Extreme Migraine Headaches--a Sequel

On January 7, 2011, I had published an article in Before It’s News with the title “Those Who Suffer from Extreme Migraine Headaches.”  You can find that article by clicking on the following URL: /story/344/626/Those_Who_Suffer_from_Extreme_Migraine_Headaches.html.  Information on migraine headaches just came across the transom from a good friend who lives on the East Coast.  She has experienced migraine headaches over the past 30 years and shares her experiences and remedies that may be of help to you who also suffer from extreme migraine headaches.  Here is her message:

I have been meaning to respond to you about the migraine article you sent a few weeks ago.  As you know, I too am a migraine sufferer for about 30 years.  However, it wasn’t until my 20s when the migraines really started to become completely debilitating.  Then, after our car accident back in 2005, I was up to eight or nine migraines a month!  As I’m sure you’ve learned from Karen’s suffering with migraines over the years, the most important thing is to keep trying different techniques and never giving up!

I believe you said it was your niece that is now the latest member of your family that has been plagued with this terrible disease.  I wanted to share some ideas with you that have really helped me over the past few years, and maybe you can share them with your niece.  Of course, reducing stress and keeping healthy with a good diet and exercise always helps.  She may have already tried what has seemed to work for me, but it is worth sharing—just in case.

• Drugs:  Like most migraine patients, I take reactive drugs like Immetrix and Relpax to help me get through a full blown migraine.  Unfortunately, I took too much, too frequently and found myself in a vicious cycle of rebound headaches!  That is when my neurologist started giving me some preventative drugs to avoid the onset of a headache and prevent me from needing the triptans so frequently.

After a number of different medications, my neurologist recently put me on a low dosage of beta blockers.  I take them daily, and that seems to help tremendously.  I have also tried the anti-seizure medications that are known to help prevent migraines.  However, we have had no luck there but have experienced some terrible side effects.

• Holistic medicine:  Acupuncture and chiropractic care, in particular, help me the most.  Actually, I still visit the chiropractor 1 to 2 times per week to keep my neck and spine properly aligned to allow for good blood, oxygen, and spinal fluid flow to the brain.  My chiropractor is also a fan of craniosacral massage, which is amazing for stress, tension, and even sinus pressure, which are huge contributing factors to migraines.

As for acupuncture, not only did I find some relief from the treatments and expensive, custom-formulated Chinese herbal teas, but I also learned how to breathe properly.  No, really!  My acupuncturist taught me some deep breathing exercises that I often use to take in more oxygen throughout the day, which also aids in prevention.  Believe it or not, if I do deep-breathing throughout an airplane trip, the change in atmospheric pressure (another common trigger) usually will not set me off!  Oh, and I should also mention that the acupuncture helped me to improve my overall well being.  As a side benefit, I no longer had the urge to smoke.  I quit smoking at least four years ago.

• ELISA ACT:  I remember you mentioning something about expensive allergy tests, and I know exactly what you meant.  My mom went through this painful back and forth for years trying to uncover what her allergies were and how to treat them.  It was terrible.  Actually, I didn’t realize allergies could be such a contributing factor to migraines until my acupuncturist advised me that the ELISA ACT is what saved her.

The ELISA ACT is a blood test that runs your blood against hundreds (I think it’s over 600) of different chemicals, foods, and other allergens.  After the test, she realized she was allergic to raspberries and monosodium glutamate (MSG)!  She has eliminated those two things from her diet and has nearly eliminated her attacks!

I wasn’t that lucky to eliminate that many migraines, but I also took the test and found there were a few things I was allergic to (like potatoes!L) and eating almost every day.  This was causing my immune system to be at war constantly and more susceptible to a migraine.  The test was $600 dollars.  Guess what?  Insurance will not cover it!  However, by using my flexible spending, I was able to save 30% in pre-tax dollars, so that helped out a bit.  It really was a small price to pay for the yielded benefits.  It would have taken me a lifetime and hundreds of visits to a regular allergist to uncover what ELISA ACT did in a single blood test!  More information can be found here: www.elisaact.com.

• Management:  It is all about living with it!  We must manage the cards we’re dealt.  My neurologist recommended this book (Heal Your Headache by Buchholz) to help me understand migraines and how to manage living with them.  Maybe it will help your niece.  It teaches you how to manage your migraines in three easy steps:

- Limit pain killers

- Reduce triggers

- Preventative care

I highly recommend it.  Here’s a good review: Living with migraines is no easy journey, and learning to manage them is the most important remedy to get you through!  I hope this information will be helpful to her!

There you go—more good information on treating severe migraine headaches.  If any readers out there also suffer from severe migraines and would be willing to share your experiences and remedies, please send me an email at [email protected].  I will be happy to share your information also with the reading public.

###