To pierce my Daith for migraine

[Unicornandbows]

I've heard some people say that having your daith pierced helps with migraines.. I don't know if it's true.. Has anyone tried it? Aibu to get it pierced I dislike piercings as I have no pain thresholds (find it lovely on others having it just can't do it myself due to pain)

X

Do you find acupuncture useful in treating your migraines? If so, it might be worth giving the piercing a go, you’ve nothing to lose.

Re: the pain - it’s quick. Certainly less painful than a migraine

Completely changed my life having this done. I get/was getting chronic migraines and had been on so much different medication and nothing worked.

I heard about the daith piercing and thought I'd try it as a last resort, it's a weird sensation when it's being done, as they pull the needle out I cried as you feel this sudden release like a weight off your shoulders and since then ( maybe 2 years ago ) I get them once every 2 months as opposed to every other day.

I've never tried acupuncture before I've always had it more at the back of my right eye had migraines since I was 9

I never knew there was a correlation but thinking about it now, since having mine pierced, my migraines are far less often, perhaps only twice a year as opposed to once every two months. How weird....!

I’ve been trying to get my dd to get it done, she has lots of piercings anyway and I think it will help with her migraines. I’d get it done if I got migraines.

I’ve had it done in the last week - I’ll report back in the next two weeks as usually I get at least one migraine a week. If it reduces them even slightly it’s absolutely worth it!

Honestly it hurt for thirty seconds when I was having it done but I have had no pain since, no infection (yet) and I can sleep on that ear with no problems at all.

As to whether it works .... we shall see!

I had it done around 4 months ago, I had a migraine around a month after but none since. But I can go six months to a year without one anyway!

I'd do it myself with a rusty nail while I had a migraine if I thought there was a chance it might help!

In all seriousness, if you would have one anyway, go for it. I'm not convinced it will help, but the pain of piercing will be transient so if you'd like the look of it give it a try.

Pros: potential of migraine improvement, you like the look of it.

Cons: short-term pain, risk of infection, bleeding etc.

Weigh pros against cons!

I’m with PP’s, do it, do it, do it!!!
It’s changed my life. And I just went ahead with it thinking if it worked it was a bonus, if it didn’t I have a nice new piercing.
My piercer said she finds it works in about 60% of the people who have requested it for migraine relief.

If it doesn’t work you can always take it out. It won’t hurt as much as you think it will, a short sharp pinch really with a bit of soreness afterwards (I’ve never had a daith piercing but I’ve had my nipples and tongue pierced, among others, so I feel justified to comment!)

Knock yourself out, the placebo effect can be very strong as we see here.

Honestly there is no evidence to support this —>

According to the Cleveland Clinic, daith piercing has been claimed to be a "highly unconventional remedy" for migraines. The clinic states that there is "no medical research that supports this theory" and that the only relief people are experiencing is due to a "temporary placebo effect". The clinic quotes Emad Estemalik, MD, "There’s nothing in literature I’ve heard of, nothing I’ve read about, nothing I have studied out there that supports such a procedure to treat migraine".

You’d be much better taking a preventative drug (or switching if you’re already on one!) hope you get them under control

I would give it a go.

If it works, great, no more migraines. If it doesn't work, you either have a nice new piercing or you can just remove it and let it heal. Cartilage piercings like that heal over remarkably quickly if you take the jewellery out in the first 12-18 months.

Didn't do anything for me, kept it in for 12 months and never noticed any benefit.

One UK piercing studio is collecting data on this, has been for quite a while now.

bodymattersgold.com/pages/daith-piercing-for-migraine

I have my daith pierced (purely for aesthetic reasons) and the piercer asked me beforehand whether it was for migraines-when I said no, he said ‘good, because it’s bollocks’ 😆 but the placebo effect is strong! At any rate, it’s a quick and not very painful piercing to get, so it can’t hurt to try.

Thing is, migraine is a neurological disorder with no known cause or understanding of what the brain is doing when they happen, they don’t know how the medication works just that it can, so a daith piercing might make no sense as a ‘treatment’ of sorts, but as migraine also makes no sense how do you argue whether the daith is a placebo or not?

@KirstenRaymonde

All the preventative meds have been assessed using a randomised control trial (ie in a large group of people with a control group taking placebo and patients not knowing whether they have the active drug)

It’s true we don’t know the mechanism of how some of them work but we know they do! There is however, no strong evidence for daith piercing

DD2 had hers done last month. She’s been having migraines for 3 years and had on average 2 per month which knocked her flat for 72hrs at a time.

Her neurologist suggested it in conjunction with daily meds as a ‘belts and braces’ type of thing.

The theory is that you need to be out of a migraine cycle when you get the piercing and it should be on the side the migraines start (so for you on the right side) for it to work.

DD had hers done earlier this year after Doctor at the pain clinic suggested giving it a go. She used to get 1 or 2 migraines each month (caused by the medication she takes for chronic illness) but hasn't had a single one since the piercing. As a result, she has been able to increase her medication and has gone from 70% attendance at school to 98% this term.

Got to be worth trying.

Done it, both ears about a year ago.

No noticeable change.

I did this and my migraines have reduced. It could be psychosomatic woo but it's worked in my case.

Thanks everyone.. Going to give it a go if it works great if it doesn't oh well lol 😂

That was my thinking.

For £40 it was worth a try.

I know 3 people at work who've had it done. It's made a difference to all three. It hasn't stopped the migraines completely, but it has greatly reduced them.