Some individuals with migraine headache can be managed with non pharmacological measures (i.e. without use of medications) especially mild cases of migraine headache. All patients with migraine should be given a try with non pharmacological measures. If a medical problem can be managed without use of any medication, it deserves a try, as most of the drugs have side effects, which may be not significant, minor, and major or even life threatening at times. The side effect of a medication may sometimes become a greater problem than the disease itself. As migraine is a chronic problem, the treatment of migraine is generally for long duration (years) and the side effects also increase proportionately as the duration of treatment increases. Any patient with mild to moderate migraine headache should be tried with non pharmacological methods of management of migraine.
Non pharmacological methods migraine management:
One of the simple ways to manage migraine is to find out the factors which can trigger migraine, and avoid them as much as possible or practicable. As a general rule the lifestyle of a migraine patient should be healthy (no excess sleep or excess and severe exercise). A healthy lifestyle with regular physical exercise, balanced nutritious diet, maintenance of good sleep hygiene, avoidance of excess coffee, tea etc. (especially before bedtime), and avoidance of acute stress situations, which can trigger or worsen migraine in a patient. Meditation and yoga can also be of great help in managing migraine in a non pharmacological method.
When applying non pharmacological methods for management of mild and sometimes moderate migraine headache, the approach should be individualized as no single plan can be effective for all. A plan that suits best for an individual, in view of lifestyle pattern and economic standard of the patient, should be used.
As patients of migraine do not encounter more stress than normal individual, they should be taught to cope with migraine. They also need to be taught to prevent from overreacting to stress. The patient of migraine should be taught how to handle stress better with different techniques such as yoga, transcendental meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback (a conditioning technique) etc.
Can migraine be managed without medication?
But, in most cases non pharmacological methods (unfortunately) at best act as adjunct to drug therapy and need to be treated appropriately with drugs (which are used for treatment of migraine). May be non pharmacological methods need more dedication and time and patients can not afford time and can not dedicate themselves to non pharmacological methods and as a result, there is failure with non pharmacological methods for migraine management.
Guest post by Jupitor Chakma, who normally writes on health topics in his health blog: http://healthyone.org/ and Net Health Site.
Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Twitter: esther98
says:
I think I may be getting migranes, but am not sure. I’ve started with week-long headaches and only hope that it’s just stress that will go away in time.
Anne Lyken-Garner recently posted..Home Improvement
Twitter: Rancorinfotech
says:
Sometimes it’s quite difficult to predict about migraine or normal headaches. Generally people ignore any headache as they think it’s happening due to work load and etc.
Aanchal recently posted..Web Design India
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
A classical migraine have one sided headache. But if you have doubt you should consult a doctor.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Few Important Points About Generic Drugs
laughing is one of the best way to avoid pain, researches shows that when people laugh the brain produce a chemical element that reduce pain in any kind.
Nancy recently posted..Website Traffic Services
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
Thanks for the info. I think that is why it is said that “laughter is the best medicine”.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..3 Tips To Sport Pearly Whites
Twitter: Rancorinfotech
says:
Everyone has different symptoms of migraine and it’s really tough to predict that you can cure your migraine with non pharmacological measures, I’ve seen few cases where non pharmacological measures work but you can’t be sure all the time.
Aanchal recently posted..Web Design India
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
Yes migraine symptoms are different. You should try non pharmacological measures in case of mild to moderate migraine only. In severe cases they do not work.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Make Your Home Healthy
Most like they are from stress. Drink plenty of water, bed rest, and having relaxing activities will probably fix it most of the time.
Gil recently posted..Weeklong Promo with Email-Hog! It’s a Market here this Monday!
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
What you have mentioned can be termed non pharmacological measures. Yes they may be helpful sometimes.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Basics About Vitamins
Twitter: CPASiteSolution
says:
I think they could be managed without any medications. I am newly pregnant and have been getting migraines very often. Because I don’t feel that I should be taking any pills due to my baby’s health, I have found a way to get rid of those migraines. I relax, I relax by doing something that I really love to do. In my case, I love to draw, which helps me try and focus off of the migraines. So, I do believe that they can be controlled without medication.
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
I nice point you have mentioned. But if you get migraine headache you most likely have severe type, because frequency is used to measure severity of migraine. You should start preventive medication after your baby is born.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Urethritis Treatment, Complications and Prevention
I would like to add another thing though. Has anyone else had headaches from indigestion? It is a familiar thing in my family but when I google on the net it doesn’t come up, like there’s no corelation at all. Don’t think it’s weird, it happens regularly to me and my brother.
Gil recently posted..Weeklong Promo with Email-Hog! It’s a Market here this Monday!
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
It may be true. If something has not been reported before does not mean that it may not be correct.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Diagnosis of Pregnancy
Twitter: Jajodia_Saket
says:
I hardly take any medicine, only when I am really not well. Otherwise I won’t prefer to take any.. And we should always do some meditation and exercise to keep our self fit and will help a lot in your work also.
Saket Jajodia recently posted..Wish Your Friends Happy Birthday With Skype Free Video Conference
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
I suppose meditation should help migraine.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Diagnosis of Pregnancy
I used to also wonder if I have migraines whenever I got terrible headaches that last for a day. It does not happen often, yet when it happens, I feel very uncomfortable. It mostly happens when I am not sleeping properly/ when I am too stressed.
Cheolsu recently posted..Myspace Login with Facebook
Twitter: Healthyone_org
says:
I am afraid your headache could be migraine. I think you should consult a doctor. There are triggering factors in migraine and your trigger could be inadequate sleep.
Jupitor Chakma recently posted..Know About Fibers
Thanks for this post, i think this post is good for my girlfriend. She always migrain because stress for study.
Naziman recently posted..Terima kasih blogger otai
Twitter: nirmalche
says:
I have been getting headaches for a long time. They vanish pretty quickly with the help of drugs. Not sure whether it is migraine. Will consult my physician. Thanks for this post.
Twitter: peacefulrunner
says:
A non-drug option is always best if that is possible. Stress is the cause of so many of our health problems. I believe meditation can help us live life in the moment and not worry about the future, which is what causes most people stress. I would try that first as opposed to medication as meditation has so many other benefits as well.
Thanks for the post!
peacefulrunner recently posted..Chi Running – A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running
Twitter: hipnoterapiapoz
says:
I think it doesn’t matter if there is headaches or migraine. If your doctor will tell you that your body is ok and you can use hypnosis. Then you should go with that and use it in any form you want. So you can meditate, learn selfhypnosis or go to hypnotherapist.
Thanks for the post.
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