Monday 19 May 2014

Migraines

Fuzzy or obstructed vision, intense nausea, vomiting, numbness in the face and/or hands, pounding headache, slurred speech - anyone who has experienced a migraine can probably relate to some if not all these symptoms.  The symptoms will be different for each person:  My Lady Mother knows she is getting a migraine when she looks around and everything is halved and bright flashes are zipping before her vision.  My vision goes blurry in one spot that starts at any edge and moves across my entire circle of vision.  We can always tell when Sister15 is getting a migraine because she starts walking into things simply because she can not see them.  This can be followed by the headache, vomiting, or any of the other things I mentioned above.  Not pleasant, they are avoidable to an extent.

A few months ago, I saw a news article that raved over Botox shots as being a good reliever for chronic migraines.  I was instantly wary and watched the article out with increasing concern.  For relief from her migraines, one woman is undergoing 10 Botox treatments a month with injections all over her fave and the back of her neck.  That is a lot of discomfort and money for something that the medical world isn't even sure of why it seams to work.  Botox can have a lot of adverse side effects too.  There were too many to list here, but here is the website that describes the reactions people can have.  Ironically, headaches is one of the side effects associated with migraines.

Migraines can be controlled by natural means.  I discovered this when just a few years ago I was having up to four migraines a week.  I figured it was just something that happened to me and was maybe even a hormonal thing.  Around that time I started drinking green tea every day for its detoxifying qualities.  Suddenly, a couple of weeks later I realized I hadn't had a migraine all that time.  At first my Lady Mother and I thought it was just a coincidence, but when we ran out of green tea and didn't restock for a few days, I got a migraine.  So that is tip #1: DRINK AT LEAST ONE CUP OF GREEN TEA A DAY.

Tip #2: STOP EATING WHEAT.  You've heard me say it before, but I'll say it again: wheat is not good for the human digestive system and it has side effects to nearly every part of the body (trust me - I have experience dramatic improvement in areas I did not expect to be affected by wheat.)  My most common cause of a migraine now days is eating wheat.  Recently we had visitors who brought some cookies with them.  I didn't really think that a cookie would hurt that much.  I ate two and had a migraine within 10 minutes.  It was so instant I was blown away.  Eating habits really affect what goes on inside of you making more literal the adage You are what you eat.  ;)

Tip #3: DRINK APPLE CIDER VINEGAR.  I could go on all day about the advantages of ACV, but I shall try to contain myself.  :)  Drinking 2-3 tablespoons in water daily will improve your overall health and will help to keep off those migraines.  (And please make sure you dilute it or it will make you ill!)  The great thing about ACV is that it will work for you even if you already have a migraine.  My Lady Mother has a horrendous track record when it comes to migraines.  She doesn't get them as often as she used to, but when she does, they hit hard and fast and she is usually out of it for most of the day.  I told her about ACV being good for migraines and so she tried it one day when her vision started going (literally!).  I made it quite strong (probably about 5-6 tablespoons in 500 mls of water) and she gulped it down as quickly as she possibly could.  In about ten minutes every trace of her migraine was gone and she was totally fine.  Although this doesn't happen every time, the ACV still reduces the symptom and the migraine overall.

Tip #4: TAKE AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ASAP.  I always go and take two Nurofen or ibuprofen as soon as I'm getting a migraine.  I don't know if this counts as a natural thing, but it is harmless enough and I always regret it if I don't.  (Last time I didn't, I ended up vomiting for the first time in relation to a migraine.)  The ibuprofen (which is the main ingredient in Nurofen) relieves inflammation which is usually the cause of a migraine.


Well, those are the tips I have for migraine sufferers.  Usually migraines are related back to something else (hay fever, allergies, stress, tiredness, pregnancy even) and while there's not heaps we can do about any of those things, controlling the migraine is something we can to contribute to overall well being.

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