Migraine Remedies

Whenever I have a migraine or bad headache, all I want to eat are carbs like bagels, crackers, etc. to keep from getting nauseous. And I swear drinking gatorade with electrolytes helps some. Plus I like to drink water and caffeine, so I always have a drink in hand.

If you want to discuss this with your doctor, another helpful thing is to get a rx for blood pressure meds (if you don't already take them) and pop one when you feel the headache coming on. A headache can often trigger your blood pressure to spike, which makes the headache worse.

Almost every migraine sufferer I know has a different remedy for getting rid of the headaches. (And the photosensitivity. And the blurry vision). My mother swears by a soda and candy bar, along with aspirin, reserved only for the worst of the symptoms. One of my friends swears by extra magnesium in her diet.

How do you deal with your migraine symptoms/headaches? I'd love to hear both practical experiences and the science (especially if you're personally an expert--I tend to not read links to lengthy articles, but you're welcome post them in case it helps someone else).

This is meant to be a helpful topic... no need to bash each other over the head because you disagree on folk remedies versus studies. It's all pretty fascinating to me.

Migraines suck don't they?!?!?! The reason the pop/chocolate with an aspirin works is the caffeine is a stimulant, and when taken with a pain reliever can actually boost the pain reliever's effectiveness. I'm not saying chug a coke with a Tylenol, but there is some solid science behind that. A compounding pharmacy I worked for make in house migraine capsules that were ketoprofen (ibuprofen's stronger brother), riboflavin (bright yellow B-vitamin), and caffeine. Those worked well for me.

For the "bend you in half" migraine, my doc recommended 600 mg ibuprofen and a sudafed. No joke. Works great. Sudafed works well to help with any inflammation. Good luck!

Rx drugs. Seriously, I don't even mess with anything else any more. I take Maxalt and a muscle relaxer, and if I'm lucky, I can go to bed and ride it out.

I get migraines alot and I am finding that eating right helps reduce how many I get. I am also a firm believer in supplementing with Magnesium , I read that a lot of migraine sufferers are deficient in this mineral. If I feel one coming I like to mix up some Calm ( it is a powder you can get in any health food store) and chug it. Drinking some of it each day helps on a regular basis. You have to be careful though. Too much and you will be in the bathroom for a few ... :-)

My boyfriend uses a tincture of feverfew sublingually (under the tongue for 30 seconds) for his migraines. Works ~90% of the time for him, in combination with ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

When I feel a migraine coming (blurry vision, nausea, body tremors) I write an automated email message saying I will be out of the office for the rest of the day.

At home, I take two extra strength Advils, draw the curtains, crawl under the covers and sleep it off. It lasts 6 hours. I have never found a remedy that worked for me. The first time I experienced it, I thought I was having MS symptoms and went to the emergency. Friendly doctor told me to take Advil next time.

prescription drugs for me but I do crave red bull and chocolate when I get a migraine. When it is going I crave hot sweet tea - must have at least two sugars in it - I hate tea and I don't do sugar in hot drinks - have no idea why I crave hot tea so much at the end of one. Currently trying amitriptyline daily dosing because I am getting 3+ migraines a week - I think mine are from stress - have a very stressful job and that's not going to change so doctor is trying prevention. Also on Migard which I have to take the minute a migraine starts - so far they have worked and stopped all but one of my migraines. Have suffered for 20+ years (strangely exactly the same length of time I have been with my hubby!!!!)

I started migraines when I was a teenager. As the years went on I realised that chocolate,red wine and fatigue were my triggers. more recently my contraceptive Pill was to blame for the increase and intensity of them. The only thing that helped me was to lie in complete darkness and silence and hopefully pop off to sleep with some painkillers.

Im eating more healthier now and even cutting out the chocolate and wine has majorly helped. However I am prone to them at my time of the month so Im putting it down to hormones.

Migraines are awful....I remember someone saying that orgasm was wonderful for migraines....like who the HELL is on the mood for that when your skull is splitting lol!! Not planning to try the orgasm remedy though

I find that the only thing that helps me is to lie in a darkened room. I was diagnosed with chronic migraine 3 years ago and am on some medication for them - at the worst point I was having a 14 day migraine a day off then another 19 day migraine. This was when I seriously started to put on weight because we at a lot of takeaway or easy to make processed foods. Time of the month is a trigger for me as is stress and tiredness. I do find that I have to drink regularly as dehydration is a major trigger so coffee or water is a must and I try to drink every two hours.

I used to get full symptom migraines when I was younger, started in 6th grade, but thankfully have somehow 'grown out of them' as I got older. I still get them, but not nearly as bad. They still suck though, and my only remedy is three advil and a cup of super strong Earl Grey Tea. Not sure if its the caffeine, the oil of bergamot or both, but read somewhere a long time ago that oil of bergamot was supposed to be good for knocking down headaches. And yep, a dark room helps too.

I have has migraines since I was a young teenager. I have been to numerous doctors, been put on anti-depressants, beta blockers, blood pressure meds, anti-seizure meds and everything in between. Until one doctor suggested that I start taking magnesium. Voila! My migraines are now manageable. I usually only get one around my cycle now which is great! I would rather not have any at all but when you get them and have 1 straight for 2 weeks and you can't get rid of it once per month for a day isn't bad. What I learned is that 80% of women are magnesium deficient. The only way to get this accurately tested is to have a specific blood test done where they break open the cells which is expensive and most docs won't order the test. If you want to try taking magnesium please buy Nature Made from Fred Meyer. The reason I say this is because most other brands only have magnesium oxide in them. Our bodies don't absorb oxide so not only did you waste money but you aren't getting any benefits from it. The brand you buy has to have at least 3 types of magnesium in it if not more.
If you don't want to try the magnesium make sure you are drinking enough water, drink some strong coffee and take a couple excedrin migraine. Hope this is helpful!