Migraine Relief

by D.M. Murdock

Far too many people suffer from headaches and their most extreme form of migraines. Some people's lives are virtually overtaken by this most painful of disorders. What is a migraine? What causes migraines? How can they be overcome?

The earliest known depiction of migraine headaches occurs in Sumerian literature dating to some 6,000 years ago, with this illness attributed by the Sumerians and the later Babylonians and Assyrians to "evil spirits." The treatments during those eras included prayers to the gods and foul-smelling substances designed to drive these evil spirits out of the head. In the most severe cases, holes were drilled into the skull to release the demons, a process known as "trepanning" or trephination. Fortunately, this process is no longer commonly used.

Famous migraine sufferers through the centuries include Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson, van Gogh, Monet, Freud, Nietzsche, Marx and Lewis Carroll. Migraine strikes rich and poor, young and old, but is said to taper off or disappear usually after the age of 40. Current estimates are that 120 million people globally suffer from migraines, in some 1.4 billion episodes per year.

There are several types of headaches, including tension-type, cluster and migraine. The tension-type headache is characterized by a vicelike sensation on both sides of the head, with pain also radiating up the back of the neck and in the shoulders and back. The tension headache may also be accompanied by dizziness and nausea, and may last for several hours to days. A rarer form is the cluster headache, named because it occurs in clusters often during the spring and fall. The majority of the time the cluster headache is triggered by alcohol consumption. The migraine takes its name from "hemicrania," meaning "half skull," as termed by famed Greek physician Galen nearly 2,000 years ago. Migraines are often accompanied by food cravings, exhaustion, spasmodic hyperactivity, depression and anxiety. In addition to pain migraine symptoms include visual disturbances, which can become so distressing as to render the sufferer virtually blind. These visual disturbances include the infamous "migraine aura," as well as zigzag lines and blind spots. Some migraine sufferers are struck by numbness of the extremities, partial paralyzation, nausea and vomiting as well.

The causes of migraine are not well understood, likely because this distress has many of them. Modern technology including MRIs and PETs are providing greater insight into this syndrome. The news thus far is not good but will hopefully lead to better treatment:

"Images of the brain recorded during a migraine attack show that a certain area of the midbrain is damaged in sufferers and is further damaged with each attack. This is the area of the brain thought to be the pain control centre. If it is damaged, it evidently no longer switches on to prevent pain and the 'headache from hell' begins! Persistent headaches allow the damage to continue further, thereby derailing pain control even more."1

This research indicates that some migraine sufferers are genetically predisposed to headaches, which could be remedied with gene therapy. Another cause may be excess production of the chemical nitrogen oxide. The all-purpose "inflammation" syndrome now commonly pinpointed as the cause of many ailments is also attributed as a cause of migraine.

Some common migraine triggers are as follows:

• air pressure increase or decrease
• alcohol, particularly red wine
• anxiety
• bad diet/junkfood
• bright lights
• caffeinated drinks and products
• chemical additives
• depression
• environmental toxins
• fasting
• fatty meat products such as ham and sausage
• foods such as beans, chocolate, citrus fruits, eggs, onions and seafood
• grief
• hormonal changes
• jet lag
• loud noises
• low blood sugar
• MSG
• menstrual irregularities
• overexertion
• pharmaceuticals, such as contraceptives
• poor sleep
• perfectionism
• ripe cheeses
• running or fast walking
• smells, perfumes, noxious odors such as gas and solvents
• smoking
• stress
• temperature variations
• too hot water
• weather changes
• worry

Migraines can be so debilitating as to interrupt daily function to the point where the sufferer cannot hold down a job and barely functions within society at all. Since environmental triggers are so common, many migraine sufferers must retreat to a darkened room with the temperature strictly regulated. There are several migraine medications that can at times provide relief, although for some people such treatments are hit or miss. Prescription medications for migraine can be very useful for short-term relief but they are likely toxic to the liver, as are most pharmaceutical medications. They may also be addictive, so caution is necessary in their use.

Some individuals may find relief through colon cleansing of one sort or another, whether through a program taken orally to clean out the entire intestinal tract or via an enema or high colonic. The latter may be useful in the short term for relief from a migraine attack. One thing is clear, however, and that is that many migraines may be traceable to intestinal and colon dysfunction. Toxic chemicals in the environment are factors appearing high up on the list of migraine causes, and these chemicals often enter into the bloodstream via the intestines and colon. They are also inhaled through the mouth and nose, of course, and some people are so sensitive that they fall victim to migraines merely by smelling perfume.

Because it provides pain-relief in general, MSM may be useful for some migraine relief. Homeopathic remedies for the various symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, may also be useful to some degree. The hormone serotonin may also be helpful for the treatment of "multifactorial" migraines, as it is possible that serotonin deficiency is yet another migraine trigger.

Migraine is a common neurological disorder, characterized by recurrent attacks of severe headache. Its prevalence is estimated 8.4% of general population in Japan. Acute migraine treatment has dramatically improved with the development of a novel class of selective 5-HT1B/1D/1F receptor agonists, known as the triptans, but prophylactic treatment still remains limited. Botulinum toxin type A(BoNT-A) has recently been shown to be effective in randomized control trials, but no prospective study has been conducted yet in Japan. In this paper, we review the results of recently published controlled trials, touching on its methodology, optimal dose, patient selection, and possible mechanisms, as well as on going clinical trial in our university.54

Some people have gotten relief from migraine using the mineral magnesium. One product that appears to be superior is Ionic-Fizz Magnesium Plus, which purports to be the "world's best absorbed magnesium."