Migraines - bring me your folk remedies, wacky ideas and dubious anecdote-based suggestions

[Greensleeves]

because the pills ain't working and I have got loads of work to do tonight (which I am not being paid for, muggins)

and dh is too busy and grumpy to massage my temples and bring me cups of camomile tea

Breathing into a paper bag?

Menthol on the temples is apparently supposed to help, but you have to be very careful of it so near to your eyes and it must make your eyes water like hell.

Sorry for the surfeit of eyes.

Won't help your migraine, reading that sentence.

breathing into a paper bag, really?

Will try it.

I find breathing slowly and deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth helps a lot. Also drinking something sweet was recommended to me last night - can of coke if you have it.

Something to do with opening the blood vessels.

Breathe more CO2, you need more oxygen, blood vessels widen in response, aids migraine.

poor you, Greensleeves. I find if I take 400mg of ibuprofen as soon as I have even the hint of a migraine on the way and lie down in a quiet room for 20-30 minutes, I can usually head off a migraine. I used to get migraines on a fairly regular basis and it was awful. Now they almost get the nauseous phase! Unfortunately, this is very hard (impossible?!) to do if no other adult around and you're alone with the DC.

(sorry, this isn't good for you at the minute as you've already got one now. but perhaps something to consider for the next time?)

feverfew - tastes fecking vile though...

pic etc here

SaintG - I have used tiger balm (which has menthol in) before now on my temples - good for headaches not sure it would cut the mustatd on a migraine though

Sorry I have no immediate remedies but I've found the only thing to really work for me is cranial osteopathy.

I had about 6 sessions and went from having one every 2 weeks to maybe one every couple of months.

Plenty of water helps to keep mine away.

oops, that should say "now they almost NEVER get to the nauseous phase".

something really cold,apply direct to the pianful area, bag of frozen peas? ice packs wrapped in a tea towel,that kind of thing. nearly always helped me.helps shrink the blood vessels back down :-)

funnily enough dh and I both have a migraine today
something to do with the change in the weather perhaps

what do you mean am I sure?

A tip I got on Mumsnet was to dissolve two soluble Solpadeine in a glass of full fat coke and swallow that down. It does seem to work, more often than not.

Also, massage the pressure points on you hands. Feel around in the area of skin between thumb and first finger; you should be able to locate a slightly tender point. Gently massge that area. There's also a similar point at the side of the knees but that's a bit less convenient to reach!

well I had the symptoms of a migraine, that's how I could tell