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Migraines aren’t typical headaches. If you’ve never had one, consider yourself fortunate. These headaches make it extremely difficult for many people to enjoy hobbies like exercising, reading, or regular activities like going to work every day. A migraine is a specific kind of headache that can cause intense pain and nausea. They can also last anywhere from a few hours to several days. Since it seems migraines are becoming common for many people, we wanted to give you some tips on treating them at home before you need the emergency room.
As we mentioned, a migraine is no regular headache. Most of us get tension or sinus headaches from time to time. Migraines are far different, so if you experience any of these symptoms, you may want to talk to your functional medicine physician to see if you may be experiencing migraine headaches. (2)
These aren’t all the symptoms that may indicate you have a migraine, but they are some of the most common ones. The headaches typically start with a dull ache and worsen within a few minutes to hours later. They are throbbing or pounding and often worse on one side or the back of the head. Many people have pain behind one eye. (3)
If you’ve had these headaches, you know that traditional treatments often don’t work or take so long to start working that they leave a lot to be desired. They can also come with some pretty nasty side effects, like chest and jaw tightness, dizziness, mental cloudiness, and increased blood pressure. (4)
Some of the most commonly prescribed medications for migraine headaches include Sumatriptan, Nurtec, and Zomig. There are many medicines and pharmaceutical companies are always coming up with new ones. (5) Some medications can cost hundreds of dollars, depending on insurance and pharmacy choice.
Before you take pharmaceutical medicine, there are many other treatments you can try first. We have patients that have had great success treating migraines with holistic methods and some of these may surprise you.
We know, you always hear us talk about changing your diet, but that doesn’t always mean what you think. Some people are sensitive to additives and their migraines are triggered by specific foods. Once they remove these foods, their headaches diminish or stop altogether. Some of the most frequent food issues are:
Now, we aren’t telling you that you can’t have any sweet treats or an occasional drink. The problem is that you may be sensitive to too much of it. Processed meats include nitrates and other preservatives that can trigger your migraines. Certain cheeses contain histamines that do the same thing.
Some migraine medicines contain caffeine so people often think the more the better. In small doses, caffeine can ease the pain of headaches, but in larger amounts, you can begin getting headaches when you don’t have it. Some of us have noticed this when we don’t get our morning coffee fast enough.
Magnesium can be a huge game-changer in many ways. Studies have shown that supplementing with magnesium can help migraines because it is involved in many biological processes. (6) Since many of us are deficient in this mineral, adding a quality magnesium supplement to your daily routine can dramatically affect how you feel, including reducing the number of migraines you experience.
Let’s face it, most of us don’t get the vitamins we need. Our diets aren’t always the best and we have busy schedules that hinder us from cooking healthy meals. Vitamin D and B vitamins may reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches. (7) You can increase these vitamins naturally by eating more meat, eggs, and plain yogurt. You may also want to supplement with a multivitamin that helps ensure you are getting enough of the nutrients needed, along with a healthy diet.
This may seem like low-hanging fruit, but most people don’t drink enough water. According to the American Migraine Foundation, about one-third of people suffering from migraines may also be dehydrated. (8) Getting more water isn’t hard, especially with water bottles that make it easy to carry and track fluid intake. Sometimes mitigating a migraine can be as simple as drinking some water.
You know that rest is crucial for many activities, but it can also be a migraine eliminator. Many of us need a dark room to recuperate when faced with a migraine. One of the ways to prevent these attacks is by ensuring you get proper sleep. Aim for at least seven hours of quality sleep every night and see how you feel. Keep your room dark and cool and refrain from checking your phone or other devices at least one hour before bed.
Some people find yoga to be an add-on therapy for migraines. A study showed that yoga can play a role in managing and even stopping migraines. Some of this may be because it can reduce stress, which has a direct impact on these painful episodes. (9)
This one is huge for many of us. In today’s society, we are inundated with stress from all angles. Most of us have busy work and home schedules and it seems harder to find time to unwind and destress. If you’ve ever been under extreme stress and noticed that your headaches worsened, it could be the root cause of your migraines. Find ways to manage and reduce stress that works for you. Some simple ways can be taking walks in nature, using essential oils, like peppermint and lavender, taking a warm bath, and getting a massage. If you feel the tension building and a headache is starting, try a natural painkiller before reaching for something with harmful side effects, like over-the-counter medications.
When dealing with painful migraines, you always want to try natural methods first to avoid all the side effects that accompany most medications. If you’ve been with us a while, you know we believe that true health only comes naturally and we have spent years studying and learning the most effective ways to treat patients with clinically relevant doses that make a difference. We want to help you drastically improve your health and we know that when you suffer from migraine headaches, you can’t live life to the fullest. We can help and would love to assist you on your wellness journey with resources and tips to get you moving in the right direction. Contact us to learn more about natural medicine and how you can reduce or eliminate those painful headaches starting today.
References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322814#herbs
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9015090/
https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/top-10-migraine-triggers/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8912646/
https://www.wth.org/blog/what-you-are-eating-could-be-causing-your-migraines/
