natural cures for headaches

December 15, 2004

Hello there,

I am a graduate student student so I find myself daily attending several class

and engaging in many hours of homewok and studying. Occassionally I get

headaches that make push at my skull, like its going to burst. I have no

concentration, and the only natural cure I have found is sleep. I have tried

drinking soothing teas, putting peppermint oil on my temples and taking willow

tea and capsules but nothing helps.Does anyone have any natural cures that

really work?

thanks very much,

rose

December 15, 2004

Do they occur any particular time of day or night? Any particular time of

month? Any particular activities?

I started taking magnesium supplements about a year ago and have seen

marked progress in not getting migraines anymore. I actually started taking it

for other issues but have found much info in the past year about how

beneficial it can be for so many various problems. One main one being

headaches.

Its a fairly non-toxic element.....if you have too much you get diarrhea.

If you have too little....hundreds of bodily functions are compromised.

worth a try??

peace

beverly

REFERENCES:

http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html

Multiple studies, readily available on PubMed, have confirmed that

magnesium deficiencies can be a cause of anxiety and other nervous

disorders.

Magnesium (Mg) is a trace mineral that is known to be required for several

hundred different functions in the body. A significant portion of the symptoms

of many chronic disorders are identical to symptoms of magnesium

deficiency. Studies show many people in the U.S. today do not consume the

daily recommended amounts of Mg. A lack of this important nutrient may be a

major factor in many common health problems in industrialized countries.

Common conditions such as mitral valve prolapse, migraines, attention deficit

disorder, fibromyalgia, asthma and allergies have all been linked to a Mg

deficiency. Perhaps, not coincidentally, these conditions also tend to occur in

clusters together within the same individual. A magnesium deficiency as a

root cause would provide a logical explanation of why some people suffer

from a constellation of these types of problems.

http://www.mgwater.com/index.shtml

http://www.diagnose-me.com/glossary/G650.html

, relrella <

rsaslan> wrote:

>

> Hello there,

>

> I am a graduate student student so I find myself daily attending several class

and engaging in many hours of homewok and studying. Occassionally I get

headaches that make push at my skull, like its going to burst. I have no

concentration, and the only natural cure I have found is sleep. I have tried

drinking soothing teas, putting peppermint oil on my temples and taking

willow tea and capsules but nothing helps.Does anyone have any natural

cures that really work?

>

> thanks very much,

>

> rose

>

December 15, 2004

Hi Rose,

Your headaches sound alot like the ones I used to experience. " Push

at my skull, like it's going to burst " is a pretty good description

of the agony I used to be in.

Much as I hate to admit it, I think one thing that has helped me was

giving up caffeine. I don't think I drank that much to begin with

(3 to 4 cups a day; usually tea, sometimes coffee), but still, that

was dumping alot of caffeine in my system. I GRADUALLY weaned

myself off--two cups, one cup, half a cup, none--over a coupla

weeks. And while I STILL miss my tea (because decaffeinated tea

teas are SOOO not the same), if that has indeed cured my headaches,

well, I've go without my beloved teas (and chocolate / cocoa too).

'Course, you could be sitting there reading this thinking " But I

don't drink caffeine! " : ) Well, there may be hope yet. : )

Another thing I'd look into--getting tested for allergies. Treating

my allergies has probably also helped my headaches a great deal.

It'll take awhile, but I think over time it really helps.

I always *thought* I was allergic to a coupla things (Ragweed

usually killed me in the fall; when my friend's cat would come in

the house, I'd be reaching for an anti-histamine, etc.), but turns

out, allergy tests revealed I was actually allergic to quite alot--

weeds, trees, grasses, horses, cows, chemicals, etc., etc. I also

had food allergies--to corn and soy. I went with traditional

immunotherapy (I give myself shots every week), but there are ways

to combat allergies naturally.

Of course, probably the biggest change was simply trying to avoid

corn and soy in my diet! Corn and / or soy are practically in

EVERYTHING!! I haven't gone 'cold turkey' (ex. the bread I eat has

both ingredients), but I've tried to avoid it wherever possible.

(Ex. giving up popcorn, my Mother's vegetable soup; buying juice and

jellies that don't have corn syrup; swapping from flavored yogurt to

plain; avoiding corn and soy in my vitamins, etc., etc.)

I think the allergy route has helped because while I have fewer

headaches, I almost certainly have a dull version of my old

headaches the day after a shot.

Also, along those same lines: sinus problems might be something to

consider. They recently had a study that what most people thought

was a migraine was actually a sinus headache.

It might be a good idea to go to an ENT specialist (ear, nose, and

throat doctor: an otolaryngologist [sp?]) and describe your

headaches. I'd make sure they also do allergy testing (Before

setting up an appt., ask if they also do allergy testing.)

I have long-standing sinus problems, so I just went back to my ENT

for allergy testing. In some respects, an allergy doc is probably

the best way to go for allergy testing, but if you in any way

suspect / wanna investigate sinus problems, see an ENT doc.

Other ideas....

You might glance over a list of foods that trigger / are commonly

associated with migraines. You never know--a food you eat alot of

could be on that list. You could then do trial eliminations for

anything you suspect.

Try to stick to a regular sleeping and eating schedule. I know that

must be next to impossible in grad school, but I think that might

help. A regular schedule is something that has probably helped me

out alot. Ex.--I know if I wait too long to eat, I'm definitely

gonna pay for it (Hello! Headache).

Have your eyes tested. No doubt you're using your eyes an awful

lot; just might make sense to make sure that's not part of the

problem.

Wear sunglasses outside. My eye doctor noticed that I have larger

than normal pupils--something he has seen associated with

migraines. Regardless of pupil size, I think the sunglasses bit is

probably a good general recommendation for migraine sufferers. (I

don't think it can hurt anyway).

Supplements:

I agree with Beverly. I've seen alot of references to magnesium

benefiting headache sufferers. It's a supplement I take. I take

magnesium glycinate; it's supposed to not have the laxative effect

that other forms of magnesium--such as magnesium oxide--have.

Magnesium supplements should probably be combined with a calcium

supplement--especially if you don't eat alot of dairy foods.

Of course, a general high-quality multi-vitamin is a good idea, and

I'd recommend adding a B-complex supplement to that. The B-vtamins

help the body deal with stress; might help if your headaches are in

any way tension related.

Here are a coupla other links that might give you a few additional

ideas.

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hc/resourceareas_view/0,1438,492,00.html

http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA3835/

(Dr. Weil has alot on his site about migraines / headaches; just do

a search on his site for both of these.)

http://headaches.about.com/od/triggers/

Best of luck. I know these headaches are awful, but hopefully,

you'll find something that works.

Regards,

A.

December 15, 2004