Migraines
My story:
Starting at a young age I used to get some pretty serious (I would rather be dead than experiencing this) horrible migraines. When the chain-smoking butthead who lived in our house finally left – my migraines became more infrequent. I still got them too often though. I could control them with Excedrin. It concerned me to be taking Excedrin so often though – so I sort of weaned myself off of them. Mysteriously, I didn't seem to get as many migraines when I stopped taking the medication – coincidence? Anyhow after suffering with migraines for so many years it occurred to me that I haven't had one in quite some time. Is it coincidence that I don't think I've had one since I've all but eliminated all crap from my diet? Basically no processed foods or junk foods. I almost always cook from scratch now. I only cook & bake vegan. I occasionally have cheese when eating out (and yes it makes me feel like crap) – no migraine though. I don't really eat sweets unless I bake them & I don't have a craving for them very often either. I know there could be other factors involved – like hormones. But I think all the things I mentioned were triggers for me. And to be free of them (migraines) for this long makes me think they are not coming back. I don't really even get headaches anymore. If I do, it's usually because I was hungry and didn't eat right away. I mean, headaches used to be a daily occurrence for me. I'm sort of ranting here, but I feel liked I've been cured and I didn't even realize it. Oh, and my migraines were always accompanied by extreme nausea & vomiting – that was my favorite :(. So just like the headaches, I felt sick to my stomach frequently.
Anywho, what is your story? Are you on medication? Did you once get them, but not anymore? Tell me all about it!
I'm curious in particular in anyone who takes blood pressure medication to prevent them. My mom has been taking blood pressure medication for like 30 years. If she misses a couple pills she gets wicked migraines. My mom also eats a crap diet. I'm obviously not a doctor, I just worry about her being on these pills for so long.
Purpledancer, I used to get really bad migraines too...they were so bad that I started taking topomax everday. I had really bad side effects from the pills, my hair even started falling out after 6 months!! I went vegetarian right around the same time that I started taking the prescription meds and once I came off of them I had way fewer headaches. Now that I'm vegan, I get them even less frequently and the intensity is not nearly as bad. I used to have a pretty bad diet, so I'm sure that was part of it!!
I have had migraines since I was about 6...yeah horrible. Mine were also accompanied by nausea and vomiting...I have noticed that mine are mostly hormonal, blood sugar related or environmental(bad air or certain smells) I know that my diet has played a part but I still get them..sometimes everyday.
My mother also gets them..she has taken topamax but now takes blood pressure meds for them...not working great though.
I've had migraines since I was 8. I've been on every drug known to stop migraines, but none have worked. The rescue ones do, like Relpax, but the daily preventatives don't do a thing. I've heard about B vitamins, magnesium and potassium helping, and it didn't really hit me til recently, but since I've started eating more nutritional yeast, I haven't been getting as many. Also, I've started drinking yerba mate, and it's chockerbock FULL of b12, potassium, and magnesium. So yeah, I'm a fan of the yerba and the nooch.
yerba mate, and it's chockerbock FULL of b12, potassium, and magnesium. So yeah, I'm a fan of the yerba and the nooch.
Oh, is it? Good to know!
I used to get headaches a lot... At least once a week and there would be no real "explanation" for them.
I still get them sometimes, but since cutting dairy out of my diet, any time I do get a headache I know why - usually from not enough sleep.
Yay to be vegan!
I have had a few really bad migraines in my time (one when I was 14 and I ended up in hospital). But I hadn't had one for about a year, until last month when i suddenly got a terrible one. From then on, I have been getting mild migraines once a week (I feel them coming on when my hand/arm tingles). I have no idea why this happening all of a sudden and it is driving me insane. God i hate the way that migraines totally incapacitate your whole body and then leave you feeling really out of it for days after (I always think that it feels like my brain has something 'broken' in it, a few less cells perhaps).
Does anyone have any ideas for preventing and treating migraines in a natural way?
I just read an article in a local magazine about butterburr extract or supplements being very effective for migraine prevention....I am doing some research to gather some more information.
here is a link, maybe promising..
http://www.butterburresearch.org/
I started getting migraines when I was 9. In college I occasionally took beta blockers for performance anxiety, and the doc told me that they would help with migraines too, but I would have to take them everyday, which was a no in my book. Anyway, like you, I controlled them with excedrin, which would dull them enough to function throughout the day.
Since I have become vegan and have a regular yoga and exercise schedule, I rarely get them. Now, they really only come on when I am super stressed or if there is a dramatic drop in the barometric pressure.
I recently read Dr. Joel Furhman's "Fasting and Eating for Healthy Living" (That may not be the exact title), anyway, he had some interesting things to say about migraines...about how the matter and vessels around the brain react to toxic stimuli in both migraine sufferers and non-sufferers. It's worth checking out, but basically says to eat whole, non-processed foods and avoid over the counter pain relievers, which simply hide the symptoms and later cause a "withdrawal" headache.
i used to get huge headaches often, starting at around age 7. I just dealt with them and diagnosed myself as having migraines after hearing others explanation of a migraine. They got so bad I just wanted to chop off my head. I took a yoga class for a semester in 2001 and that helped. I also went to the doctor after I received medical benefits from my job and the doc signed me up for a headache class. The headache class was informative because we discussed the different types of headaches (migraine, cluster, and tension) and the medications and alternate treatments for each type. At the end we all took a test to determine what kind of headaches we are afflicted with. Turns out most of my headaches were tension related and by elminating sources of stress in my life I got rid of the headaches. I do have real migrainesoccasionally;I lose my vision in 1 eye for about 15 minutes and a half hour later I am kicked in the ass with a migraine. It does help to learn about headaches , causes, and remedies.
I also learned in the class that the vast majority of people that get migraines are women. I think there was one man in the class of about 13.
I started getting migraines with puberty at 13. They really got bad (like 5 a week) during the last shitty year I worked in the accounting department for a cereal company due to constant conflict with my bosses. It got to the point where I was on 2 preventatives (Lyrica and Topamax) and 2 meds (Midrin and Zanaflex) and I walked around drugged and dazed all the time. The final straw for me was when I went in for a MRI to check for a tumor and saw that there was visible damage from the migraines. I quit my job, cashed in my 401K and went back to school. That change drastically improved my migraines. I was still getting them maybe 3-4 times a month due to my period and the crazy weather in Michigan. Since I've been in Texas for about 6 weeks I've had one and that was pms related. Yes, I've had other minor headaches down here but I've been able to deal with them with Advil or an ice pack.
I've heard that apple juice, apple cider, or any green apple can really help relieve headaches. I dunno if it's true, but it sounds yummy.
I've heard that apple juice, apple cider, or any green apple can really help relieve headaches. I dunno if it's true, but it sounds yummy.
Never heard of that before but any thing that calls for apples is ok in my book.
I've heard that apple juice, apple cider, or any green apple can really help relieve headaches. I dunno if it's true, but it sounds yummy.
I've heard that if you boil a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water and then breathe in the steam (kinda like a facial, I guess), that it can help relieve migraines...never tried it though.
I've heard that apple juice, apple cider, or any green apple can really help relieve headaches. I dunno if it's true, but it sounds yummy.
I've heard that if you boil a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water and then breathe in the steam (kinda like a facial, I guess), that it can help relieve migraines...never tried it though.
I have a headache right now. If it wasn't so hot, I'd do that. Maybe I'll just sniff some apple cider vinegar - to get the scent... ???
purpledancer, your story sounds EXACTLY like my mom's. She has chronic migranes to where she can't even walk. And like you, she took excedrine for them, and sometimes it made them worse. In the last few months I've gotten her to lean more towards veganism, and her migranes have lessened HUGELY. But in the last few days, she's been suffering a pretty gnarly one. It's confusing because her diet is much healthier than it used to, but all of a sudden the migranes popped up again...I'd love to hear anything that would help.