Managing Migraines with Self-Care

Let me first say that I am certainly no expert on migraine relief, only a migraine sufferer myself for many years.  I am inspired to share tips and cautions that will hopefully help you adapt more techniques to lower frequency and severity of migraines for you or someone you love. I have used many of these tips and techniques myself over the last 2-3 years because if you have ever experienced a migraine, particularly a pretty strong one, you know that you would do almost anything to make the pain and nasty side effects go away.

The American Migraine Foundation site lists migraines as one of the 10 most disabling medical illnesses on Earth, with 1 in 4 households in America having a member with migraine issues. According to the same site, migraines cost more than 20 million each year in the U.S. due to direct medical expenses and lost productivity.

The keys to the tips/techniques I share lie squarely with 3 messages:

1. Know your own unique early symptoms of migraine (called the Prodrome)
2. Work to get in touch with and understand your most common triggers for your migraines and fold those into self-care therapies that work for you
3. Act quickly with a jump kit/protocol at the slightest hint of early migraine symptoms (this is often your only real window to reduce severity)

Firstly, if you have ever swapped stories with a fellow migraine sufferer, you know that the symptoms are different for everyone. Auras, clumsiness, difficulty speaking, metallic taste, and sensitivity to light are just a few of the possible symptoms with a migraine. These can come on anywhere from a few hours to days before a migraine. The Aura which includes visual disturbances, loss of sight in one or both eyes, and/or numbness or tingling typically have a 5-60 minute window, but only 20% of migraine sufferers have this with a migraine. For my auras, it is more like 5-20 minutes, so if I’m getting to this point, it’s because I’ve ignored being mindful of my triggers. If I reach this point, I’m at risk for a full blown migraine.

If this happens, I use a concoction or three medicines, one specific for migraines (a triptan), one anti-nausea, and one for inflammation/pain. Understanding what your typical migraine experience is like is important to getting to medicines and therapies (natural or otherwise) that get you out of a migraine with less pain more quickly.

In addition to traditional medicine, I have also added a thera-ice migraine cap to my repertoire while putting my feet in super hot water (as hot as you can safely stand it) . This has been said to dilate the blood vessels in your feet, pulling blood away from your head, while the cold constricts the vessels. It has worked for me surprisingly well on more than one occasion.

According to a neurology study in 2014, in a study of 40 chronic migraine sufferers, 20 were also randomly selected to be given a similar hot and cold therapy for 45 days with medication as a therapy, while the others received only medication. After 45 days, the group completing the 20 minute daily hydro therapy were significantly outpacing the medication only group by both frequency and intensity. In a 2023 Newsweek article, hot foot baths were cited as a preventative treatment protocol as well ( I am testing this now to see if it can further reduce my frequency). According to a study published in the Journal of Neurosciences, this therapy is said to enhance the vagal tone (functioning of the vagus nerve that starts at the base of the brain and connects to the spinal cord and organs). In test subjects, this has decreased frequency and intensity of migraines in 6 weeks of therapy.

I recently suffered from a massive migraine after a long period of successful magnesium therapies over the last year. It truly rocked me and it was a wake up call to something else that I had been neglecting…..my hydration!!! A few years back, my husband bought me this amazing espresso and coffee maker for my birthday. It is one of my favorite things to wake up to and enjoy, but there are days where I indulge in maybe one too many espressos while simultaneously not hydrating like I should. After my recent migraine attack, I started to do more research on dehydration and learned that firstly, 75% of Americans only drink about 2.5 cups of water per day and are chronically dehydrated (Kettering Health). Stress, alcohol, MSG, and even certain smells can be triggers for migraines, but dehydration can be a contributor as well according to the American Migraine Foundation. Particularly, in the summer months, but even with knowing my love of coffee, I have added a large glass of water, salt, and lemon to my morning routine to sip along with my coffee. This has made me feel more energetic and it’s easy for me to fill a big cup with a lid to sip on, knowing my target is to drink it down by a certain time of day to refill.

In addition to adequate hydration, meditation is currently being studied and is showing promise for migraine sufferers. According to the American Migraine Foundation, migraine sufferers under MRI demonstrate grey matter depletion in comparison to those who do not suffer from migraines. The response to meditation are increases in both dopamine (executive functioning) and serotonin (sleep-wake) while cortisol and norepinephrine have been shown to decrease (fight or flight) .Meditation has been shown to increase grey matter volume as well as assisting with stress reduction (another common migraine trigger). Studies are ongoing but the results are promising. If you struggle with getting started with meditation, there are many helpful apps, including Buddify and an amazing one from Asheville native, Paige Gilchrist, called Embodied Meditation. Try it as new morning or evening practice. It’s a cheap and healthy way to add a layer of prevention for migraines. Why not??!!!!!

Finally, magnesium therapy protocols are worth researching both through increased intake through foods or supplementation. A 2021 study, published by the national library of medicin, subjects showed significant reduction in migraines with magnesium supplementation being taken as prophylaxis over an 8 week period in a double blind study. (Migraine Study). I have been using magnesium supplementation for over a year now and have experienced a significant drop in the frequency of migraines. Again, this isn’t a prescription, just a wish to share all that I have researched, in the hope that something resonates for you to research too!

The other scare with my recent migraine was that it occurred while I was out and not really that close to my home. The hot and cold therapy option was out, although a doctor later told me that even stopping at a gas station or a grocery store would have been good to get a bag of ice. He said to create a brain freeze situation (same sort of logic for constricting the vessels near your vagus), but without the heat for your feet. He also stated that it is a very good idea to keep a jump kit of sorts on hand in every vehicle of medicines or therapies that you know work for you. If they are pill form, the worst that will happen, he said, is that they will eventually turn to powder and you will have to replace them, but you will have your kit with you in case you need it on the go.

There are so many ways to add self care into your life for migraine prevention and natural preventative therapies are proving themselves more and more as they are studied. It is a journey of wellness that I have heard about and talked about with many staff and guests over the years, so it is near and dear to my heart. My hope is that maybe through my own research and trial that some of these methods will work for you too!