I have tried a boatload (by boatload I'm talking about a barge sized vessel, not a tug boat sized vessel) of both over-the-counter and prescription medications to treat my migraines I've also tried treating the migraines without medication. Over the years I have read about and heard many different suggestions that might alleviate my migraine headaches. Today I'm going to focus on some of the more natural remedies I've tried.
Aromatherapy is something that people commonly recommend, particularly lavender and peppermint essential oils. I jumped right on that...I love peppermint. My Mom and I invested heavily in peppermint products. Peppermint candles, peppermint candies, peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint mochas, and peppermint essential oil. I even discovered that Paul Mitchell makes a Tea Tree Lavender and Mint moisturizing shampoo and conditioner that smell heavenly. While the aromatherapy was soothing, it did not do much to reduce my migraines. I think the best luck I had with an aromatherapy product is Origins Peace of Mind, which is a minty lotion that I gently massage into my temples and the base of my neck when I'm not feeling well and it will help some. When all else fails sometimes I may mix up some hot cocoa with a shot (or two) of peppermint schnapps, a peppermint swizzle stick, and some mini-marshmallows. It might not do a damn thing for my migraine, but a nightcap will usually relax me a bit and maybe, just maybe, the peppermint in the schnapps will provide some migraine relief. I used to keep York peppermint patties around occasionally nibble on them during a migraine, until one unfortunate day when I got a whopper migraine with nausea and I puked up a peppermint patty. Now I can't see a York peppermint patty without that memory haunting me and my tummy turning queasy.
Then there are pillows. I have spent a small fortune on pillows over the years. I thought a proper pillow that provides good neck support might help out my migraine situation since the majority of my migraines are accompanied with neck pain and muscle spasms. I have spent over $100 a pop on many a pillow that provided negligible migraine relief. My bed is cluttered with mass quantities of pillows now. And let me just note that memory foam pillows are outlawed for pillow fight use at our house. Somebody might suffer a concussion if smacked upside the head with one of those suckers.
Here's a fun suggestion for potential migraine relief that I have heard about. Pinch your left nostril closed so you are only breathing out of the right side. I tried it. When no one was looking. It didn't provide any migraine relief for me. I had heard it years ago, but it apparently made a resurgence in the news recently because it was suggested to me twice in the past few months.
And there's caffeine, which I view as a double-edged sword. It can alleviate migraine pain, but if you drink it too often it can trigger migraines. I have to proceed with caution in this department. If I'm at work and a migraine begins I can sometimes grab a soda or mocha and the jolt of caffeine will quash the migraine. I find it best to order a small caffeinated beverage because if I drink too much caffeine the migraine will come back with ferocity when the caffeine wears off in my body.
It was once suggested to me that my migraines could be connected to my sinuses and maybe I should try using a neti pot. I didn't know what a neti pot was so I Googled it. Oh my God! Gross. I talked myself into trying it because what it if rid me of my migraine headaches? I would never know until I tried. I had a heck of a time mustering the courage to actually go through with using it and it took me several days after buying the neti pot to actually try it. When I finally attempted the neti pot, it was an epic failure. I thought I was going to drown and my husband laughed as I choked on the water instead of irrigating my sinuses. I likened it to being waterboarded, to which my husband pointed out was a gross exaggeration, especially since I had never experienced waterboarding (thank goodness!). I didn't care if he thought I was being a drama queen. It was a traumatic experience and I decided the neti pot likely originated as a form of corporal punishment. For a moment I imagined myself in Gitmo instead of standing in front of my bathroom sink. It took a couple of months to gather the courage to attempt the neti pot again. Lo and behold I got it figured out, but it didn't seem to do anything for me. I tried it daily for several weeks to see if it would eventually give me any sort of relief. I kept up with it until "the incident."
"The incident" started out innocently enough. I had a cold and my nose was all stuffy. I decided to use some nasal spray to open my sinuses before using the neti pot . Several minutes after using the nasal spray, when I felt like I could breathe easily, I broke out the neti pot. The neti pot flushed any remaining nasal spray far into my sinuses. It was accompanied by a horrible burning sensation and I teared up and yelped in pain. Just thinking about the "the incident" makes my eyes water. That intense burning sensation wouldn't subside for the longest time. (I liken it to having a deep paper cut. Not the kind of paper cut you get from a normal piece of paper, more the kind you get from a file folder. Then take that paper cut and place it into a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for about 30 minutes. I think that is probably a fair comparison.) The neti pot has been stashed in the deepest, darkest corner of the bathroom cabinet since "the incident" and will likely never been seen again.
Let me reiterate that these are just my opinions and experiences with different treatments that I've tried over the years. These aren't all of the things I've tried, just some I thought I'd share. I'll write more about some positive pain management treatments and techniques in a future blog post.
I'm staying away from the netti pot.
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