Migraines

[ChristineLynnP]

I've posted in various places before, but any time I join a forum I like to know... is there anything in specific that fellow migraine sufferers find especially helpful/soothing? I'm not asking about medications, diet modifications, etc... been there, done that to no avail. It's not a food sensitivity or anything like that... it can be somewhat connected to my blood pressure and blood sugar, although I get plenty of migraines just for the sake of having migraines. And that's miserable. I don't like taking anything for them unless it's especially bad, for fear of rebound headaches or even worse, it losing effectiveness over time. So, is there anything in the way of teas, special lotions, etc. that are helpful? I used to love a particular massage cream B&B made for migraines, but it was discontinued several years ago. I swear, within 5 minutes of my boyfriend rubbing in on my neck and shoulders for me, I felt much better. Recently I saw it on Ebay for $75... and sadly, if I found $75 spare dolloars I'd pounce on it, that's how good it was. I hate wasting money on things that don't work, so I'd love it if someone has a HG product recommendation that I can use.

[Xarata]

I'm a fan of excedrin (both acetaminophen and aspirin with caffeine as opposed to just being one or the other), but my friend who suffers the life altering migraines (the ones that can cause you to vomit), she swears by acupuncture.

I've tried roll-ons but my experience is that fragrant oils of any kind just make my migraines worse.

[karen]

Milkshakes help me...coffee or the jamoca flavored ones from Arby's are the best. The cold and the caffeine together seem to really help. I take Tylenol or some other OTC pain pills but I don't get them often enough to worry about rebounds.

My only real trigger is sunlight, and it's really just intense pain, so they're not that severe. DH gets the ones that just crop up, and he has the kind where his vision is impaired.

What was in that B&B cream? I remember you were talking about it before, but now that I have a good lotion recipe it's not super super difficult to add scents to it.

[JenK]

Other than meds (sometimes work, sometimes don't, but make me so tired, heart is pounding, and feel down right strange), I find darkness and a heated compress help. The heated thing I use is from CVS and about 20" long, just pop in the microwave. This has helped so much. The heat doesn't take the pain away, but it dulls it a bit. Cold for me makes the pain worse.

Hope you find something that helps.

MIGRAINES STINK!!!!

[zeebs]

I usually get them from dehydration. So drinking SmartWater for like two days straight usually helps me.

Aside from that, I don't have much for you -- just that acupuncture has worked the best out of anything I've tried.

I do agree that hot packs are a great way to alleviate the pain. This is usually how I get to sleep when I have a headache.

[ChristineLynnP]

Milkshakes help me...coffee or the jamoca flavored ones from Arby's are the best. The cold and the caffeine together seem to really help. I take Tylenol or some other OTC pain pills but I don't get them often enough to worry about rebounds.

My only real trigger is sunlight, and it's really just intense pain, so they're not that severe. DH gets the ones that just crop up, and he has the kind where his vision is impaired.

What was in that B&B cream? I remember you were talking about it before, but now that I have a good lotion recipe it's not super super difficult to add scents to it.

I never thought of trying something cold like that. If it wasn't so late I'd try it tonight.

There's a long list of mainly unessential filler ingredients, but the ones that are aimed at pain relief/aromatherapy are: peppermint oil, cedarwood bark oil, bergamont oil, lavendar oil, chamomile flower oil, arnica montana extract, and angelica archangelica root extract. It's really soothing going on, it just has the best texture ever and the rubbing it in experience alone helps, but the smell is wonderful too. You mostly pick up the mint and bergamont oils.

It would be so wonderful if you could add scents to the lotions. I know it's something I should be able to do at home, but I don't have a super-amazing lotion base, and have no idea what concentrations of the oils to use.

I can't believe I'd forgotten, but a friend sent some my way last month, so of course I'm going to go use it right now

[Xarata]

i have seen a lot on peppermint oils- have you tried a strong peppermint tea?

*peppermint oil is not good for pregnant women, just throwing that out there for reference.

[Silverfern]

For me, Caffeine. And as weird as it might sound, a hot shower. But I don't get the blinding debilitating ones anymore, I grew out of them, luckily.

My husband still gets them, however, and he says acupuncture helps lessen them. And lots of caffeine for him, also.

[ChristineLynnP]

Caffiene helps me too, but only sometimes. I try not to consume caffiene after 4:00, which rules out Excedrine in the evenings. I've also noticed that it depends on the type of headache I have- sometimes Excedrine Migraine works, other times it's Excedrine Tension Headache. And plenty of times neither one works.

By "strong" peppermint tea, how strong do you mean? I've drank regular peppermint tea made from tea bags, but didn't notice it helping with my headache although it wasn't very strong either. I can probably get my hands on loose peppermint leaves to make a pure herbal tea, but would I use the leave straight, or how stronly are you suggesting I blend them with something else (rooibos tea is all I have on hand as far as loose tea leaves). I have a homemade tea blend of rooibos, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and rose, but aside from being delicious I don't feel that it lessens my headache any. There are some herbs I have to stay away from, because either because I have high blood pressure or because they have effects (duiretics) that aren't supposed to be used on my bp medication.

Maybe I do really need to look into where to get accupuncture done here. NJ isn't known for being a health-conscious state and since the nearest health food stores are just under an hour in each direction or out of state (DE) as far as natural practitioners go, I think my area cares even less about natural living. Is it true that usually chiropractors do accupuncture?

[egerandi]

I have a huge box of Excedrine on standby, as I get these every month, at around the TOTM. I'm told my BC is doing it, but I'd rather deal with the migraine than try to switch BC as it's working awesome (no cramps, 2-3 day period). If it gets really bad, I lay back down with a cold gel patch on my forehead or neck; I picked it up at the drug store. It has a sticky back, so it stays, and it's self-activated. I stay out of the light and noise too.

Friend of mine gets really bad ones, and standing under warm/hot shower on mist setting helps him.

Have you tried figuring out what triggers yours?