frequency and duration of the headache by taking riboflavin. One double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that taking 400 mg of riboflavin a day cut the number of migraine attacks in half. The study did not compare riboflavin to conventional medications used to prevent migraines, however, so more research is needed.

The NIH US National Institute of Health has an entire Searchable huge database of studies done in institutes of all kinds from all over the world:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19649688

Studies on adults show the effectiveness and tolerability of riboflavin in migraine prevention, while data on children are scarce. This retrospective study reports on our experience of using riboflavin for migraine prophylaxis in 41 pediatric and adolescent patients, who received 200 or 400 mg/day single oral dose of riboflavin for 3, 4 or 6 months. Attack frequency and intensity decreased (P < 0.01) during treatment, and these results were confirmed during the follow-up. A large number of patients (77.1%) reported that abortive drugs were effective for controlling ictal(relating to seizure or convulsion) events. During the follow-up, 68.4% of cases had a 50% or greater reduction in frequency of attacks and 21.0% in intensity. Two patients had vomiting and increased appetite, respectively, most likely for causes unrelated to the use of riboflavin. In conclusion, riboflavin seems to be a well-tolerated, effective, and low-cost prophylactic treatment in children and adolescents suffering from migraine. On the linked NIH page at the top is the Search. Just use any string like 'migraines and Vitamin B2'.

I have had terrible migraines weekly for over 40 years I now take 1 CoQ10 and 2 feverfew every morning I have had only three migraines in the past year. Hope this helps my son and daughter in law live in Sykesville.

Some anti migraine steps:

1. Walk for an hour and a half nonstop everyday for circulation

2. Daily, take pills made of black grape peels and pips, Take 1 and a half or twice the amount recomended on the bottle (for circulation)

3. Take digestive enzymes whenever you eat anything that isn't raw. And/or other natural digestive aids.

4. Try not to get very upset emotionally.

5. Eat one or 2 big lettuce salads with lots of raw ingredients everyday & avoid the well known triggers- coffee, chocolate, any cheese that isn't fresh or cottage (Blue cheese is especially dangerous), milk, cream, ice cream, and soya sauce, or miso or soya products that resemble meat, and black tea.

6. Sleep in a very well ventilated room (preferably in a howling gale)

I take coQ10 daily for migraines. Although I still get them the amount of them has been reduced by about 50%. Clinical trials have found coQ10 to be effective at migraine prevention. Research was released in 2004 by American Academy of Neurology. CoQ10 can be found at any health food or drugstore.

http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=185

I also use Oxygen as an abortive for cluster headaches and have found it to be helpful for migraines and hangovers. I keep an oxygen tank next to my bed. You do need a prescription from a doctor for oxygen. Oxygen is actually the recommended treatment for cluster headaches for an acute attack.

I have to agree with the vodka trick. After many years of being a migraine sufferer my doctor told me of this trick that her grandmother used to use. I looked at her in shock, this was a doctor who was at the end of medical remedies for me and said to just try it. It has to be good vodka, and not cheap nasty stuff mixed with chemicals. Next time I had the flashing lights and the sick feeling I had a neat double vodka, (I hate neat vodka) Disgusting. Within 5 minutes the flashing zig zags subsided and the pain was to a minimum, at least something I could cope with until I got home from work ( I am a teacher) then I could go to bed to sleep as migraine makes me extremely tired. So give it a try. I always have a tiny bottle of vodka in my bag "just in case".

MIGRAINES:

Here is a very quick and cheap thing to try, because all it'll cost is a small bottle of the niacin form (nicotinic acid) of Vitamin B3! I note that B3 is not listed under the Vitamins on this site, and B3 is not in the Remedies list under Migraines, either.

From the Linus Pauling site (well, one of them):
Http://www.orthomolecular.org

Two Case Reports on the Treatment of Acute Migraine with Niacin: Its Hypothetical Mechanism of Action Upon Calcitonin-Gene Related Peptide and Platelets
Jonathan E. Prousky, N. D. , FRSH; Erika Sykes, N. D. (Cand)

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2003/pdf/2003-v18n02-p108.pdf

At the first sign of aura, he orally ingested 300 to 500mg of niacin, slightly chewing the niacin pills to allow them to dissolve slowly in his mouth. Hall found that the benefits of niacin were most pronounced when taken on an empty stomach, although it was noted that there was still a MH relieving effect when taken after meals. Additionally, he remarked that the migraines were resolved when intense flushing occurred.

My husband read that vinegar reduced cramping in athletes - so he tried it for the leg cramps he gets from riding 40 miles on his bike. One day he suggested I try it for my frequent migraines - he thought it could affect the sodium channels that are linked to migraines. I get the kind w/ hypersensitivity to light, sound, etc., sometimes w/ naseau. Well, it's not 100%, but it works fast and helps more than other painkillers. He uses approx 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar in 2-3 TBS water. Someone should do clinical research on the sodium channel aspect as per migraines.

Hello, I have suffered from severe migraines for years. I am a diabetic so I alway drank sugar free drinks and drinks with sweeteners in them. I was having migraines 3-4 days a week. Severe ones. I stopped all aspartame and anything with artificial sweeteners and migraines are now gone. Thank God.

Hi, Jackie, Good news and bad news. Bad news first. You have probably already discovered this - buying organic food or good supplements (without fillers) in this country is hard unless you buy on the internet. I personally don't like doing this. But there are some good shopkeepers willing to help if you do the research for them. Farmers cannnot sell direct here because of insurance problems but some health shops will order for customers.
Good news. I followed this regime back in '95. I had severe IBSb(bleeding) chronic candida, headaches and general malaise. I could tell you where every toilet in the south of the country was as I was always having to stop a few times on any journey.

A friend was studying acupuncture and asked if I would go to him as a case study. The day before that my cervical smear had come back positive. Now I was looking at camera's being put up and down - and - my privates being poked at. So I ran for it. He and his instructor recommended that I see a nutritionist. I was a bit wary because we were just coming out of the days when nutritionists would recommend "egg and grapefruit" diets for losing weight.

Anyway the following was what she recommended.

Supplements - Vitamin E. (for help with healing)

Preferably all organic but not necessarily.

Breakfast - Porridge with water or red grapes

Lunch - homemade vegetable soup with homemade brown bread or brown scones

Dinner - chicken, fish or lamb - boiled, steamed or grilled only. Carrots, broccolli and potatoes boiled, steamed or grilled only.

For drinks and snacks - Water, black tea and more grapes.

No sauces or salt or sugar. What you see above is it.

The recomendation was to follow this for two and a half to three weeks then slowly start to re-introduce food i.e one at a time and if there was a reaction go back to basics for a few days then re-introduce another food.

It was daunting and the first three days I felt awful(detox) and dreaded mealtimes as my family were having lovely "normal" meals. By day 4 I knew this was working. By day 7 if I had been told to stay on this for the rest of my life I would have done it gladly. After 2 weeks my family all started to follow this regime because the transformation was obvious. The house had its toilet back. I felt so good that I only introduced 1 or 2 foods a weeks to see if I had a reaction but didn't eat them again and stayed eating that way for 4 months. Turned out my main intolerances are milk and mushrooms. I can drink milk or I can eat mushrooms. Put the two together and I get diarrhea and headaches within an hour and then for about two days everything I eat upsets my stomach.

Sorry to other readers that this is so long. This regime may not be perfect but as a working person this was accessable and easy to implement.

where do i start with treating food intolerance? i need relief from migraines which are a result food intolerances. food intolerance tests show i am intolerant to many foods and food additives. Some of these foods i can directly relate to migraines but some of them i cannot directly relate to migraines.

for example, i am intolerant to oranges, lemons, bannanas, tomatoes, diary, but i do not notice any headaches with these.

i do however, relate headaches to preservatives, msg, also chocolate, cheese, wine, and some breads.

as there are preservatives in many foods, it is very difficult to avoid them. i really need to address whatever imbalance there is in my body.

it is difficult for me to know what to take, i cannot take lemon juice and even though i can eat an apple i cannot drink apple juice as it will trigger migraine.

my system seems extremely sensitive as i can take milk thistle tablets but i cannot take milk thistle drops, so if anyone has treatments will they please tell me which form of the treatment is the least likely to trigger migraine? For example, tablets, powder, drops, etc.

if more than one treatment to be taken, please tell me if i can take them together, and what dosage.

many thanks to all who help and if alfred has any further advice i would be glad to hear it.

jackie

I had to write in since I am so amazed! Lastnight I had 2 adult beverages (light beer). I am an occasional drinker. I enjoy organic, wine, sake (Japenese wine), and light beer. I drink maybe once or twice per month. Before retiring last night after drinking the beer(was up later then usual), I drank a bottle water, some pumpkin seeds (for magnesium), and a little chocolate cake from weight watchers. I think the beer, seeds & chocolate triggered one of the worst migraines I have ever experienced. This morning I was feeling very sick with every symptom. I laid down in a quiet room and went back to sleep, awoke by a phone call and felt a tiny bit better but still had the migraine. I ate a 1/2 bagel, some sips of green tea. I got online and found this website. I went to the kitchen and whipped up 8 oz chilled water, disolved a tablespoon on organic raw honey and 2 TBS of ACV. It was a little yuk but not undoable. I downed it in 3-4 gulps. I started to get an immediate result! I went upstairs put my feet in a hot bath and placed a cool towel on the back of my neck for 5 minutes. I went back downstairs got my veggie steamer out, poured in about 2 tbs ACV and placed my face over the steamer for 5 minutes.

Conclusion, I feel 95% headache free! I am not sure if I have sinustis since I have been having seasonal allergy symptoms or if it was a combination with the alcohol and diet. I found all of above-mentioned natural remedies here on this fantastic widesite. It is my first time visiting here and I will keep it handy for sure.

I am so relieved to have found a natural remedy that so-far works amazingly!

Thank You!!!!

I have taken Indonesian type of ginger candy (usually in the Asian section of a regular grocery store, natural health market,or sometimes you have to find an ethnic grocer)--they are strong but tasty. It has helped with sea sickness, nausea from dietary indiscretions and other self-inflicted causes, and with sinus-type headache. I have not tried for migraine but I will. Ginger candy is also good for kids who are motion sick or just have a tummy ache---no danger of overdosing, tastes good, etc. but it does have a fair amount of sugar so mind that....

I fill two gallon size plastic zip baggies with ice cubes--wrap each in a thin dish towel or t-shirt--place one on the neck and one over the eyes and lie down (a cool, dark, quiet room is best)...this is not a permanent fix but brings relief while waiting for other remedies to kick in....also, drink cool water and cool fresh juice (diluted is best). The ice packs usually make it possible for me to get to sleep and stay asleep through the night...if the pain comes back the next day, then more extreme measures are usually called for...(e.g., prescription meds--ugh).

10 years of weekly migraines gone with Swedish bitters, a digestive complex and sublingual vit B12.

I take 2 tablespoons of Swedish bitters at the slightest hint of migraine- sometimes several times a day(I take a bottle wherever I go).
Also I take 30 drops of a digestive complex which has artichoke(cynara scolymus),fumaria (fumaria officinalis), boldo(peumus boldus Mol) bitter chamomile, rosemary and artimisia absinthium). These I take after any cooked meal.

And I take 2 sublingual vit B12 a day, double the recommended dose.

I would recommend a big lettuce based raw vegetable salad everyday as one main meal and I believe that all the above would cure any migraine that is digestion related. (I feel my whole chemistry has changed)

Good luck.

I have been having menstrual migraines for the last 15 years - up to 10 a month recently - and had been put on all sorts of drugs. I came across a site which mentioned lack of magnesium being a cause of migraine. When I asked to be put on a trial to see if it would work for me the doctors at hospital said they had never heard of such a thing so I started taking a supplement myself. Since taking the Magnesium I am down to 2-3 migraines a month. I am now taking the ACV mixture and look forward to seeing the effects of that.

I have been using the salt water with netti salt and spring water when I see the aura/lights for dehydration that I seem to have frequently. So far so good, but I have a concern. Does salt water causes the cells to die or osmosis. Can someone please help me to understand this?

I get migraines. I typically get from 2 to 4 per month, and they can last up to 4 days. Often, they don't respond to either OTC pain relievers or prescribed tablets. For some reason, when I get a migraine, I crave salt. I thought it might be the iodine my body wanted, so I tried 6 drops of iodine solution in a glass of water. While it didn't cure my migraine, it did provide immediate relief, and as a bonus, I noticed I could breate more clearly, think more clearly, and had more energy. Don't know what the reason could be, but these results are consistent.

I am currently sitting here, unable to sleep due to a rapid onset of a migraine. Did I mention the carrots? LOL! I don't have an ice pack (you can bet I am buying one tomorrow!) right now, but what I do have is my son's bag of carrots-fresh out of the fridge-on the back of my neck at the base of the skull. I am staring to feel some relief (it's been about 5 minutes), and I am pretty sure that if I raid the fridge for more produce, I may actually be able to go to bed soon! I have suffered with migraines since puberty (I'm 34 now and am post total hysterectomy, so I know it's not the hormones anymore) and I never thought that I could get such fast relief! Thank you EC and those that post what works for them!

The migraine may have come from the chinese food, it is usually loaded with MSG and that will bring on a migraine very quickly in me. Also it makes me hold a lot of fluid.

I usually do not get headaches or migraines but this time I was really feeling flu-like symptoms, cramps bloated and I had a headache which turned into a migraine, I had the migraine for three days. So I looked up Earth Clinic. And drank about 1 T of Apple Cider Vinegar in some water ...then I read the story a lady shared about using cold packs for migraines. We have the flexible ice pack in the freezer I layed down and place it on the back of my neck where my brain stem is for about 15 minutes and my migraine went away. Great remedy and it worked for me!

I suffer from occasional migraines, which I can stop if i catch them early enough (though sometimes I wake with one and there is not much I can do)

To stop the symptoms developing and to lessen the syptoms when I already have one, I eat some chopped raw cabbage (contains the same active ingredient as aspirin, I believe) and chew a piece of crystalised ginger root. This lessens both the headache and the sick feeling. I don't swallow the ginger, just chew it and swallow the 'juice', then spit it out. Because for some reason it gives me hiccups!!

I have suffered from migraines for many years, quite often relating to my menstrual cycle. I feel like I had tried everything, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, drugs, changing my diet, and nothing seemed to make a difference.

I usually just lay in bed with a hot water bottle attached to my head for hours on end, waiting for sleep to come so I could sleep it off.

However, I think I have finally found a remedy that works regularly for me.

One thing I have found about migraines is that they are connected to dilation and constriction of blood vessels in the brain. When you get a migraine, your blood vessels dilate.

So, the magic cure for me is two things.

A) as soon as I start getting ANY sign of a migraine, I drink the strongest coffee I can find and as much of it as I want. I don't normally drink coffee, so it affects me quickly. The coffee constricts the blood vessels and helps ease the pain of the swelling in the brain.

B) also what I do is heat up my feet and cool down my head. This helps with my circulation. I find when I have a migraine, my feet get very cold, so if I heat them up by soaking them in hot water or using a hot water bottle on them and cool down my head with a cool compress, I get relief.

Finally, I have been taking gingko biloba regularly as it is good for improving circulation.

I have not had problems with migraines now for almost 8 months.

I am a faithful reader of Earth Clinic. I saw this post regarding migraines and the use of a cool pack. I passed it along to my mom, who suffers from migraines multiple times per week. She tried it with her last episode, and she said it helped substantially. Thanks, EC!

YEA - ...I was so close to take a headache tablet and in the last moment I decided to get a cool pack. I am amazed how well it worked - within 10 min. I felt relieve and as if my brain calmed down. Thank you so much for this remedy I will definitely pass it on...it is very relaxing!

Migraines...Water

I got this information from studying Carey Reams in the early 1980s. He had been one of the leading experts in soils and minerals for the Department of Agriculture.

Many people get migraines because they are low on water (dehydrated).

A Simple Test:
* When you have a migraine headache or feel one coming on = drink three (3) glasses of regular
clean water (8 ounces each) one right after the other.
* Wait for 30 minutes.
* If after 30 minutes your migraine is gone or much better = you were dehydrated.

Many people substitute tea, coffee, soft drinks, etc. for water because they do seem to satisfy the thirst. But, these are chemically different than water and affect the body differently than water.

I have known many people who complained they had a migraine. Most of the time this test worked.

It is so wonderful that Cayenne pepper works for migraines, but it isn't just cayenne pepper, many different kinds of hot peppers work. My Dad's a fan of this remedy, he grows all sorts of hot peppers in his garden every year. This has made me do some research into the subject. I came upon some information which was very interesting, and it linked migraines with digestive problems.

It goes like this...

If you are not digesting your food properly, then it will sit in your stomach and rot, in more pleasant terms, it ferments. Needless to say, fermentation is the creation of gas. This gas is then absorbed into the bloodstream and when it reaches your head it expands resulting in a migraine. Now, the fun part is that when one consumes these hot peppers the heat will expel these gasses, and in turn, relieves the migraine. With that in mind, digestive aids, probiotics or simply mindful eating may do the trick to alleviate your problems on a more permanent and effective basis. I hope this information is helpful, I have found alot of helpful information on this site for myself, and simply wanted to give a bit myself.