Migraines: OTC/Home remedy recommendations?

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Not even full-blown migraines as I've heard people describe them ... more like migraine wannabes.

Good old fashioned aspirin, if I take it in time, will nearly always kick out the actual aching-head part in an hour or two. But lately, even if I do catch it in time, I'm left the rest of the day with that nauseated, exhausted, dizzy, feel-like-I-just-got-beat-up-in-a-boxing-ring feeling.

Sure; going to bed with a blindfold (the light! Arrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!! !) helps, but I hate having to leave work early.

I know every body type/metabolism is different and everyone responds/doesn't respond to different things. But does anyone have any OTC or home remedies that work for you? (Broke, uninsured American)

The one I hear a lot is Feverfew, but I understand that's more of a preventative than an after-the-fact cure.


- Jo; cursing the light

I get full blown ones myself. What I do is I take an Advil AND a Tylonol, the extra/migraine strength, fast acting kind. This is because a migraine affects different parts of the brain in a way that just Advil or just Tylonel or just Asprin can't completely help with.

The brand name doesn't really matter, as long as you have an ibuprofen and an acetaminophen tablet. Each targets a different type or cause of headaches. If you're worried about mixing meds, then take one and then wait a while to take the other. Usually after 2 hours is safe, but I've taken them together without any noticeable negative affects. Of course, that's me.

Hmmm, while Acetaminophen has never had any affect for me - any kind of pain - I've never thought to take Ibuprofen since I figure it's an anti-inflammatory like Aspirin.

But in talking with a coworker today who also gets migraines, she was noting that it's usually a constricted blood vessel somewhere. Ibuprofen might in that case work differently than Aspirin. I'll give it a shot next time!

She also made an interesting suggestion; she uses a heating pad on the back of her neck/back of her head. Little easier to have a heating pad at work than lie down with a blindfold at work.

I wouldn't take Tylenol and Ibuprofen at the same time though. Take one, and then 4 hours later take the other. If you can handle a cold pack on the back of your neck, that will help open up the blood vessels.

I get full blown migraines and they're awful. When I feel it brewing, I start with Ibuprofen, then I soak in the tub. If I can get some down time I go to bed with the lights out. Quiet and dark are my best friends.

I get those "migraine wannabes" all the time and they do suck. If I'm able to lie down I find that lying something cold over my forehead really takes the edge off (my headaches are at the front of my head unlike some people who have mentioned the back of the neck). Another thing that works for me is putting pressure on my temples by putting on a tight hat or headband. Once I even went so far as to cut up one of those rice bags you heat or freeze and an old pair of pants and I fashioned a ridiculous looking hat that combines the pressure and cold while still being able to sit upright.

Also I've tried putting Myomed on my forehead and it actually does help sometimes. Don't think that's what it's meant for but it felt cold putting it on my wrist so I thought that the cold on my head might work also and it did so I'm going to keep trying it.

Update -

Ibuprofen does indeed seem to be helping - a lot!

Doing the research, I didn't realize how similar Ibuprofen and Aspirin are. Perhaps my system just needed a vacation from one and to switch to the other for a while.

- Jo

I take four Feverfew capsules when I start a migraine and that helps. (Other people might not need to take as many if they're lower in body weight)I've tried taking one a day as a preventative but that doesn't work at all.

Check out food intolerance/allergy.

It is a common cause of migraine. Especially cheese, oranges, chocolate, "burnt"/very grilled foods, coffee, vinegar, etc, but also an underlying intolerance to wheat or gluten, for instance, can keep your body's adaptation to stress "bucket" filled up so that it only takes one small thing to set off a reaction.

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Hmmm, I've been kind of wondering that although no obvious pattern of I-eat-X-and-get-a-migraine emerges. So far they are more stress triggered than anything else.

The one food correlation I have noticed is if I'm dehydrated or if I've got too much sugar in my system without anything non-sugar to balance it out.

But when the new Summer job starts and the stress (hopefully) thins out a bit, I've been thinking of experimenting with different foods to see if they have an effect.

- Jo

If you think your migraines are stress triggered, try to notice how you've been holding your body in times of stress.
You might be assuming specific physical postures that influence the way you breathe and thus predispose you for pain.

I've noticed that air quality and light quality can set me off.
If someone sits down next to me who is wearing makeup, perfume, or has recently had a cigarette I start to get the visual patterns of a migraine.

If I'm really engaged in a project I might fail to notice what is going on until most of my vision is trashed/ I'm blinded with the flashing visual migraine pattern and nausea is kicking it.

I've found that if I can quickly get outside for fresh air and natural light though, I can stop the adventure before it cascades into extreme physical head ache pain.

My magic migraine cocktail is 1 gram of Aspirin (3 regular strength tablets) and 50 mg of Benadryl. It works every time.

The benadryl has an anti-anxiety effect which relieves the tension in my head and enhances the pain-relieving effect of the aspirin. The benadryl also helps relieve the nausea that I get when the headache starts to go away.

[quote="intravenus_de_milo"]My magic migraine cocktail is 1 gram of Aspirin (3 regular strength tablets) and 50 mg of Benadryl. It works every time.

The benadryl has an anti-anxiety effect which relieves the tension in my head [/quote]

Yeah, the antihistamine in Benadryl can make some people drowsy enough to relax.

Try and find a drug called Quaralin, one tablet and then go and lie down until the world goes away.

Works for me every time.

Vanilla Slice

Late poster, but old info is still good info to learn from.

I get migraines from two sources. The first cause is old neck and back injuries. If these are acting up they always set off migraines until I can get to the chiropractor and adjusted. For these I can catch them early with to capsules of all natural Phenocane (Tylanol does nothing for me) The second cause of mine is chemicals. If I walk into a tire shop, surf shop (wet suites) or come in contact with bleach or something I get nailed with a migraine that can't be prevented or helped. Nothing works for those type, just have to ride out the storm. Those usually end in being really sick too.

Thanks again for the continued advice. Searching for some of those remedies as we speak!

I like to take ibuprofen with some caffeine (coffee or strong tea), which seems to help me absorb the medication faster. Of course, if I have to sleep soon, I have to omit the caffeine (upon awaking, my migraines are always gone, anyway).