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Migraine headaches are a destructive part of life for nearly 11 out of 100 people. During migraine episodes, they can barely function. They curtail daily activities, and all of life seems distorted. Between episodes, they may feel anxious about the next one, and wish for some form of migraine prevention.
Although guaranteed migraine prevention seems to be more a promise than a reality as of the writing of this article, you do have options for treating symptoms, and, better yet, options for possible migraine prevention.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Although migraines seem to run in families, migraine prevention does not always run in the same course. For some migraineurs, prevention is as simple as changing a few habits. For others, migraine prevention seems to require strong medication.
What are the best migraine prevention medicines for you? The ultimate answer must be decided by you and your physician. We offer here a number of medicines for consideration.
Common Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicines
This is the first line of migraine prevention – beginning at the minimal strength, minimal dosage to see if it will be a solution. Among these migraine prevention medicines are the following.
1. Aspirin in a regimen dose, i.e., tiny 81 mg tablets, commonly called “baby aspirin”. For migraine prevention, these would be taken daily, just as they are to reduce risks of heart disease.
2. Ibuprofen such as Motrin, Nuprin, or Advil may be taken occasionally. Your physician will advise as to how often you should take ibuprofen for migraine prevention. People with active stomach ulcers or sensitive stomachs will not want to use ibuprofen, since it has aspirin-like effects. If you take ibuprofen, take it with food to minimize the effect. You should also be aware that ibuprofen has a blood thinning effect that can reduce the effectiveness of some blood pressure medicines and diuretics.
3. Naproxen may be effective for you, under its more common name, Aleve. This medicine may reduce the number of your migraines, but is not likely to give total migraine prevention.
4. A fourth OTC pain reliever you may want to try at the first sign of a migraine is Excedrin Migraine.
Ask your doctor before taking any of these regularly for migraine prevention.
Common Prescription Medicines
If OTC medicines fail to provide the degree of migraine prevention you seek, you may want to try a prescription medicine. Prescription strength pain relievers have been found to reduce the number of migraine episodes for more than half of all migraineurs. A few of the many prescription medicines available to you are listed here.
1. Ponstel, Anaprox, Naprosyn, Naprelan, and Topamax. Topamax claims to be the U.S. #1 prescribed brand for migraine prevention. Prescription strength Naproxen (Naprosyn, Anaprox, Naprelan) thins the blood, so your physician may not choose this as a fit for you if you are taking oral blood thinners or anticoagulants. Naproxen can have adverse gastrointestinal side effects also, so you should not use it if you have an active ulcer or sensitive stomach. Most doctors believe it is better to use medicines of this type continuously over a period of time to build up the effectiveness and provide ongoing migraine prevention rather than just pain relief.
2. Another class of prescription medicines that may give migraine prevention is Beta-blockers. These drugs, more often used to reduce high blood pressure, are sometimes helpful in cutting down on the number of migraine episodes. Of those that may give effective migraine prevention are inderal, Lopressor, metoprolol, nadolol, and timolol.
3. Physicians are gradually learning that antidepressants also provide migraine prevention for some patients. It is believed that this is due to the medicines’ effects on serotonin, the brain’s chemical messenger that influences migraine.
Which Size Is Right for You?
There are many other medicines, both prescription and non-prescription that are thought to provide a measure of migraine prevention. Like shopping for a new pair of dress shoes, you may have to try several before you find the one or two that work for you. Be sure to do your migraine prevention “shopping” with a health care provider, as he or she will know the possible side effects or interactions with medication you are already taking.
Tags: 100 People, Advil, Baby Aspirin, best, Blood Pressure, Diuretics, Heart Disease, Ibuprofen, Medication, medicines, Mg Tablets, Migraine, Migraine Headaches, Migraine Prevention, Minimal Dosage, Motrin, Nuprin, Options, Otc Medicines, Prevention, Regimen, Sensitive Stomachs, Stomach Ulcers
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Friday, November 20th, 2009
You have a migraine. You have a job. Now what do you do?
Deciding if you are able to go out when you have a migraine is a tough decision. You are in pain, you do not feel well, and more likely than not you are not thinking clearly. The ability to determine when you are okay to leave home when you have a migraine is a big part of learning to manage your condition. Here are a few things to take into consideration when deciding if you are in or out for the day.
How do you feel?
Yes, you have a migraine, but can you function? Only you know your personal headache pattern, is it likely to get better or worse from where it is now? What’s your mood? Are you sufficiently enthused about the day to be willing to function while in pain?
What did you take?
Stop and think about your pain relief for a minute. Did you take an over-the-counter remedy, or something a little stronger? If it was a prescription medication, go read the label and see what it says about driving and operating heavy machinery. If you aren’t supposed to do those things, it’s probably a good idea to hang out at home. This is not a hard and fast rule since only you know how you react to a medicine, particularly one you are familiar with. If you don’t think you’ll be impaired by your medications, great, but really think about it first.
Why?
Why are you going out? Basically, you have to decide how important it is that you go out. Work is important, but not if you have a job where potentially impaired function can be dangerous. Errands can always be run later. The class play? That might be worth it, if you can handle it.
Tags: Dangerous Errands, Headache, Heavy Machinery, Job, Medication, Medicine, Migraine, Pain Relief, Personal, Prescription Medication, Remedy
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Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
I’ve had migraines off and on for years, due to a car accident. The last 2 years, the migraines have cropped up more often and my doctor will prescribe a migraine med for me to have on hand. The problem is, she says that they are all very similar.
So, the question for yahoo users is, in your personal migraine experiences, what prescription migraine medication worked best, and were there side effects, etc?
Thanks!
Tags: best, Car Accident, Med, Medication, Migraine, Migraine Medication, Migraines, Personal Experiences, Prescription Medication, tried, Yahoo, Yahoo Personal, Yahoo Users
Posted in Migraine Relief Tips and Ideas | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Many migraineurs (people who suffer from migraine headaches) relieve the pain of a migraine with the judicious application of heat or cold. This type of pain abatement is particularly popular with people trying to minimize or avoid prescription medication use, especially among pediatric patients and their families.
Below are a few techniques that can help ease the pain of a migraine. Not all techniques work for all patients. While some migraineurs find comfort in cold, at least as many are more uncomfortable in the presence of cold. The same is true of heat used for pain relief-for some it helps, for others it makes the pain worse.
Apply a compress, hot or cold, to point on the head where pain is most severe. This is frequently on the temple where a large artery runs, or in front of the ear, another arterial locale.
For patients who feel their migraine pain “stabbing into the back of the eye” a damp cloth (warm or cool) laid over the eyes often provides relief. As a side benefit, covering the eyes in this manner also eases the discomfort of photosensitivity for many patients.
Taking a hot or cold shower with the water directed at the head and neck is another method to try, as is taking a warm (neither hot nor cold) bath. The latter is further enhanced with the use of appropriate aromatherapy techniques.
Some patients find relief in by alternating hot and cold cloths at the point where the migraine pain is most intense. Sometimes hot and cold used simultaneously can ease the pain. A migraineur may apply a cold compress on their forehead while at the same time soaking their feet in a container of warm water.
Rarely are patients simultaneously sensitive to both hot and cold, but it should be watched for.
Tags: Abatement, Aromatherapy Techniques, Cloths, Cold Bath, Cold Shower, Forehead, Hot Point, Hot Shower, Medication, Migraine, Migraine Headaches, Migraine Pain, Migraine Relief Tips and Ideas, Pain Relief, Pediatric Patients, Photosensitivity, Prescription Medication, Presence, Side Benefit, Warm Water
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