Headache Help Without the Drugstore
Do you suffer from migraines? Get 12 simple headache-busting helpers.
Mar 30, 2010
Aug 14, 2024
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Jennifer Johnson Avril turned to her friends for advice when the migraine medication her doctor had prescribed for her severe headaches failed to end her suffering. The Brooklyn woman had only infrequent migraines when she was in her mid-20s, but they intensified over the years. By the time she reached her mid-30s, Jennifer was having migraines once a month or more often, sometimes lasting for several days.
Because migraines affect three times as many women as men, Jennifer's friends understood the relentless pain and other physically debilitating effects she was experiencing. Yet they, too, weren't getting much help from their medicines.
So she decided to try another route. Remembering that acupuncture had helped her previously when she had back pain, she consulted the same acupuncturist for migraine help. "She treated me once a week for three or four weeks," says Jennifer, who is 38. "I had a great deal of relief."
Now, five months after the treatments, she adds, "I've had a couple of stress-related headaches, but they didn't tip over into migraines."
No easy answers
As Jennifer's experience shows, using acupuncture for headaches can help. A recent review of research studies, conducted by scientists at Duke University Medical Center, compared the ancient Chinese treatment to medication therapy in people with chronic headache, including migraine. The study showed that acupuncture was superior in lessening headache intensity and frequency, as well as increasing the rate at which subjects responded to treatment.
Even so, acupuncture isn't the answer for everyone. "What causes a migraine for one person might be different for another," says Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, a researcher in the Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon. Those differences mean there's no one headache solution—whether pharmaceutical, alternative or complementary.
Yet there's good reason to consider a variety of options that don't require a prescription. Traditional medications that are prescribed or available over-the-counter for migraine and garden-variety tension headaches have risks of side effects, may cause overuse headache, can lead to addiction and are often not to be used by pregnant women.
Good scientific research shows that supportive mind-body therapies, changes in eating or drinking habits and behavioral techniques can lessen both the frequency and intensity of recurrent headaches. In many instances, these methods need to be followed before a headache begins—not used only to cut off pain after it starts.
Write your way to relief
Before trying any headache solution, it helps to figure out what triggers your pain, if possible. Triggers differ among people. Some triggers may lead to tension headaches; others may cause migraines, bringing pain to certain parts of your head as well as nausea, vomiting and light or noise sensitivity (not everyone has all symptoms).
Keep a diary of your headache episodes. Note what activities you were doing, emotions you were experiencing and foods or drinks you had consumed before your headache began. Also write down when you had your last several meals, if you were bothered by allergies at the same time, what the weather was like and if you had exercised recently.
It's also important to record where you are in your menstrual cycle when the headache happens. Hormonal imbalances during your cycle, when you're pregnant or during menopause can trigger migraines.
In addition, keep track of what works to relieve your headaches. The best way to manage, reduce and possibly eliminate headaches is to track the patterns of what starts and stops them for you.
12 headache-busting helpers
These methods have been helpful in treating some women's headaches. Consult your health care provider before taking any herbal remedy or nutritional supplement. Pregnant or nursing women should avoid herbals.