I have suffered from migraine for 40 years. In the last 20 years the migraines have increased to between 3 and 6 per week. I have had evey pill going with no improvement, Ocipital nerve blocks, Alexander technique and Acupuncture. I had a good response to acupuncture but have been told that i can no longer have it on the NHS as 12 is the max appointments allowed. I now live on Zomig which is causing rebound headaches and migraines, but have no choice to maintain some chance of a normal life.
I have decided, after much research on the internet to try Migrelief which contains Riboflavin,Magnesium and Feverfew alongside COQ10 and have acupuncture privately.
Has anyone tried these alternative treatments? and if so have they worked?
I get much comfort from knowing i am not alone in my suffering and that many people have stories indentical to mine it makes the suffering a little less painful.
I will update as i go on. Hopefully i will have some sucsess.
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dradvent
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have you been to the national migraine centre. many of us have spent our lives trying out different treatments and spending thousands of pounds until we got to the migraine centre , got the treatment sorted and got our lives back on track again. good luck!!
Hi. My story is the same as yours but the migraine centre has been unable to helpo me. I live on triptans, which would be OK if they didn't knock me out, I struggle through every day. If you try that treatment please let us know how you get on.
have you been back to the centre? it took me a long tme to find the right treatment that worked for me, but soo worth while the perseverance. Dr Giles Elrington is the neurologist id recommend seeing there!
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. I have treid CoQ10. I took 120mg a day for 3 months and it made no difference to the frequency of my migraines (2 a week). There is research to show high dose CoQ10 does reduce the no. of migraines for some people though. The problem is at high dose it's expensive. I haven't tried Migralief but have tried magnesium, feverfew and riboflavin seperately. That didn't help either but all are worth a shot.
I have great difficulty travelling because of migraines but if I lived near to London or if the National Migraine Centre did telephone appointments I would definitely get their advice. It's very hard when you are having to take triptans so often as you know: they and painkillers cause even more problems. But I appreciate that if you need to keep going it's impossible to function without.
Good Luck. I really hope the vitamins/supplements help.
I have a chronic migraine problem also and for the last six months have suffered rebound headaches every single day, I have not tried the treatment you have mentioned but I am under a neurologist who has suggested gabapentin (which I didn't like as they spaced me out abit,) and I'm now trying a higher dose of amitriptylin, which hasn't done much to help so far, so I too would be very interested to hear if your treatment helps you. I'm also going to look into the migraine centre so thankyou for all your help. I too find it a comfort that I am not alone in this quest to find a cure for this dibilitating illness.
Hi, for what it’s worth, you might want to try the combination that I am on. I, too tried without success amitriptilyne, and propranolol, separately; but when my doctor made me try them together; it WORKED!! I take 20 mg of propranolol every morning and 10 mg amitriptilyne at night time. It works!! You have nothing to lose. Hope this helps!
Thankyou all for your coments. I have had gabapentin and amitriptylin in the past, nither worked for me. I have been ill since christmas with a migraine on all but 1 day. I have been on the coq10 and migrelief for just over a week with no improvement so far. From the articles i have read i am not expecting any ichange until about 4 weeks. HERES HOPING!!!!!!!
Hi, I've also had migraines for 40 years, but they no longer last the 3 days with vomiting and diarrhoea that I used to have when I had young children to care for! However, I do live on Zomig (15 or more each month, but at the 2.5 mg dose). I never go anywhere without them. I've tried most things, including Feverfew (made my mouth sore) and CoQ10 without success. I currently take Magnesium every other day (seems to upset my tum if I take it too often) and am waiting for a nerve block. If that doesn't work I've been threatened with Topiramate (Valproate didn't work) - which sounds like it has appalling side effects. Botox has been mentioned too, but I'm not keen, though I guess I'm willing to try everything - apart from unsupported cold turkey.
I'm currently trying 500mg magnesium, 300mg co-enzyme Q10 & 300mg Riboflavin a day - I've only been doing this for about a month. I haven't had a severe throwing up all day migraine since before Christmas, but I am having one really bad head once a week that I can manage to clear up with 300mg of Sumatriptan (over 24-36 hours), which isn't ideal as I'd like to not take it, but have to. I'm also trying acupuncture. I was on Amitriptyline since last April but am now off it (as of this weekend) as I gradually increased to 50mg and it gave me an irregular heart beat and my GP said I had to wean off gradually. It didn't prevent any migraines anyway, so it was a waste of time. I tried Topiramate for a month and have never felt so ill in my life - steer clear!! In my opinion it's an evil drug, it makes you depressed, you can't eat, get eye problems - and to think this is prescribed for children to stop bed-wetting is beyond belief! It is comforting to know that other people have similar experiences as there is nothing more isolating and debilitating than a severe migraine, I feel so alone and feel like I'm going to die! In today's Daily Mail, there is an awful article about migraines saying that people who suffer with them just need to sit upright and not get stressed - obviously written by someone who's never had a migraine!!
Dradvent - how did you get on with the Migrelief in the end? I have just started it - 4 days in. I have had a headache solid for 2 months now so getting desperate. Didn't get on with Amitriptyline and really don't want to try Topiramate (which is what neurologist proposing next).
I have been on the Migralief and COQ10 for almost four months. I have noticed a small improvement but nothing major. I have now stopped both medications and have started on the Migraine support formula. This contains all the ingredients of migralief plus many more. I am also thaking the neuro boost optimizer which they say should speed up response times. I have also started taking Zyflamend for inflammation.
I have already noticed an improvement since changing to the Migraine support formula, with 3 - 4 days between attacks which helps me feel a little more positive about these supplements. They do cost a lot of money and have to be shipped to England from the USA but i will give them a go for the four months suggested and see where i am at the end of August.
I have been given every medication mentioned on this site over the last few years with no marked improvement ( except Acupuncture) I can only hope that i have a good response to these new meds. I am having no side effects from them ( my stomach is actually more settled than it was before i started taking) unlike the doctor prescribed meds that left me feeling ill on top of continuous migrains. I pray that one day i will be able to go to my doctor and thank him for being usless and declaring that i am cured by herbal formula's. The headache specialist doesn't believe any alternative works. Well i have news for him, nither did the expensive meds that he kept giving me.
I'm starting to rant so will close now. I will try and update every two weeks to let all know how i am getting on.
I'm about to invest in the Migraine Support Formula for my wife, who's been on Sumatriptan for years! Now there is a National shortage so have to try something else. Interested in your comments on the formula. How has it helped so far?
dradvent - thanks for the update and glad to hear that the Migraine Support is maybe working better. Would be very interested to hear how you get on.
I have been on Migrelief for 2.5 weeks now - going to give it a bit longer I suppose. Also going dairy and gluten free from today (which isn't going to be fun) just in case there is some kind of food intolerance issue going on here (cluthing at straws!).
jasperc- "clutching at straws" that should be the mantra or migraine sufferers. It is good to talk to other people who really know what a migraine feels like. It is impossible to really know unless you get them.
I have had one migraine in the last few days. I took 1 x 2.5mg Zomig and it went in record time (30 minutes) which i take as a good sign. I have also managed to stop paracetamol completely which will hopefully shelp with the rebound headaches. I will keep updating every week.
Hi all- 4 weeks in and i feel better than i have in years. i have only had to take Zomig four times. A record for me. I have taken no paracetamol and only 6 Ibuprofen so hopfully i am past the rebound headache stage. the good days heve been completely headache free and the migraine days have been about 30% less intense. A huge improvement on the almost daily migraines before starting this treatment. Will keep posting with my progress.
Just wanted respond to the question about our product MigreLief. MigreLief works well by itself and can also be combined safely with any other migraine medications. Unlike other migraine products, it is safe, gentle and effective for children age 2 and above, with no negative side-effects. It has also been shown to lower the side-effects of Topamax and comes highly recommended by many neurologists and headache specialists. Be sure to give it a try for 90 days, sufficient time for the ingredients (Magnesium (two forms), Riboflavin (B-2) and Puracol Feverfew) to build blood levels for maximum effectiveness. Although most people respond positively in under 1 month, MigreLief will continue to increase its benefits over the 90 day build up period. Best of luck to you all.
I take magnesium, Riboflavin, co-eq10 and feverfrew. My migraines are a lot less intense and not quite as frequent so I would say yes they help. Accupuncture worked for me for about 3 months but then seemed to stop working
Hi there, yes i have been on Migrelief for 2 months now and vit B12 with folic acid also, but not C0Q10. And i have definitely noticed a significant difference. I was getting about 3 migraines a week and like you rebound headaches from triptans and painkillers, so had to stop. The severity of the migraines were getting worse also. Since taking Migrelief my migraines are less frequent, and when they do come much less severe, reduced to one a week or one every two weeks and sometimes have even started and died back without taking any medication. It says on the Migrelief site that you have to give them 3 month to fully replenish your body's stores of B3, but i have found them effective with in a week or two. I would recommend them. I also cut out diary, sugar and caffeine for 6 weeks and now take very low amounts of any of these in my diet, i feel that has helped also. I will definitely continue taking Migrelief altho a friend suggested i get the individual ingredient from Holland & Barratt as much cheaper than the Migrelief? I may well do this. Good luck with it, i know how suffering regular migraines really diminishes one's quality of life. I also notice when i take 30 mins of exercise every day (usually fast walking for 30 mins), with gentle stretching/yoga with a good shakeout of tension...it makes a big difference too. I also find acupuncture very effective as a maintenance measure altho once i stopped regular sessions they seemed to come back in frequency.
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