Personal Journey—End the Migraine Pain

by Lynn Ginsburg

If there was one thing in life I never wanted to encounter firsthand, it was a migraine headache. When friends who suffered from them would try to describe just how agonizing they could be, I could only sympathize and gratefully acknowledge how lucky I was to be spared that kind of recurring pain.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out. When my first migraine struck, it started out just like any old headache. I experienced a dull ache near my sinuses—nothing to cause any great concern. But the pain slowly evolved into a red hot, stabbing sensation all over my head. I started to feel dizzy and noticed a strange, shimmering quality to my vision. The pain grew so severe that the slightest movement made me feel acutely nauseous. This was unlike any headache I’d ever had before. And then it hit me—my symptoms matched those of a migraine, and as the searing pain swept over me, I clearly understood what my poor friends had been experiencing all these years.

Fortunately, my migraines—caused by a tumor on my pituitary gland—were only temporary. After surgeons removed the growth, the migraines went away permanently. Other sufferers aren’t so lucky. Their migraines recur frequently over the course of their lifetimes.

What is a migraine?

According to Christina Peterson, MD, author of The Women’s Migraine Survival Guide (HarperResource, 1999) and president of HEADquarters Migraine Management, a consulting firm in Portland, Ore., a migraine is a recurring headache lasting four to 72 hours that may also be accompanied by nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, pain that’s made worse by routine physical activity and pain that is throbbing or pulsating in character. “Twenty percent of migraines are preceded by an aura or other neurological warning sign that is visual in nature,” Peterson explains.

Seymour Solomon, MD, director of the Headache Unit at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., says that a migraine may be characterized by an imbalance of the biochemistry in the brain and may also involve swelling or inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain. “The environment or the body itself can be the triggers, but the causes of many migraines are unknown, and an attack can occur without any obvious external cause,” Solomon says.

About 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, according to a study from the American Headache Society, and the World Health Organization reports that about 18 percent of women and 6 percent of men worldwide suffer from migraines.

Conventional medical doctors commonly prescribe abortive drugs (usually triptans) to stop migraines. These drugs, unfortunately, can only stop a headache once it starts (they can’t prevent it from happening), and they are indicated for patients who suffer migraines at most a few times a month. People who suffer more than that generally take a variety of preventative medications. “The success rate is about 80 to 85 percent for the abortive triptan class of drugs and about 55 to 60 percent for all of the preventative drugs,” Peterson says. Unfortunately, some patients experience unwanted side effects from these medications. The triptan drugs can cause sedation, tiredness, tightness in the chest and throat and burning sensations in the head, and the preventative medications can cause weight gain or weight loss, constipation, hair loss, sedation and light-headedness. “These drugs can be a two-edged sword,” says Peterson. “We get rid of the headache, but the patient may have adverse effects as a result.”

Get to know your triggers

Even though migraines can occur for no discernable reason, many of them are brought on by external and/or internal events or substances, and people can often prevent migraines by getting to know what sets off their headaches.

“There are many paradoxes with migraines,” Solomon says. “A good slug of caffeine can be helpful in mitigating a migraine, but too much can cause migraines to evolve from episodic to a chronic daily event. The same holds true for pain medications. Pain medications can be very helpful with migraines. But if the patient starts taking these medications daily, it can cause a rebound chronic daily headache.”

According to Peterson, some common triggers include changes in the weather, changes in diet, particular foods, dehydration, stress, too much or too little exercise, too much or too little sleep, heat and tooth grinding. Seemingly simple lifestyle changes can lead to big results. “A lot of things you can do to help may sound obvious but are hard for people, like eating three meals a day or drinking plenty of water. I’ve cured two patients by just telling them to drink water,” Peterson says. “Sleep is also huge. Any shift in the sleep pattern, either not getting enough sleep or things like sleeping in on the weekend, can induce a sleep headache [a migraine caused by irregular sleep patterns].” Peterson says that in addition to eating healthy, regular meals, those who have specific food triggers like wheat gluten, alcohol, chocolate, citrus fruits, hard cheeses or red or white wine need to avoid those foods.

Alternative therapies

Dan Finney, a Boulder, Colo., certified acupuncturist and coauthor of Compendium of TCM Patterns & Treatments (Blue Poppy Press, 2000), says that acupuncture can be extremely successful both for preventing migraines and treating the pain associated with them. “Migraines can be stubborn and tricky to deal with, so it’s up to the skill of the acupuncturist,” Finney says. “But with a good course of treatment—coming in one to two times a week for a series of 10 treatments, the patient can be migraine free for about three months. And although the headaches may come back after that, with the right acupuncture treatment, theoretically, the migraines should become less and less frequent.” Finney says that for those who do the full course of treatments, he tends to have about a 70 to 75 percent success rate.

Peterson says she often sends her migraine patients to get acupuncture and also sometimes recommends other forms of bodywork, including biofeedback, chiropractic and massage.

The main role of supplements and herbs in migraine treatment is to help prevent the onset, rather than to relieve pain. Solomon says he recommends CoQ10, butterbur (Petasites hybridus), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), magnesium, and high doses of riboflavin to patients, and research has shown all of them to have some effect in diminishing migraine frequency.

Peterson reports success prescribing 500 mg of magnesium a day. “Up to a third of migraine patients have a magnesium deficiency, and magnesium is especially effective for women with menstrual-associated migraines,” she says. “Up to 60 percent of women with migraines have migraines associated with their periods.” Peterson also says that a high dose of riboflavin—400 mg daily—can help, but not immediately. It may take up to three months to take effect.

Peterson too says that a number of very good studies have shown CoQ10 to be beneficial for preventing migraines, and her patients have reported good success with it. She recommends taking 300 mg a day.

In addition to acupuncture, Finney uses a mixture of Chinese herbs personalized for each patient. He has had good success with Catechin Green, a Japanese herbal remedy that includes green tea, barley grass and ginger.

Some combination of these various natural approaches could be your ticket to leaving migraine pain behind forever, without having to incur any of the negative side effects caused by traditional medicinal cures.

Butter up to Butterbur

If migraines are your nemesis, butterbur (Petasites hybridus) may be your deliverance. A study published in a December 2004 issue of Neurology found that 245 migraine patients experienced an average 48 percent decrease in headache frequency after taking 75 mg of Petadolex-brand butterbur root extract twice daily.

Importantly, butterbur also appears to alleviate migraines in children. Earlier this year, German researchers treated 108 children, ranging from 6 to 17 years old, who had suffered from migraines for at least one year. After receiving 50 to 150 mg of butterbur root extract daily for four months, the kids reported a 63 percent reduction in headache frequency. The most serious side effect reported was burping, which about 7 percent of patients said they experienced.