Calm Spirit

Migraine Headache Information and Resources
Updated September 2010

The pain of a migraine can be so intense it's disabling. Your head pulses-usually on one side for hours or even days. Moving worsens the throbbing. You're nauseous, sensitive to light and sound. Sometimes you have an "aura", seeing light or other visual disturbances before the headache hits. An estimated 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches.

It had been thought that migraines are caused by abnormal blood vessels. The new class of prescription sumatriptan medications (Imitrex) mimic the brain chemical serotonin, deactivating nerves and shrinking swollen blood vessels. Sumatriptan comes in pill, injection or nasal spray form. Similar medications included Amerge, Maxalt and Zomig. These work within one to two hours and provide up to 12 hours of relief. They are meant to be taken occasionally at the first sign of a migraine, and are effective even if you already have a migraine headache.

Results of new research using imaging devices find that migraines are not caused by abnormal blood vessels, but by a unique disorder of brain cells. These findings, released in July, 2000, open new avenues to attacking these tenacious headaches, and suggest treating migraines is important because people who suffer very frequent attacks seem vulnerable to physical changes inside the brain that could lead to chronic pain. The imaging devices allow scientists to watch patients' brains during a migraine attack, and have showed abnormally excitable neurons, or brain nerve cells. When something triggers a migraine, those neuron suddenly fire off electrical pulses at the back of the brain, firings that ripple across the brain's top and then back down to the brainstem, where important pan centers are located. In minutes, blood flow jumps, then sharply drops. The resulting pain comes from either the brainstem activation or blood vessels inflamed by the rapidly changing blood flow.

These neurons can get triggered by too much or too little sleep, hunger, bright or flickering lights, odors, certain foods, changes in weather and women's fluctuating estrogen levels.

The medications listed above are probably the most helpful for managing migraine headaches. There are also preventive drugs, like cardiovascular drugs, antidepressives, anti-seizure drugs, serotonin antagonists and high doses of riboflavin (vitamin B2). Abortive drugs other than sumatriptan include vasoconstrictors, mixed analgesics, and lidocaine nasal drops.

People suffering from frequent headaches are often prescribed preventive drugs, which are taken daily whether or not you have a headache. Why these drugs work is unclear, but they are helpful to many people. They also can cause side effects, which you might have every day, even when you don't have a headache. Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether to suffer the pain of a migraine, or suffer the discomfort of the side effects.

If you are taking medicine for depression which raises your serotonin level, this may be causing or making your migraine headache worse, because antidepressants raise the serotonin level which increases the risk of headache, and the migraine medication lower the serotonin levels to relieve the headache, and these two medications can be not only self-defeating but also dangerous to take together.

Lifestyle changes can help with your overall sense of good health and headache prevention.

Exercise helps build your body strength. Choose exercise that does not trigger your migraines! Yoga, taiji chuan, and walking are good. Also, be aware of your posture during the day.

Balance your life. Don't do too much on a good day, or try to do more than you can handle when you have a headache. Always find time for enjoyable activities, socializing, and relaxation. Time management is important so you can include enjoyable activities in your day, as well as the work you need to do.

Avoid extremes-temperature, eating too much or too little, doing too much of anything.

Deal with your emotions. When you have migraine headaches, it is difficult to plan ahead for anything, because you don't know when you will be incapacitated by a headache. You may have feelings of grief, due to this loss of your health, as well as anger and depression. Get emotional support from family and friends, and explain your limitations to them. If necessary, seek counseling for help in dealing with your feelings and emotions.

Consider alternative practices:

One of the major differences between western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine is the way that human body is perceived. Western medicine sees the body as being biochemical in nature, and therefore treatments include medications that change the body chemistry to bring results. Traditional Chinese medicine views the body as an energy system, with qi (chi) flowing. Sickness is the result of that qi flow being blocked. A doctor of Chinese medicine will use one or more the the following treatments to treat illness, after doing a diagnosis: acupuncture, acupressure, tuina, herbal medicine, moxibustion, and other appropriate treatments. With the discovery that migraine headaches are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, a migraine sufferer may want to try traditional Chinese medicine approaches for prevention.

Taiji quan and qigong may be very helpful practices for migraine sufferers, because you learn how to balance your body's energy as you practice. Daily practice will keep your qi flowing smoothly. Qigong practices include self healing. Both have elements of relaxation, which are also helpful.

A qigong practitioner can give you treatments that restore your energy balance by making your qi flow smoothly and managing pain.

A Chinese herbal product that may be helpful is Relax and Balance. It is a combination of herbs that nourish, invigorate and harmonize.

Applying a magnetic headband to your head at the first twinge or beginning of an aura has stopped a migraine from happening for some people. Wearing magnets on your head can help prevent a full blown headache, and help your qi get back to normal during and after a headache. Calm Spirit/Ying Yu Jade offers magnet and pearl Chakra necklaces that are 38" and can be wrapped around the head and worn as a beautiful hairband.

Adding these practices to the standard approaches to pain management may not only bring you relief, but also add new elements of wellness and better overall health to your life.

 

Recommended reading

Nature's Pain Killers, Proven New Alternative and Nutritional Therapies for Chronic Pain Relief, Carl Germano and William Cabot

Mayo Clinic on Chronic Pain. Lead a more active and productive life with answers from the world renowned Mayo Clinic

The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing, Kenneth S. Cohen

 

 

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