I finally got special preventative medicine and “emergency”
pills for when I felt a migraine coming on. In order for the preventatives to
work, I was supposed to start out with one pill per day. If I got a headache, I
was supposed to go up to two per day. If I still was getting migraines, I could
go up to three per day. I liked the idea of not getting migraines all the time,
but I was frustrated by the fact that, at age 17, I would have to take pills
every day. The pills seemed to work fairly well, and I cut the frequency of my
migraines down to one every week or two for the next few months.
I couldn’t afford to stay on the medication for more than a
summer, though, and in the fall I started college—and the migraines came back.
Since I didn’t have prescription medicine, I settled for Excedrin Migraine,
which was a 50/50 toss up between working and making me nauseous in addition to
the migraine.
These days, I’m lucky enough to have health insurance and
can actually afford migraine medicine. I chose not to go the preventative pill
route, though, instead opting for just the “emergency” medication. Not taking
preventative medication is a personal choice, but one that can sometimes make
life more difficult—if I’m not careful, I end up getting far more headaches
than I probably would otherwise. But it’s worth it to me to not feel like I’m relying
on medication to be well. This is something I can battle on my own.
Instead, I try to prevent and ease my migraines through a
variety of natural methods. Some work better than others, but I figure
everything is worth a try. Here are some of the things you can do to help
prevent or treat migraines naturally:
- Get enough rest.
- Eat small, frequent meals.
- Use a cold compress on your forehead.
- Take a hot shower.
- Get a massage.
- Try acupressure.
- Drink less alcohol.
- Drink more water.
- Maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise.
- Minimize stress.
- Moderate caffeine intake. A little is ok, but don’t overdo it.
- Take breaks from the computer.
- Don’t get too much sun.
- Exercise regularly.
- Don’t stress your jaw – no jaw clenching or excessive gum chewing.
- Monitor your food triggers and avoid foods that set off migraines.
- Avoid overstimulation.
- Ride shotgun to avoid motion sickness (and migraines).
- Keep a regular schedule.
- Make sure you’re getting enough vitamins.
Take a look at this article on Yahoo! Shine for more details
on any of the above items and why they help with migraines. Do you have any
more to add to the list? I once had a doctor recommend rubbing rosemary oil on
my temples to stimulate blood flow—and it actually did help a lot.
Stay happy. Stay healthy.
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