Migraine headache treatments
Treating chronic headaches - general measures
There are several things you can do to relieve migraine headaches. Many don’t involve medication and may also increase the effectiveness of any medicine you take:
- putting ice blocks on your forehead
- using relaxation techniques may help to shorten the duration of an attack
- acupuncture and reflexology have been useful for some people
- if you can manage it, getting some sleep may shorten the attack
Menstrual migraine headaches
The following may be useful:
- Natural bioidentical progesterone cream - 60% of women who experience menstrual migraine headaches have low progesterone levels relative to estrogen and using progesterone cream usually helps to shorten the duration of an attack and over time reduce the frequency of attacks.(Read about guidelines for using natural progesterone cream )
- If you’re using oral contraceptives ( the pill ), a low dose estrogen/progesterone combination taken without taking a break (which mean no monthly “period” during that time) may help to avoid fluctuations in hormone levels.
Alternatively, a low dose HRT patch may be used. - Vitamins and minerals taken before the onset of your period may reduce the severity of your headaches:
- Vitamin D
- Calcium
- Magnesium (200-600mg daily)
- Vitamin B2 (400mg daily)
- Vitamin B6 (50-100mg daily)
- Over the counter anti-inflammatory pain-killers like ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin e.t.c.) and naproxen (Aleve) usually relieve the pain of mild to moderate chronic headaches. Acetaminophen may be a useful alternative.