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Relief From Migraine Headaches

According to Migraines.org, approximately 36 million Americans suffer from migraines. Migraines are severe headaches with pain that may be restricted to one side of the head. Migraine sufferers often experience additional symptoms, including sensitivity to light, sound or smell, vomiting or nausea. There are a number of different treatment options for migraine headaches, designed to either manage the pain or reduce the prevalence of migraine attacks.

  1. Pain Management

    • According to Migraines.org, most over-the-counter medications are not effective at managing pain. In particular, Migraines.org warns against NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like Tylenol) because they are not effective and may cause gastrointestinal problems. Migraines.org also cautions against the use of acetaminophen and aspirin, which are also not strong enough to treat migraine pain and could potentially cause an additional "rebound" headache if used too frequently. Migraines.org cautions that even many medications that specifically state "migraine relief" (like Excedrin Migraine) may not be strong enough to relieve symptoms. Migraines.org recommends two specific OTC medications for pain management: Fiorinal and Midrin. Prescription pain management medications are also recommended and include codeine, Percodan, Demerol, Tylox and methadone.

    Migraine Prevention

    • Migraines.org has two different sets of drug therapies recommended for migraine prevention. The first type of migraine prevention drug is geared towards preventing migraines from occurring at all. The second type is geared towards aborting migraines once they begin. Drugs designed to stop migraines from occurring at all include beta blockers (propranolol), calcium channel blockers, methysergide and antidepressant medications. Drugs designed to interfere with or abort migraines once they have begun include ergotamine tartrate, dihydroergotamine, sumatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan, zolmitripan, electriptan, frovatriptan and isometheptene mucate.

    Holistic Pain Management

    • Some patients prefer to avoid drug therapy and attempt to treat their migraines holistically. There are a number of different ways to do this. Some patients take nutritional supplements designed to prevent migraine attacks. Supplements include Petasites hybridus, feverfew, vitamin B2 and magnesium. Other patients use various pain management techniques or alternative techniques designed to prevent migraines or interrupt migraine attacks. These alternative techniques include acupuncture (inserting needles at pressure points), magnet therapy (wearing magnets on the body to adjust the electromagnetic energy fields given off by the body) and biofeedback (controlling the skin temperature and pulse of the body). These therapies are designed to prevent migraines from occurring, stop migraine attacks and manage the pain associated with migraines.

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