Migrains....?!

Migrains....?

i have migraine headaches with numbness vomiting and blind spots. i absolutely HATE them.

please, give me some suggestions on medication or around the house treatments. thank you very much

I completely understand -- I get them as well (though I haven't had one in a while). You definitely want to go to your doctor to see about prescription medication (such as Imitrex), but that can be expensive. Personally I've found Excedrin Migraine to be an excellent way to combat the migraines as long as I catch them early (most migraines have symptoms before the actual pain starts).

Also, most migraines are trigger-events -- meaning something you eat, drink or do will bring them on. Some kinds are genetic, but most will have a trigger. Some triggers can be stress, foods such as chocolate, tomato sauce, cheese, meats, nuts, alcohol (especially wine), lack of sleep, poor daily nutrition, or lack of exercise.

While many doctors advocate sleeping to alleviate the migraines, that's never worked for me (I always wake up with the same migraine). The best way to keep them under control is through lifestyle changes. Make a log of your migraines -- what time you get them, what you did during the day, how long it lasts, etc. That will help you identify if there are any common threads, such as drinking a glass of wine with dinner or eating cheese on a sandwich. By eliminating the triggers, you'll have less chances of getting migraines. If you're going to a doctor, this is also a handy piece of information to give to him/her so they can make a better diagnosis. But even going beyond that, eating better (more green leafy veggies, more fish, less fat), taking multivitamins and exercising more are probably the best prevention.

I haven't had a migraine since I started taking better care of myself after my son was born. That's a year and a half completely free of migraines after having them often over the past 15 years.

Hope that helped and good luck!