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Bethbs (London, GB) on 10/24/2014
5 out of 5 stars

I've had frequent migraines since I was a teenager and tried many remedies over the years with little success. Painkillers don't touch the pain; triptans don't work, ACV triggers one within minutes and I've tried pretty much everything else to boot. So I recently visited a specialist migraine consultant and thought I'd share the advice.

Firstly, magnesium in much larger doses than one would normally think. Even if blood levels are normal the specialist suggested that individual body chemistry may result in deficiencies at the transcellular level. She suggested any or all of:

Transdermal magnesium oil (solution of magnesium chloride and distilled water, 50:50 by volume - buy the crystals in bulk online) 10 sprays per day - may sting at first - wash off after 30 mins if uncomfortable

Ionic magnesium: 2.5 ml per day diluted in a large glass of water

Magnesium malate (better absorbed than many of the other forms taken orally). She didn't specify a dose for this but implied it can be taken up to one's tolerance level - if it results in diarrhoea, take less

Epsom salt baths. If it seems extravagant to put 1 lb of Epsom salts in the bath and then run it all out down the plughole, use a half cup in a footbath instead.

A lot of people have posted that they sleep better after using magnesium at night. I found it kept me awake so I use it earlier in the day. Everyone's different.

So far so good - 3 weeks and no migraines, despite a number of potential triggers.

In addition she recommended 400 mg/day of Vitamin B2; and 1000 IU Vitamin D3 (I would suggest not to take this dose long term - perhaps have a break in summer).

And at first sign of an acute attack to take some form of gastric protection such as 10 mg Domperidone or 20 mg Omeprazole before any painkillers.

I hope this helps.

REPLY         

Replied By Bethbs (London, UK) on 12/11/2014

Update 3 months later: After a good start, there's no real reduction in average number or severity of migraines, unfortunately. That's with daily doses of: 1000 IU Vit D3; 2.5 ml ionic magnesium; 10 squirts transdermal magnesium (magnesium oil); and an excellent diet. However for various reasons I've had less exercise than usual and that certainly plays a part as well. I will continue and report back
REPLY         

Replied By Bethbs (London) on 02/16/2016

Update 1 year on.

Magnesium was helpful at first but after a few months migraines became more and more frequent, at least 3 a week, untreatable - nothing touched them.

Stopped everything for while and gradually reintroduced the 400 mg B2,1000 IU D3,800 microgram Folic acid + a few strands of saffron daily but no magnesium.

Migraines are down to about 3 a month and those have been treatable. (The saffron was the recommendation of an acupuncturist but no, the 8 months of acupuncture didn't seem to help - couldn't even reduce a headache present at the time of treatment).

Everyone's different and migraines seem to follow cycles so one can never be sure what is and isn't helping, but on this regime, so far, so good. Possibly magnesium can be overdone, over time.