Migraine headaches - is there a natural cure/prevention?

My wife gets crippling headaches. At times, they drive her to tears and render her virtually lifeless.

Of course, on the web, there are all kinds of claims. Many are just trying to sell something.

So, to my brothers and sisters of ATS, a question -

What have you seen actually work in ridding or preventing yourself or someone else of these harsh, painful headaches, preferably using food/diet or other natural products?

I used to have terrible migraines, but my mother found not only an instant cure when i had an attack coming on, it actually stopped me getting migraines completely after a few months. Chrysanthemum tea is what is was and I'd swear by it, hope it works for your wife as well as it did me. Good luck

For me, the only "natural" thing to do is avoid MSG like the plague. Most people have no idea they are ingesting it, you would not believe how invasive it is in our food supply. I also can't tell you how many people I know whose migraines stopped once they became aware of this and avoided it.

If you can confirm that as the cause Benevolent Heretic seems to have come up with a course of action against it for those times you ingest it but don't realize it till it's too late.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Other than that, I have found nothing natural works and there is only 1 NSAID (anti-inflamatory) that has any affect on mine. Unfortuantely the last manufacturer has stopped producing the over-the-counter version in the US. When the prescription version went on national backorder I thought all was lost, but it just came back into the pharmacies (prescription only). It's called Ketoprofen.

Of course, that's not natural and everyones body reacts to different NSAID's in different ways.

Edit: I'm going to try that Chrysanthemum tea next time first. I much prefer something natural.

[edit on 5/9/2006 by Relentless]

GEt her on a low food chemical diet sa well as look at her stress levels and or caffiene intake.

After going on a low allergy diet my migraines stopped completely & havent come back ( touchwood)

Let me know if you want me to point you in the direction of some good recipes.

I suffer from migraines, so I totally relate to your wife's pain. There are days that I can't leave my bed, but over time I have learned how to better deal with them and in a way prevent them. For example direct sunlight can trigger my migraines, so I wear sunglasses everytime I leave the house. I also pay attention to what I eat when I have one, less caffiene, less sodium, fresh fruits help me feel better, for some reason (nothing scientific) I think strawberries, mangoes, watermelon and canteloupe helps the best. Doing physical and mental yoga sometimes help, if the migraine isn't full blown and doesnt require too many positions, if I already have a full blown migraine, I usually don't have the equilibrium to even stand up. Of course there are medications she can take, however I have experience very adverse affects with prescription drugs and stick to rotating between OTC stuff like Excedrin, Tylenol and Advil. Aromatheraphy also helps, mint scents help me. Beyond all the little tips though, she may want to examine her daily life and see what could be her trigger, there maybe some sort of stress from her job or daily chores, which if altered can help. good luck to her and reading and learning as much as you and she can is the best you can do at this time. There are many many websites out there with different tips, she just needs to see what works best for her.

I suffer from migraines as well.

I heard really strong coffee when you feel it coming on.

I have done this at a early stage of migraine and still spent day asleep to sleep it
off but less pain and shorter time scale.

Originally posted by godservant
What have you seen actually work in ridding or preventing yourself or someone else of these harsh, painful headaches, preferably using food/diet or other natural products?

Prevention is the best course of action, in my opinion.

First, have your wife keep track of everything she eats and record when she has a headache. If her headaches are triggered by food, it's easy to avoid certain Migraine Trigger Foods

I am sensitive to the following: chocolate, avacado, oranges, soy, MSG, ripe bananas, aged cheddar cheese and sodium nitrate. I was thrilled to find that I could control 90% of my headaches. The other 10% are weather and hormone related, which, to my dismay, I cannot control.

As Relentless mentioned, if your wife finds that MSG is a trigger, and she accidently ingests some, activated charcoal is a lifesaver! Have some on hand. It must be taken immediately.

Good luck to you and your wife. I can totally sympathize.

Migraine Triggers

Heading Off Migraines

Just wanted to add that sometimes, once I've gotten a headache, alternating heat and cold applied to the head helps. About 15-20 minutes of each. I use a heating pad and ice pack.

Also, a hot shower can take the edge off.

Find out for sure what is causing them. Migraines can be a symptom of a serious problem. I have pseudo tumor cerebri (intercranial hypertension) and it causes migraines. Of course it took me a long time to find this out and so I tried every possible remedy I could come up with for almost a year and just ended up in more pain. Hopefully your wife doesn't have anything serious, but get the serious stuff ruled out just to be sure. A trip to the optometrist or a simple CAT scan could save her a lot of trouble in the long run.

[edit on 5/13/06 by wellwhatnow]