How can my sister get rid of her migraines?

Migraines are in the news. There’s a possibly solution for your sister:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/04/04/migraine.drug.reut/index.html

Wish you luck!

I get really bad migraines too and medication doesn’t help me either. I haven’t found anything that helps. I just deal with them as they come.

Ask for an MRI scan… she might have a brain tumor or brain cancer. Watch carefully, whenit gets up to once a day….DEMAND an MRI!!!(cat scan)

This is brand new. I just heard about this a few days ago.

The study compared the use of a new combination pill that includes sumatriptan (brand name Imitrex) and naproxen sodium (Aleve) to use of either drug alone and to a placebo for moderate to severe migraines.

The researchers found that the combination therapy provided headache relief within two hours for as many as 65 percent of the study volunteers compared to about 28 percent for placebo. Up to 55 percent reported that Imitrex alone provided relief, while as many as 44 percent felt that naproxen gave them relief from their headache.

"The combination product is superior to the individual products alone," explained study author, Dr. Jan Lewis Brandes, a neurologist with the Nashville Neuroscience Group and an assistant clinical professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. "It really targets more of what’s happening in the brain during migraine. Sumatriptan works to constrict the blood vessels and interrupt pain, while naproxen works on the inflammatory process."

She really needs to find a different doctor. Unfortunately with migraines, there’s usually not much you can do other than taking medicines, there’s no magic cure-all surgery for them, but a better doctor would make sure that the med’s she’s on are working.

Back in the 70′s I had accupuncture for migraines and never had them again. I would look into this, and also first go to the doctor and tell him that the meds are not working and consider going to another doctor. I would read up on everything I could find online, especially forums where others with the same problem have found sucessful results.
Also, therapy for the anxiety disorder may help too.

I don’t know if this will solve her problem. I had migraines for about forty years and had a separate problem, hypertension. My doctor started treating the hypertension changing medications in the process. I now take 2 for that. But during the process my migraines went away. They were diagnosed by many doctors.

As a lifetime sufferer I can suggest tracking meals and routine to try to identify the trigger. In many cases it can be tracked to food allergies that only reveal themselves in combination with other foods. Some triggers for me are chocolate and red wine. Also see an increase in headaches after extreme exertion/exercise.

Have tried a number of medicines, triptans, imitrex, etc – but usually only work if taken immediately at onset. Also tried anti-convulsants like midrin which have had moderate success.

First of all she needs some peace and quiet. She should go away some place, for a little while and rest. The more problems you have, the more pain. Believe me, I could have 5 attacks the week.
Get rid of the problems, and then start over. It’s very important that you are there for her.

She has to find out the root cause of why she is having migraines and then treat it. Migraines can be caused by the food she eat, can be stress sometimes or pre-menstrual syndrome. Suggest to her doctor to investigate the cause of the migraine.

Migraines could be caused by magnesium deficiency. Try taking magnesium supplement. Vit B complex is also a good one. Please take that with food. It can cause nausea if you take it on an empty stomach. Inositol is also a good supplement to take for migraines and anxiety disorder. You need to take it with chlorine supplement though in equal dosage.

I get cluster migraines – i would have them three or four in a week and then nothing for three or four weeks. I tried various medication preventative and relief and nothing has been able to cure them completely………..but I do now take propanolol which is a beater blocker and amitriptilene (sorry spelling is probably incorrect) which in a much higher dosage is an anti depressant (but not in the low 10mg that I take) daily. I now only have the migraines about every 3 to 4 months (still 3 or 4 at a time though)

They are still really annoying and debilitating but at least it is only one week in about every 12 to 16. It only seems to work when I take both of these drugs together. When you read all the information that comes with the drugs there is no mention of them helping migraines but they have discovered that for some reason they do work.

Hope that helps your sister I really do know what she feels like and she has my sympathy. I hope she finds something to help her soon.

I have migrain problem as well.
I used to take medication from doc and switched to herbal medicine after using too much drugs.
Ask her to practice a bit of yoga…migrain is very much tied to your emotions yoga is gonna help her control her emotions.

Ask her to have a very healthy diet, proper sleep….afraid to say everything is related, if she is not gonna take care of her daily eating habit,sleep its really not gonna go off.

Get her to do light exercise at least 2 times a week…. weekeends of weekdays…..

She might need help…i think she might need a therapist to help her through this…

She needs to take care of everything else for the migrain…good luck

Before meds can be effective you have to know the cause of the migraines. Are they stress related? Are they medication related? Are they food related? First you have to be a real detective and find the trigger. Sometimes it can be as simple as caffeine, or as complicated as stress. It is different with everyone. Have your sister keep a food/drink diary for a couple of weeks noting the time the migraines start. I would have her include meds on that as well since it could be a combination of food/meds as well. If that doesn’t give you any clues then keep it up including moods/feelings of anxiety as well. She might want to talk to a specialist in migraines as well. Migraines can be managed! It just takes alot of work and patience. Good luck & best wishes.

First change doctors, because they’re meant to solve a problem! You need a referral to a specialist.

Meanwhile, here’s my regime for controlling the pain to something bearable. The moment the visual signs strike, take the strongest painkiller you have at hand plus some NoDoze (caffeine tablets) and/or very strong coffee. The caffeine relaxes the blood vessels in your head (the flashing lights are caused by the blood vessels ‘cramping’ or squeezing tight) and the painkillers give you a head-start on the remaining pain before it hits you (the pain is caused by the blood vessels relaxing after the big squeeze, so with less cramping you get less pain).

One of the most known ways to help with any chronic problem is to get plenty of rest 8-9 hours a night and to be active five days a week as well as eat a healthy diet with lots of vegetables fruit whole and multigrain breads, pasta, and cereal, as well as lean meats and dairy products. Her anxiety might be corrected with some regular yoga and meditation to calm herself down as well as making sure that she is organized in life and has a flexible routine that helps her know what is next everyday.