Varieties of Migraine Treatment
Sometimes a person’s migraine treatment lies partly in their own hands. There can be all the migraine specialists and researchers in the world, all exploring causes, drugs and treatments, but there’s one line of defense that can only be enforced by the actual migraine sufferer. And that is the process of discovering what foods or other triggers might bring on their headaches, and eliminating those things as much as possible.
But when the headache strikes, steps need to be taken to bring relief, which is where some migraine drugs enter the picture. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can help to some degree, though they work only with mild migraines. A group of drugs known as triptans have a better effect as a treatment for migraines, although they too have some limitations and may not work as well with extreme headaches. When heavy duty treatment is needed, doctors may combine medications, such as barbiturates, acetylsalicylic acid (i.e. Aspirin) and caffeine. A Sumatriptan/Naproxen Sodium combination has recently been shown to be very effective.
Effective migraine treatment can sometimes come from unexpected things. For example, even though caffeine is supposed to be avoided as a potential trigger before the headache arrives, it is then often taken to try to remove the worst effects of the headache once it’s finally on the scene. Oddly enough, it actually helps the stomach process medications more quickly. And who knew that botox injections in the scalp might help with migraines as well? It’s not well known, but a tension headache can sometimes turn into a migraine, so whatever can help reduce that tension might work against the migraine.
There are some herbal remedies that people recommend for migraine relief, though how effective they are is still being debated. Feverfew is the one most mentioned, but studies go back and forth on how well it works. One herb whose effectiveness everyone seems to agree on is cannabis, or marijuana. But of course no one is going to recommend it, at least not publicly. However, supplements of Coenzyme Q10 have definitely shown positive results. Migraine treatment can emerge from traditional and unconventional medicine alike. If the sufferer can’t manage to prevent the headache, then they may prefer not to quibble about where they get relief from, as long as they get it.
Beth Kaminski is a leading expert in how to anxiety or panic attacks and has been publishing lots of information on the best panic disorder medications for years now at anxietydisordercure.com.