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Migraines are a huge roadblock for our patients. Some people experience them infrequently, while others deal with chronic and crippling migraines from their teenage years well into seniorhood. Unfortunately, science still doesn’t fully understand the primary source of migraines, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have ways to prevent or treat them. Prevent migraines from taking over your life with these effective migraine treatment options.
1. Keep A List Of Triggers
Most migraineurs experience specific symptoms before a migraine hits. Some see an aura, bright lights, and other visual disturbances, while others notice odd smell sensations or feelings in the skin. These disturbances range from things appearing more colorful, brighter, or blurred, to full-on visual hallucinations and other phenomena.
Migraines may also arise from consuming specific foods and substances. Cigarette smoke and caffeine are two of the most common triggers, but certain foods may play a role, too. Problem substances include foods with high amounts of citric acid as well as foods and meals containing nitrates, MSG, and tyramine. These include processed meats, cheeses, and other additive-containing foods.
Every patient’s triggers are unique. Look for patterns that link your migraines to foods, substances, and sensory disturbances. Keep a food and migraine diary to help you identify links. Learning how your body reacts to the onset of migraines enables you to prepare for them mentally, with or without medications.
2. Try OTC or Prescription Painkillers
Once a migraine sets in, there are few non-medication migraine treatment options that you can use other than waiting it out. Taking a small dose of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) at the first sign is the best way to treat it using OTC medications. Cambia (diclofenac sodium) is a particularly useful NSAID that provides relief in about 15 minutes.
Combining NSAIDs with Tylenol is often preferred since they interact synergistically with each other, but that doesn’t mean you should take them at the same time. Instead, start with an NSAID dose, wait two hours, and then take your Tylenol dose. Switch the medications off for the best possible coverage. Follow all instructions to the letter and never exceed the daily dose limits, even if pain is severe.
When OTCs fail, it’s time to turn to prescription pain relievers. Triptans are a migraineurs most important tool, so ask your doctor or pharmacist about Imitrex, Maxalt, or Zomig. These drugs work by targeting serotonin receptors and inducing vasoconstriction. They also attempt to reduce the flow of chemicals that researchers believe may trigger migraines in the first place. Ergotamine is another effective drug that also constricts blood vessels, but it can produce side effects and shouldn’t be taken without a physician’s supervision.
Take care when using pain relievers of any kind. Frequent usage and overdosing on painkillers can cause harmful side effects, and it’s easy to convince yourself it’s okay to take more when you’re in severe pain. Headaches, mood swings, and even increased risk of migraines are among the many adverse effects of painkillers.
Overdosing on acetaminophen is especially dangerous because it can cause liver and kidney failure; worse yet, symptoms don’t always show themselves until days later when it’s too late for treatment. Always check with your doctor about what drugs are safe for you.
3. Compounded Migraine Treatment
Perhaps the most effective migraine treatment option is compounding. Personalizing your medications gives you the most options for pain relief and migraine prevention and also enables your pharmacist to formulate an effective drug that doesn’t negatively interact with any other prescriptions you’re currently taking. Those who take large amounts of drugs for their health conditions will find that compounding is highly effective. In some cases, it may be your only feasible option for migraine relief.
The options are limitless when it comes to personalizing your migraine medication, but some formulas stand the test of time for many people. One of them is a combination of ketoprofen, riboflavin, and caffeine citrate. The ratios may vary from person to person, but a typical formula combined into a capsule includes:
- 12.5 mg of ketoprofen
- 100 mg of riboflavin
- 100 mg of caffeine citrate
The standard dose is two pills at the beginning of a migraine and once every four hours as needed. This compound will alleviate a significant amount of pain for a significant number of patients, but it isn’t guaranteed to work for everyone. If it does work, you can expect relief within 15 minutes of ingestion.
Another standard compound is a nasal solution of lidocaine. The only drawback is a potential burning and stinging sensation. Not everyone experiences this, and it’s far less painful than the usual discomfort of migraines.
Nasal lidocaine typically has a concentration of 2.5 to 4.5 percent lidocaine; the rest is saline or some other carrier liquid. The solution begins working within 20 minutes. To use nasal lidocaine, you simply apply the drops as you would nasal saline. Repeat the dose every 15 minutes up to four times per day.
4. Take More Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The typical American diet is lacking in omega-3 acids and has an excess of omega-6 acids. This causes its own set of problems if not balanced correctly through supplements or dietary changes. Omega-3 and six acids are necessary for our health, but they balance each other out; if they’re out of whack, it can cause migraines directly. An excess of omega-6 actually creates chemicals that promote pain messages to travel through your body more easily, causing your body to misinterpret pain intensity. Having more omega-3 acids enables the body to create more compounds that block pain signals.
At the very least, it’s wise to try supplementing with omega-3 fatty acid supplements if you are a migraineur. Try changing your diet to reduce the amount of omega-6 acids you ingest. Reducing your omega-6 levels may also help you to have fewer and less intense headaches and migraines.
5. Balance Your Hormone Levels
Hormones play a major role in the onset of migraines, especially in women. That may be one of the reasons why women are three times as likely to deal with migraines than their male counterparts. Effective hormone testing is the first step to identifying you have a hormone issue; treatment follows.
Compounding pharmacies can formulate treatments that take hormone levels into account, correcting out-of-whack levels without further unbalancing other hormones in the process. In fact, compounding is one of the best ways to treat hormone issues because levels can be individually tweaked. Further research is required, but effective hormone treatments may be enough to replace pain relief medications for some people completely.
6. Other Preventative Techniques
Patients who deal with chronic migraines may benefit from taking a preventative approach, either with or without medicines. Beta-blockers, Botox, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medications may all help to reduce the frequency of migraines, as can certain tricyclic antidepressants (like amitriptyline). See your doctor before taking any of these drugs.
Stress reduction techniques will relieve tension, which may prevent migraines in the first place. In fact, stress itself is a primary trigger for most migraineurs. Practicing yoga and meditation can lower your overall stress levels, including cortisol hormones, adrenaline, and even anxiety. So, too, can mild exercise, including light stretches for your neck and shoulders. Loosening up your blood vessels and muscles prevents potential muscle spasm migraine triggers.
In Conclusion
There is not a cure for migraines yet, but there are many ways to effectively combat and prevent them from occurring in the first place. There is no one-size-fits-all migraine treatment that works for everyone, so it’s important to understand that treatment can require a bit of trial and error. To get the most out of your migraine treatment, always follow your doctor’s orders to the letter.