Any home remedies for intractable migraine

[Anonymous]

Make myself sick
Chug a Diet Coke
Try not to smash whatever eye is protecting the pain with a hammer

Seriously, you know what really helped? Cutting out carbs. But it doesn’t help if you already have one.

[Anonymous]

I know migraines are common and maybe it’s three weeks of broken sleep but oh my gosh it’s wonderful to know that there are so many of us. Thank you to you all and may we all discover and underlying trigger we can treat and prevent 100% of our headaches with. OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make myself sick
Chug a Diet Coke
Try not to smash whatever eye is protecting the pain with a hammer

Seriously, you know what really helped? Cutting out carbs. But it doesn’t help if you already have one.

How low did you have to go for this to work? OP.

[Anonymous]

Just remembered after reading comments on here: I sometimes take celebrex for my migraine. It’s prescribed for my back but I rarely need it for that anymore because I do PT that’s more effective. But if I have a migraine that won’t go away, I’ll take a celebrex with my triptan and some caffeinated soda, and it helps.

[Anonymous]

None of these comments are for intractable migraines. Just bad ones. Talk to your neurologist and maybe consider hospitalization but hospitalization never worked for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ and in a pinch, Nurtec is amazing

Nurtec doesn't work for me as an abortive. The triptans work pretty well for me though. Everyone is different.

However, you can get a prescription to take Nurtec every other day as a preventive -- I'm doing that now and find it helps some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of these comments are for intractable migraines. Just bad ones. Talk to your neurologist and maybe consider hospitalization but hospitalization never worked for me.

No one is suggesting these for curing an intractable migraine. Some of these are things I have to do simply to become functional enough to make an appointment with my neurologist, or to do an urgent task that I HAVE to do, migraine or no. Like I had a migraine recently that was making it impossible for me to sleep. But if did a certain routine post dinner (where I avoided certain foods) I could sometimes get a short period of relief in which I could fall asleep. I'd still wake up at 3am with the migraine resurging, but a few hours of sleep is better than none. That's how I survived while waiting for my MRI appointment, which took three days. I've also used some of these methods to gain a little relief so that I could do something like take my kid to school or drive myself to the doctor.

I personally think every migraine sufferer needs at least a few home remedy options in their back pocket because it's such an unpredictable ailment. I've been in situations where I've been hit with a migraine while traveling in a foreign country and my meds won't work, and had to navigate a foreign health service while also dealing with normal travel issues. If I didn't have my little bag of tricks that would have been much worse. Stuff like always carrying a blackout sleep mask with me, knowing how to make a cold compress in a pinch, or knowing that taking a bath or shower in a dark bathroom will sometimes relax me enough to get some relief and make me functional for at least a few hours.

[Anonymous]

My husband had horrible migraines, the thing that helped was stress reduction. I know that is hard.

One game changer for him - the neurologist he saw put him on an app for migraine sufferers. He said going on the app and seeing the peer conversations, was hugely helpful just knowing that others were going through this.

He also got better about talking about things, and not letting things get pushed down (he is great at compartmentalizing and that isn't very good for stress in the long term).

Sorry you are going through this....I am sure you will find something that will work for you. For women, I think hormones and migraines are closely linked.

[Anonymous]

25+ years of migraines here. I’ve had at least three migraines which have landed me in the hospital on an IV. Sometimes it’s the only way to break a cycle. Motrin or other OTC pain relievers do nothing for my headaches. I can’t take imitrex due to rebound headaches. Ubrevly usually works for me but sometimes I have to take a second dose. I was on topamax for a short period which really helped my migraines but too many side effects.

Other ideas:
I bought an eye mask from Amazon that plugs in and delivers continuous heat. You can spray it with water so it is moist heat.
I like using an old school fillable ice pack. I fill it with ice cubes and water and it stays cold for a long time. I alternate between heat and ice.
Dark room with minimal stimulation. I sometimes listen to guided meditations on you tube.
I often drink a coke. Sometimes I also put a cold coke can on the back of my neck and roll it.
I take B6 and vitamin D regularly. Magnesium did nothing for me.

Sorry you are suffering with this! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of these comments are for intractable migraines. Just bad ones. Talk to your neurologist and maybe consider hospitalization but hospitalization never worked for me.

No one is suggesting these for curing an intractable migraine. Some of these are things I have to do simply to become functional enough to make an appointment with my neurologist, or to do an urgent task that I HAVE to do, migraine or no. Like I had a migraine recently that was making it impossible for me to sleep. But if did a certain routine post dinner (where I avoided certain foods) I could sometimes get a short period of relief in which I could fall asleep. I'd still wake up at 3am with the migraine resurging, but a few hours of sleep is better than none. That's how I survived while waiting for my MRI appointment, which took three days. I've also used some of these methods to gain a little relief so that I could do something like take my kid to school or drive myself to the doctor.

I personally think every migraine sufferer needs at least a few home remedy options in their back pocket because it's such an unpredictable ailment. I've been in situations where I've been hit with a migraine while traveling in a foreign country and my meds won't work, and had to navigate a foreign health service while also dealing with normal travel issues. If I didn't have my little bag of tricks that would have been much worse. Stuff like always carrying a blackout sleep mask with me, knowing how to make a cold compress in a pinch, or knowing that taking a bath or shower in a dark bathroom will sometimes relax me enough to get some relief and make me functional for at least a few hours.

Intractable means non of those things work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you do riboflavin daily? It's a blood vessel stabilizer and was recommended by my kid's neurologist.

I second riboflavin—it has made a HUGE difference for me. Also, you should take magnesium whether you have a deficiency or not. Many headache specialists prescribe it for migraine because it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I used to have GERD and didn’t think I could take NSAIDS, but I read something that said the slow release of the pills and being in your stomach for so long is what causes the irritation. I tried the liquid gels and those have been a game changer. I usually take Imitrex, Aleve and if nauseated, Zofran. And Benadryl at night. DD also has migraines and takes B2 and Gabapentin as a preventative.

OP. I will have to check with my doctor. I ended up developing, per the doctor who read my endoscopy, “dozens of lesions” in my stomach, so I am very careful about consuming anything that might cause a relapse of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of these comments are for intractable migraines. Just bad ones. Talk to your neurologist and maybe consider hospitalization but hospitalization never worked for me.

Some might help. I haven’t used B2/riboflavin or magnesium in the past and if cutting carbs will help in a drug free manner (I’ll take what I need, but I fear side effects and try to reduce the drugs I take). I really appreciate people’s comments. And since this is so new, I don’t have a neurologist yet. My MRI has been scheduled for next week, if there are any answers to be found there. Thanks so much, everyone. OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of these comments are for intractable migraines. Just bad ones. Talk to your neurologist and maybe consider hospitalization but hospitalization never worked for me.

No one is suggesting these for curing an intractable migraine. Some of these are things I have to do simply to become functional enough to make an appointment with my neurologist, or to do an urgent task that I HAVE to do, migraine or no. Like I had a migraine recently that was making it impossible for me to sleep. But if did a certain routine post dinner (where I avoided certain foods) I could sometimes get a short period of relief in which I could fall asleep. I'd still wake up at 3am with the migraine resurging, but a few hours of sleep is better than none. That's how I survived while waiting for my MRI appointment, which took three days. I've also used some of these methods to gain a little relief so that I could do something like take my kid to school or drive myself to the doctor.

I personally think every migraine sufferer needs at least a few home remedy options in their back pocket because it's such an unpredictable ailment. I've been in situations where I've been hit with a migraine while traveling in a foreign country and my meds won't work, and had to navigate a foreign health service while also dealing with normal travel issues. If I didn't have my little bag of tricks that would have been much worse. Stuff like always carrying a blackout sleep mask with me, knowing how to make a cold compress in a pinch, or knowing that taking a bath or shower in a dark bathroom will sometimes relax me enough to get some relief and make me functional for at least a few hours.

Intractable means non of those things work.

They don't cure the migraine. But they can make you more comfortable and lessen intensity so that you can function.

Have you never had a migraine so bad you could not see or stand up, and needed to do something to lessen its severity so you could at least leave the house to go to the doctor or the hospital? These are the things I do in that situation. None of this stuff will get rid of a migraine on its own.

[Anonymous]

30 year migraineur here, mine have started to improve as i get closer to menopause which was the case with my mom too. Really chiming in to share this: TheraICE Form Fitting Head Gel Ice Cap, Cold Therapy Ice Head Wrap Ice Pack Mask, Cold Cap https://a.co/d/7p1t4RO which is one of the best ice packs I’ve ever used for migraine pain. Sorry we all have to suffer, it’s no fun at all.