Ruining my life...

[Alfiechris]

I have had chronic migraines for months now and painkillers not very effective. Affecting my moods too and causing me anxiety. Anyone ever had acupuncture for migraines?Any advice gratefully received....

[Pattipan]

Hi alfiechris

I'm so sorry you're having so many problems.

I have tried everything to alleviate my migraines over the last 46 years and acupuncture I'm afraid had no effect at all apart from being a chance to relax (a bit) for 20 minutes once a month. Much needed maybe as I do suffer from anxiety (still). My practitioner was apparently the best in the southwest of Britain. Cost a fortune too!

Two things helped. Triptans - a lifeline which I grew to depend on far too much. And growing older.

I stopped taking triptans in June 2015 and I now only get occasional severe headaches. Maybe two or three a month but without the photo/phono phobia and vomiting of the past.

Try acupuncture if you can afford it. I'm sure it must work for some people. Best of luck.

Patti

[mmaya]

I never tried the acupuncture because the reports I have from people that actually have severe migraines is that is a waste of money, it is great for tension headaches but not so much for proper migraines. I never tried it.

I use a lot of relaxation techniques and natural supplements and I do not use painkillers other than paracetamol and neurofen or aspirin. What I do if you want to try is take motilium 20 minutes before the painkillers and then the painkiller. After taking the painkiller, I close my eyes for 15 minutes in the dark.

I'm taking topamax daily and I do botox which is working wonders, I no longer get the massive attacks I used to have.

[Paulacg]

Hi there. It is very important that you rule out medication overuse headaches - it's very tempting to keep using them especially when you are in pain, but they can make things much, much worse.

Don't believe alternative practicioners who will cheerfully take your money and tell you they can fix the problem. Get your GP to refer you to a proper migraine centre or make a visit to the National Migraine Centre if you can get to London.

Learning mindfulness can be really useful for pain. This sounds a bit wacky but has good evidence behind it and is used in the NHS.

franticworld.com/can-mindfu...

[mmaya in reply to Paulacg]

I fully agree, the painkillers overuse generates rebound migraines which are twice worse than the normal migraines.

I've been on that cycle myself and took me a while to admit to it, it's very easy to get into it.

Migraines are extremely painful, of course if you have access to painkillers... I would take them, give me the all box pls..next day another migraine and so on.

I remember getting really mad at the neurologist when he told me this, " I'm no junkie " I said!

The reality is, once I stopped all the painkillers and resumed to loads of water, natural supplements and preventive medication ( topamax + botox) I no longer need painkillers because I don't get migraines anymore.

Migraines are debilitating, they nearly destroyed my life, they made anorexic, depressed, sick, I'm coming out the other side after years of suffering but the first step is to stop the painkillers and find out what causes your migraines.

Then find a preventive medication that works for you, I tried 4 before the botox, topamax works but the side effects are very severe, I'm hoping to come out of it ASAP.

[sun2bright76]

I was getting 4 migraines a week when I started a combination of acupuncture and tuina massage twice per week. After about 6 weeks, my migraines started to improve. I then switched to once a week. After 3 months, I was down to two or three per month. I now go every two weeks and am staying around 2 per month, and they are typically taken away by 100mg of Imitrex. So the combination of of acupuncture ad chinese massage really helped me.

[angelb123]

you need to talk to someone about your anxiety,this will help with your migraine, it helped me to deal with it, its still there but not as bad,anxiety is the worse thing for migraine nothing else works,its a reaction to brain overload,your GP should be able to find help for you.

[weezergeezer]

I've had accupuntre with limited results, I do remember having a neck massage for nearly 45 minutes instead of accupuntre when I arrived for an appointment once with a migraine...it was really great, better than any medication I've ever taken,

I now take the view that your damned if you do or dont, not taking any medication is the way to go, less complictions and quicker recovery time IMO, I know its not a very comforting prospect but it works for me and I've spent a good deal of my life suffering from migraine probably more that most reading these posts, I should write a book,

I know its bizarre but giving up the meds has given me me life back

[mmaya in reply to weezergeezer]

Likewise... I can understand your comment.

That's what a life of suffering does to you. I suffer from severe migraines since the age of 11/12, I am now 41 and my only hope is menopause.

The Neurologist actually told me there's a very good chance they'll go at that stage of my life...I'll live & hope.

About living without drugs, thats what I am aiming for but unfortunately because my migraines are too severe, I'll never be able to give up the medication completely. I did find the Botox to have a massive impact on the migraines, I am hoping as the time passes I will be able to stop the preventive medication and that day my friend I'll be the happiest cookie alive

I now rely almost completely in natural supplements and botox, I am in the process of reducing the topamax slowly , I am still on a high enough dosage but nothing compared to what I used to be on...and no painkillers...they are a killer.

[blinc]

I can so sympathise! My head has been appalling for the last two weeks, having told myself things were generally improving. It is so disappointing! It seems there is no miracle cure, but the great part about this forum is that we sufferers can share suggestions (and I totally agree with others that if the root cause can be found, rather than taking loads of painkillers and triptans, than that would be greatly preferable). Speaking of which, the latest thing I am trying is a supplement that my health food shop have suggested and once again, I am full of hope! It is called Dolovent and am on day 3 now - take a look, also at extremely positive reviews. Sadly it is not cheap, but I am at the point now of not caring (£34.99 for a month's supply). I will definitely keep everyone posted, as it would be amazing to find a real 'cure'! It seems you have to take it for 3 months before judging results, so I will definitely give an up date

All the best and keep hopeful

X

[mmaya in reply to blinc]

Hi Blinc, I had to google it because I never heard of it

From what I read it should definately work, it is very similar to waht I am doing.

Look at the ingrediants yousrself and compare to the cocktail that I am taking:

Here's what I do:

slow-k -potassium twice daily

vitamin b6

folic acid

co enzym q10

magnesium powder

the difference is you are taking b2 instead of b6 and I take the folic acid, ther's different theories abt that, some say b2 is better, some others say b6+folic acid work better...my definately works. If i had to put a percentage on it, it reduced my migraines by around 70%

[blinc in reply to mmaya]

Hi mmaya,

How interesting! That sounds really promising - I could really do with a 70% reduction at the moment! I have read tonnes about all this stuff in the past, and have half-heartedly tried taking this and that, but what I like about the sound of Dolovent is that it is in one handy pill. However, it sounds like you have your cocktail 'sussed', (with similar stuff in), so the fact that it is working for you adds to my hope! Thank you for your feedback! (& interesting about the differences too).

X

[mmaya in reply to blinc]

Hey blinc, believe me or not, I am the last person to believe on natural stuff!

But last year my migraines got really bad like each migraine lasted for 4 days, I would get a break for 1 day and I would have another imediatly after...

At that stage, I just couldn't live like that anymore!

The neurologist started doing very specific bloods on me to find out what was causing it and that's how we come up with that cocktail.

I took it religiously from end of January until july and I was fine, in July I went on holidays and I didn't take any of the stuff for 3 weeks, by the time I came back the migraines were back too...

It does take some time for the effects to show but for example one of the active ingridients on your supplement is co enzyme 10, you must check how much is on it, if it's less than 100mg daily it won't produce the results you need. if its more than that, it will keep you awake during the night.

on the right dosage, it's perfect, it actually is, keeps your imune system up and you feel awake during the day, which for me was a plus, the topamax makes very dope.

I hope it works for you

[mmaya in reply to mmaya]

oww the speeling mistakes sorry!

[blinc in reply to mmaya]

Interestingly I did find myself awake in the early hours for quite a long time, which was annoying & unusual for me! I see that the 4 pills per day that I'm taking contain 150mg co enzyme10!! Also, I've been taking each dose at 10am & 10pm, so maybe that's too late in the evening for the second dose! Thank you again for feedback - (including what happened when you stopped taking supplements for a while)...it's so helpful. Once again, I will keep you and the forum posted on progress, after I can hopefully see an improvement... of late I too have been getting days of migraines in a row - but today felt on top of the world!

Will be back in touch😄

[babs1234 in reply to blinc]

Do you take 4 x150 mg a day? I have been takin 1 x 100 mg a day ..I need to get the dosage right in these supplements.

[mmaya in reply to babs1234]

It's just the Co enzyme 10 that we were talking abt, and 100 to 120 mg per day should be the right dosage

[blinc in reply to babs1234]

Hi, yes, as mmaya says, we are just talking about the Coenzyme Q10 element. The full dosage of 4 x Dolovent capsules per day equates to a total of 150mg. I want to have a good night's sleep tonight, so I've decided to try just one capsule this eve which equates to 112.5mg. I'll stick to this & see how the migraines are - will let you know. (& how the sleep is - usually pretty good). Crunch time will be what happens in about 3 weeks, when I'd normally be due another episode of migraines (days). 😄

[seawarrior]

I have had both traditional Chinese and Western acupuncture. Neither worked. Same result with chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, hypnosis and a two or three other alternative therapies.

The only thing that really helps me is sumatriptan.

I am getting Botox injections in January unless I experience a miracle before then.

[mmaya in reply to seawarrior]

I had my fiest Botox injections at the begining of October and I was very scared because of mixed reviews, so far although I decreased the topamax to 1/ 3rd of what i used to take, no migraines to report. I had 2 that lasted abt 2 hours not 4 days as usually does, I didn't need to stop working or go to bed, they weren't severe.

So far I am really impressed, I hope it continues this way so that I can stop the medication all together.

[seawarrior in reply to mmaya]

That's encouraging. Thanks.

[tom1984]

Sorry to hear you're in the state you're in, it's horrible isn't it. I've had migraines since I was ~14 (now 32) - tried all the meds, daily (beta blockers etc) and for attacks (triptans etc) and nothing seems to do the trick. It comes in phases, sometimes I'm feeling 'migrainey' for weeks on end, (eyes funny, mood changes etc) - and sometimes the anxiety of fearing getting a migraine, or the anxiety of having to cancel on friends constantly really grinds me down, especially when they just don't 'get it'. Unfortunately, acupuncture did nothing for me either.

Something you must try - others above have suggested it and I have recommended it on this forum previously too, is the daily vitamins. Like others, I am far from an 'alternative' or 'complimentary' medicine kind of person, but when you've tried everything it's all worth a go!

Like I said, for years I have tried all kinds of harsh medicines and was pretty depressed. Went to the national migraine centre in London and the specialist suggested trying the following:

Daily preventative - high dose vit b2 (riboflavin), magnesium and co-enzyme q10. It takes a couple of months for the levels to build up within your system, so don't expect instant results. I can say that after about three months my migraines reduced drastically and when I did get one, it was much less severe. The constant 'migrainey' feeling I mentioned was also drastically reduced.

For acute attacks - dispersible asprin in a can of coke, with a anti nausea pill (domperidone, over the counter). Take this as soon as you feel the first warning signs.

After years of misery, these two simple things, with no side effects have made more of a difference to me than anything else, I simply can't overstate it and I keep an eye on these forums just to let people know about it when I see people struggling.

I strongly urge you to talk to your Dr about the daily vitamins (I'm sure there is no issue in you taking them, but you'd better check!) and make sure you stick with the routine for at least a couple of months to see the improvement start.

migrainetrust.org/living-wi...

Good luck and try not to let it get you down,

Best wishes.

[babs1234 in reply to tom1984]

What doses do you take for the vit B2 , co-eq10 and magnesium please

[mmaya in reply to babs1234]

@babs1234 I'll give you my dosages so that you can compare.

I take folic acid + b6 instead of b2

B6 50 mg per day

Folic acid 5 mg per day

Co enzyme 10 100 mg per day

Magnesium powder for better absorption mags 365 2 spoons before going to bed, one in the morning.

Slow k- potassium 600 mg twice daily.