Migraines

[Frank's Sister]

Anyone here use Butterbur? I just read some stuff about it being awesome for preventative migraine treatment. I get super crappy migraines, so far I have managed to stay away from the prescription meds but I take Excedrin Migraine about 3-4 times a month, which I feel is to much.

[Leftahead]

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/83012.cfm

A few limited clinical trials seem to indicate some effectiveness as a migraine blocker, though it also looks like liver toxicity may be a worry with high doses.

Looks like it's not actually approved by the FDA for use with migraines, nor examined in a really large-scale double-blind clinical trial, so 'awesome' is probably a bit of an overstatement, but at least there's some actual evidence there's some efficacy beyond placebo. Might be worth a shot!

FWIW, that's not a crazy amount of Excedrin Migraine. I know migraine sufferers who are using it and similar medications quite a bit more frequently.

-JC

[Previ]

Never used it. But, I used to suffer from migraines in the past a lot more frequently than I do now. Went through all the tests with my primary care physician and a specialist. What worked the most other than Excedrin Migraine was figuring out what caused them and trying to limit my exposure to those situations. For me the things I noticed that were the leading causes were not enough sleep, not eating in time until I get really hungry and weather. Guess what. I am able to control two of the three and soon it will be all three! MUAHAHAHA. But seriously. That reduced my headaches from twice a month or so to just a couple of times a year.

Also I just remembered flying gets me sometimes and I can never go scuba diving. Did it once and the day of pain was just not worth it.

FWIW, that's not a crazy amount of Excedrin Migraine. I know migraine sufferers who are using it and similar medications quite a bit more frequently.

I totally agree that's not a large amount.

Sorry to hijack your thread.

[flojin]

I get migraines often. I take ibuprophen nearly every day.

[Questionor]

I thought excedrin migraine is just excedrin with different box labels and I thought excedrin is just aspirin + tylenol + caffiene.
None of which is a big deal if it works.

At least according to wikipedia, I'm right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excedrin

1998 Excedrin Migraine1 At the beginning of 1998, the FDA granted clearance to market Excedrin Migraine for the relief of migraine headache pain and associated symptoms. Excedrin Migraine continued the trend of marketing pain products for specific types of pain, becoming the first migraine headache medication available to consumers without a prescription,[7] even though it has identical ingredients to the regular Excedrin Extra Strength product, 250 mg acetaminophen, 250 mg aspirin and 65 mg caffeine.

[queenmob]

I get migraines with Aura about every 3 months - Auras suck, the good thing is though that they warn you early enough to take a pain killer in time. As for medicament, I take something that was prescribed to me in Austria called Miranax 550 mg which probably doesn't help much....

[jenskot]

From age 6-10 I used to have debilitating migraines with Aura. They occasionally come back but very rarely, perhaps once a year. I'll ask my sister (pharmacist) about Butterbur.

[stormsweeper]

I get migraines with Aura about every 3 months - Auras suck, the good thing is though that they warn you early enough to take a pain killer in time. As for medicament, I take something that was prescribed to me in Austria called Miranax 550 mg which probably doesn't help much....

The main ingredient in Miranax is available over the counter in the US:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naproxen

[Ponz47]

Haven't had a migraine is quite a while...thank goodness.

Some home remedies that work for me:

A shower...like miraculously so. While under the water, my headaches just about disappear. When I get out, it comes right back. But a relaxing shower after taking medicine can bridge the gap until it starts working.

Chocolate and or caffeine. These two can be tricky though as headache pain is usually caused by either constricted blood vessels or loose blood vessels in the brain. If it's the constricted kind, chocolate and caffeine will help as they both speed up blood flow. However, they can make it worse if the blood is flowing too quickly.

A damp washcloth dipped in warm water and a dark room was also helpful...the noise was situational. Sometimes I needed quiet, other times I wante sound, so I'd either play music or just let the TV go in the background.

There was a good long stretch of about 10 years were I was getting anywhere between 1 and 5 migraines a month, and sometimes there was that warning dot of pain way down in my brain that warned me a few hours ahead of time. With no insurance I was taking like 4 Aleve a pop and had to try and find other remedies because my stomach was also a wreck from the pills.

[flojin]

I get migraines often. I take ibuprophen nearly every day.

UPDATE: The ibuprofin that I was taking constantly for migraines seriously fucked up my stomach. I got gastritis and had hiccups for four days, extreme pain, and other problems. Now I can't take ibuprfin and have had several brutal migraines including vision problems and vomiting.

I'm on medicine for my stomach, and it is slowly getting better, but the doctor said it may never heal.

Be very careful with advil, motrin, or any other drug that contains ibuprofin.