My-Oh-My-Oh-Migraine
July 2, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Home & Living
I used to have intense migraine headaches when I was in my teens and twenties. I can remember the awful pain, the light hurting my eyes, the nausea, and even a time that I was paralyzed on one side.
I understand how devastating that they can be. There are prescription medications that you can take but there are also many home remedies that you can try. While not all of them work for everybody usually one of them will work for somebody. In other words, keep trying them until you find something that works for you.
The thing that helped me the most was a combination of peppermint oil rubbed onto my temples and taking magnesium and calcium for the pain. The dose that worked for me was 4 magnesium and 3 calcium every two hours until I felt relief. If it is going to work you probably won’t need to do that for more than 6 hours. The high amount of magnesium may make you sleepy and will probably clear out your digestive system so stay close to a bathroom for awhile.
If you can feel it coming on a Mountain Dew and 3 aspirin will often stave it off. Mountain Dew works because of the caffeine content. I don’t know why else it has to be Mountain Dew but it does. Aspirin, not tylenol or advil, is what you want to take with it.
180 Mgs of Kava Kava taken three times a day for no more than three days will often take care of a particularly stubborn migraine.
Ginko sends more oxygen to the brain and that can help ease the pain.
Feverfew is a herb that is excellent for migraines. You can get it at the health food store or online and just take it according to directions.
Once you have found relief you need to try to pinpoint the thing that brings them on. Stress? Artificial sweeteners? Chemical sensitivities? Heat? Dehydration? Food allergies?
Try to take something for the migraine the second you suspect it is coming on. When caught early you can often keep it from turning into a full fledged migraine.
Image:Morguefile
I take Excedrin Migraine and drink a big cup of coffee when I feel one coming on… Sometimes, if I’m really swift, just a really strong cup of coffee can do it (not often).
I’ll keep these other remedies in mind. Thank you.
The coffee works the same as the mountain dew (caffeine) but since I refuse to put anything the color of M.D. in my body, I stick with the brown stuff that I loooove.
I just found out we have a gingko tree growing in our park. Might be checking it out, soon.
Thanks for the advice. My husband gets migraines a few times a month and nothing seems to help. He is going to try the Dew and asprin.
Applying an ice pack to my forehead helps me.
Carrie- where is your sense of adventure? I have a kid with migraines and coffee is not an option. LOL!
Julie- Let me know how it works for him…Sometimes things works different with men and women
Laura- I used to hate ice packs..I needed heat. Isn’t it funny how we are all different?
Marye - I am SO glad this blog has joined the ranks. You’ve been my “Home Remedy Go To Girl” for a while now and I absolutely have 100% faith in your treatment options.
Last weekend when my brothers girlfriend had a migraine for three days - she came to my house and the first thing I said “I’m emailing Marye” - your suggestions worked and within the hour her headache had gone.
You’ve gained a new follower with this one girl!
You SO rock! Send me the bill
LOL Gayla…Thanks
Thanks for the tips and welcome to the neighborhood.
I get migraines sometimes and I find coffee and ibuprofen to be useful.
But, I’m going to try that magnesium and calcium next time. I already have those in my cupboard.
I’ve been getting the blindness and other symptoms with only minor headaches.
Tracee-The blindness, I think, is a sign that you have enlarged blood vessels that are pushing on nerves. You might try taking some devils claw along with it. It is a great antiinflammatory.
ooooh… you see Marye I don’t have any kids! Sometimes I forget to think of remedies that would be ok them!
“ok *for* them”… oooops
I have a friend with migraines who might be interested in some of these. I’ll have to find something to replace the Mountain Dew though, because here in Canada, our MD is caffeine-free.
I’ve only ever had two migraines, each of them pregnancy-related and directly linked to dehydration, but they were AWFUL so it’s good to know there are so many options for people who get them regularly.
Sherry, anything with alot of caffeine will work. MD has alot of caffeine here.
We learned that migraines can also be chiropractic in nature. It worked a miracle for our son to have a bio-cranial adjustment. Practitioners of this type of adjustment are rare, but worth their weight in gold, and good ones will often give low cost (sometimes free) evaluations to determine if this is the problem.
very true Lisa! Thanks!
It is just hard to find a good one sometimes. :/
I just found your site and I love all these natural home remedies. here are some that I use:
If my migraine is caffiene withdrawal (if I don’t get a cup of coffee in the morning) then I can usually fight it with a cup of coffee or a Sun Drop (a local NC coke similar to Mountain Dew) and Excedrin.
Sometimes a spoonful or a pack of sugar helps.
And sometimes I get protein cravings with migraines. So a scrambled egg will help.
Carolyn, thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! I never thought about protein but you are right. Sugar fluctuations will do it.
Is it true that a bump forms in the back of your head with the Mountain Dew and Aspirin (I’ve heard Advil) treatment and that you”ll need some professional to rub the bump out until it pops? I know this sounds a bit childish but that was what I was told about this remedy. It kinda creeps me out but I’ll do anything to get rid of my migranes!
Not that I know of sara.
noone here has a weird bump…
LOL! Okay.