I suffer from excruciating migraines, any ideas on how to stop them without resorting to pills?

Show all answers

Post your answer

Carol S	Try not drinking so much alcohol - you kknow this causes a problem for you!!1 Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Elley	Drink more water, at least 8 glasses a day... Do you find you have tension in your neck/shoulders? If so, go for a deep tissue massage in that area, that will increase blood flow to your head and releive tension. -All the best! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Shaman	I know you said you don't want pills but let me tell you that many people take Inderal LA (LA just means long acting). This pill is used by actors for stage fright, it is used for high blood pressure, it is used sometimes as an anti-anxiety enhancing agent along with other regimes, and it works great for migraines. You take it everyday, and you do not get migraines. (Well most people don't!) It doesn't matter if you don't have high blood pressure, etc. they just keep the dose lower. It belongs to a group of drugs called beta blockers and the journals really praise it for migraines, clinically, you see it prescribed alot. It is fairly reasonable. As with any other med, drinking does complicate the picture, and if you drink alot of wine sometimes there are nitrites/sulfites present that are "triggers." As mentioned by others, certain foods, such as cheeses, certain alcohols, smoked foods, etc are known culprits. Migraines can also be caused by spiking hormonal fluctuations. Sometimes the best thing is to journal. Keeping track of your activities, what you ate or drank, where you might be in your monthly cycle if you are a woman, all help in determining etiology. Good luck, migraines are bummers! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dark Horse	My osteopath has helped greatly with my migranes. The skull is not one solid bone, it is made up of plates of bone which sometimes, due to tension, stress, whatever can become fused together. My osteopath firstly relieves the tension in my neck, then manipulates my head. You can actually feel a popping sensation as the plates of bone release. It is such a relief. You may need to go several times initially, but eventually you can leave a longer and longer time between appointments as your condition improves. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

sprigot	My daughter suffered from these to the point that she hallucinated. Those little Chinese Hand Exercise Balls. They are about the size of a big marble but weigh a bit more and have little musical chimes in them. your roll them around in the palm of your hand. My daughter got a pair and used them. Headaches were drastically reduced as long as she used them everyday. Worth a try. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Rozzy	See a well-qualified hypnotherapist (look in Yellow Pages). You may be able to find the cause of your problem and hence get rid of the symptoms; many people have been helped using this method. However, there is no one therapy that helps everybody. It's also worth considering your diet and finding out whether there's any connection with foods such as red wine, chocolate,,,etc. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Yvonne D	I always have to go to bed and wear an eye mask,sometimes it helps when I massage my temples.. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Laura H	Try Monavie - my son suffered from migraines for 10 years. He has been drinking Monavie since March 17th and had his last migraine on March 21st. Hasn't missed a day of school this year! It's been wonderful!! Visit my website for more info. www.mymonavie.com/laurahandt Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Sophie	You might consider a chiropractor. They are very good at treating people with chronic headaches, and it's all natural, no pills. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

mrcricket1932	When it is not active is the time to attempt to prevent it.... chiropractic has had considerable success in treating it in that manner... Not when it is acute and active. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

kathy_is_a_nurse	Try Cranio-Sacral massage therapy. It has a very good track record with migraines. Be sure you get a therapist trained in that technique...not all are. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ehc11	My husband suffers from migraines and we find that prevention is better than cure. THere are many possible triggers, his is low blood sugar we think (if he doesn't eat at a certain time he'll ave a migraine). It could be hunger and low blood sugar (like my husband), alcohol, dehydration. There is a migraine support organisation and they have possible triggers on their website, work your way down the list to find your trigger and then you can do your best to avoid them! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

alexinscarborough	Aspartame Poisoning. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

monkeymanelvis	As soon as you start to get a head ache lay down in a dark room until it goes away completely. Headaches are usually the first stage of a migraine. If you can get rid of the migraine before it arrives you won't suffer from it! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

BaFfler	http://www.neurologyreviews.com/feb04/nr_feb04_foramen.html Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Suzanne L	Make sure that you drink plenty of water every day, most headaches/migraines are caused by dehydration. If you drink tea/coffee at least try to reduce your intake - caffeine is a stimulant for migraine headaches, other foods to be wary of are cheese and chocolate, although yummy they also sadly are stimulants for migraine. If you can find a good reflexologist most certainly book an appointment, I suffer with migraine, but due to the above mentioned lifestyle changes and weekly reflexology sessions, I now only have an attack once a month rather than 3 times a week. If you don't fancy reflexology maybe acupuncture would help. I wish you all the best, migraines are pants!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

star grandma	Check with your Doctor. Some headaches are symptoms or indicators of something else. Have you ever considered that you might be allergic to something in what you drink? One person I know cannot drink white wine without adverse reaction.......and I mean 1/2 glass ! Another person is allergic to ONE type of grape. For the herbalist remedy..... try Feverfew..... but make sure it is the proper thing and good quality Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Abigail Rose	Hi Cut out cheese, alcohol and coffee and see if this helps, then reintroduce one at a time to see which is the cause. I suffer from the same, but mine is through stress and the strip lighting at work. Hope this helps Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

DAZY M	Headache is a pain in the head, scalp or neck. Headaches can becaused by minor problems like eyestrain, lack of coffee or moreserious reasons like head injury, brain tumors, encephalitis andmeningitis. Taking painkillers continuously can have harmful side effects, so it is better to modify your lifestyle. More information available at http://tinyurl.com/q8696 Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

fanella	get those stick on your forehead things not sure what they called but they make them for kids and also migraine Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

itsy_32	get some forehead roll on stuff! its really good! or one of those cool patches u stick on ur forehead! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Beachwalker	There are many causes of headaches & migraines. I have found through my own experience that a MAJOR cause of headaches, and a contributing factor towards migraines, is dehydration. The brain is over 50% water. When people tell me they have a headache I get them to drink 1-2 pints of water immediately - and often as not their headache is gone within 20 minutes!!!! (Notice that no one made any money out of that piece of information). Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Amanda K	I have heard that drinking two glasses of gatorade will help. The reasoning behind that, is sometimes you can get migranes from being dehydrated. If you do decide to try a pill Excedrin Migrane works for me. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

PAUL H	After a car accident I suffered migraines 2-3 times a week. I went to an osteopath who referred me to an acupuncturist who gradually got them under control - hope that helps Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mad Roy	Monavie juice has helped some migraine sufferers. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

CHRIS S	lie down in a dark room with a cold compress over your eyes Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Stephen C	put more salt on your food. sounds simple but its worth a try, when i met my wife 10 years ago she had bad headaches constantly we tried everything the doctor even injected some chemical into her sinuses with no success. one day after eating salted crisps she felt alot better thats when we figured it out. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

former sufferer	I had migraines that were awful and lasted for two days. I heard a doctor on the TV on the local channel say that people with migraines were low in Magnesium. I looked up the recommended daily allowance and got some Magnesium at the local drug store. It worked wonders. I no longer have a bit of migraine. Hope that by pills you did not mean vitamines. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

crosbie	I feel everyone who gets recurring migraines or chronic headaches should at least try a course of acupuncture. In many cases this will improve the situation. But, first of all make sure it's not caused by one of the common triggers - chocolate, cheese, coffee & red wine. Other non-drug treatments that can be helpful are the herb Feverfew or see a professional homeopath. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

rosa2posa	Yes, I can help you. Did you know that the Thyroid is the emotional gland and when a person has been under, long term, unresolved, emotional stress, it can blow the Thyroid. What does that mean? Good question. It means that the function of the Thyroid is compromised. Other things you may be feeling are, cold hands and feet, internal trembling, sore stiff shoulders, heart palpitations, headaches in the forehead, fears and phobias to name a few. I have worked in the alternative field for over 20 years and if this sounds like you. Email me and I can forward you toward some solution choices. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

sOuL dOcToR	Your Headaches will be cured by the Homeopathic remedy NUX VOMICA 30 take just one dose after much drinking and neither will you have a hang over nor a headache. No Side Effects or Complications.Trust me nothing works better or faster almost instant relief 100%. Take Care and God Bless you ! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No