Vitamin B 12 deficiency anaemia makes my migraines and migraine with aura worse.I can have more headaches in the two weeks before my B 12 injection despite supplements as my active B 12 level lowers.
Low or Deficient B 12 and the condition called Pernicious Anaemia can also cause more thyroid dysfunction, Fatigue and various cardiac , metabolic and neurological symptoms .
It's worth getting a Serum B 12 blood test and Folates at the GP to see your base line. Sometimes you can be at the low end of normal but that's still too low for you so it's worth taking B 12 supplements as a part of prevention.
Sometimes you can get a normal Serum B12 result and many people are negative for antibodies for Pernicious Anaemia. Then it's worth requesting an Active B 12 test from the GP.
My active B 12 was deficient , meaning I had B12 in my system but it wasn't being processed properly into active B 12 for my body to use.
And it didn't matter how good my diet was as my body was not processing it in a useable way.
You will not necessarily get B 12 injections from the GP if you aren't deficient but it is worth taking an active / simple form of B12 each day. Holland and Barret do a B12 version which on the label states Methylcobalamine , this is simpler and easier to absorb.
Take B 12 with water and after food with low Vitamin C , it's quite helpful after lunch.
Folate deficiency can do much the same as B 12 so a supplement for that is also helpful.
Take your Folate at the same time as Vitamin C and Iron ( if you take it) after breakfast is quite a good time as your Vitamin C boost can come from a juice.
Low Vitamin D , Magnesium and K 2 can add to the type of severity of migraine events and thyroid issues too . Better You does a spray version which is good to take at night after dinner to get the maximum absorption. A comprehensive vitamin and mineral supplement taken just after a meal is also beneficial for prevention for everyone and to top up nutrients that get depleted each day by the body using up stores in recovery.
Increasing Oxygen and using Relaxing Breathing techniques with eyes closed in comfort can reduce events or reduce the symptoms with your migraine.
Valsalva Breathing is particularly useful if you also suffer from palpitations or a high heart rate before a headache or during migraine.
Sitting by an open window to get more air improves these methods .
Having a gentle walk or sitting out in fresh air every day helps improve and prevent migraine.
Avoid your triggers like light and sound or certain activities . Have a rest away from a screen ( computer. Phone, TV. ) if you work with them for a few minutes every 20 minutes . Reduce screen time as much as you can. Get into a habit of stopping using devices a few hours before bed and if you find them too tempting turn alerts to mute and ask friends or family to stop texting you after a certain time each night and to ring instead if it's an emergency after that time. This reduces aura events caused by overwork of the eyes.
Try out a better sleep routine and try to stick to it , quality rest and sleep is one of the best ways to reduce migraine and aura caused by tiredness. The screen turn off trick works for this as well as removing light or strong smells from your room and creating a comfortable sleep environment. One lesson I learnt recently from taking part in a Sleep and Migraine Study was not to do very active or Cardio exercise for two hours before wanting to settle for sleep as it wakes you up, Doing light tai chi stretching or a little stroll an hour before bed can help you calm down.
Using warm compresses on the eyes while closed and breathing and drinking cool water can ease the attack and help quicker recovery.
Then it's the basics.
Reduce use of processed foods and sugar and avoid artificial sweeteners all together if you can. Avoid caffeine , alcohol and smoke.
Keep a good diary and see if you have migraines on days when you eat certain things and eliminate them from your diet.
Create a nutritious diet of light meals with the occasional treat so that you feed your head and stop feeding your migraine.
Drink the recommended water each day as you can be dehydrated even if you aren't thirsty and dehydration is often your most common trigger and makes aura events worse.
Pace your activity well each day between action and rest. Stress is both positive and negative things that we do which is just too much for our body and mind to cope with at its current health level , not just bad things , and Stress is the top trigger for most symptoms.
Look after your eyes , keep them moist and nourished with water , a good diet and eye drops if they get dry.
Gentle relaxing exercise in your comfort zone improves your nerve health and oxygen circulation.
Try walks , leisure cycling. Swimming or exercise or walking in water, tai chi and qui gong, low impact pilates , low impact relaxation versions of yoga.
Basically good exercise that have short periods of cardio when you are prepared to do them but less high cardio and bouncing about of the head and neck which often trigger migraines.
Use CBT and Mindfulness techniques to reduce the effect outside triggers have on you and to distract your brain and body from the pain to help you recover quicker.
If you haven't tried these before there are free self guide training programmes available online through Mind and NHS direct that you could start today , just put CBT for pain into your search engine.
You can also ask your GP to refer you to a local Chronic Pain Management course via physiotherapy or the pain clinic.
If they have no idea about them try a bit of local research yourself then take the info to the GP so they can refer you if you can't refer yourself.
I also get Cluster Headaches and have recently been prescribed use of a Vagus nerve stimulation device twice a day to reduce attacks. It is a bit tricky to get used to at first but is beginning to reduce the amount of migraine attacks I have and how severe they are.
Some people recommend CBD . I say be cautious , especially if you need other medications or have other health conditions. CBD is processed by the same pathway in the liver as many medications including those for heart , lung, antidepressants and some endocrine problems something the adverts don't , but should , warn you about. It means that the drug you need to take may not be absorbed properly because the liver works on the CBD first and a build up of your drug can happen in your bloodstream , or you don't get enough of your essential medication to control your other illness. You need to check all your drugs and supplements to make sure they don't interact with CBD before trying it. Most UK CBD products don't work that well for migraine as most UK over the counter products do not have the right level of active ingredients in them to control migraine or severe pain issues.
How often do you get your B 12 injection ?I found my Neurological and Migraine rebound would come back in about 6weeks after an injection and I would have more headaches an aura until the next injection.
Most GPs only give the injections every three months , but the NICE guidelines state you can have it every two months if you have neurological symptoms , of which chronic migraines is one.
You can get the Neurologist to sign off on doing them sooner as I have done.
How good is your Folate level?
As this can cause as much of an issue as B12.
I've started receiving daily oxygen and have a Gammacore Vagus Stimulation Machine now prescribed for Cluster Migraines, the combination of both have also reduced the amount of Migraine with Aura I'm having. Good luck with your search for a solution. Bee
Wow.. such great info. I'm always learning. Here are a few more:
It's all about dose, timing and type..
So the big one for me is magnesium. I spent years trying to find the correct type. For me it is magnesium glycinate. Once I figured that out ( tried one, no impact 3months, switched) then I worked on dose. For me it is a 400mg tablet 3x daily. Here is how I know it is working. For my noon dose, I usually start to get a headace about 11:45am and as soon as I take my magnesium it goes away. Some days are better than others. I also take Feverfew 2x daily.
For me the key is treat it as soon as I feel a slight tinge of head pain. I do not wait because if I wait it could hurt me bad and for days.
I also use a roll on peppermint oil on the back of my hand and smell it in deeply. Again, I can feel it making the pain go away.
I drink hot peppermint tea.
I also NEVER skip a meal and know I must have protein with every meal.
Lastly injectable medication has saved my life many.. many times. When I have exhausted all my tricks I use my Imitirx injectable. It's just like an epi-pen. It makes the migraine completely go away in no more than 10min. If it does not I go to my doctors office right away.
Hope this helps.
If you can I recommend the Podcast "Heads UP". it is run by UK migraine specialist. They cover everything and it's free. I have learned so much listening to every episode.
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