The top 10 non-drug therapies for migraines
Most people are right in not wanting to take medications. They can have serious or just very bothersome side effects, they help only some people and can be expensive. Fortunately, there are many ways to control migraines without drugs. Here are the top 10 non-drug therapies for migraine headaches among several dozen described in my book, The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain.
Non-drug therapies
- Aerobic exercise
- Meditation
- Magnesium
- CoQ10
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Acupuncture
- Nerivio
- Cefaly
- Riboflavin
- Boswellia
And Dr Mauskop, thank you so much for your invaluable blog!
Cristin – Have you had your ferritin levels checked? I had some tenacious vestibular symptoms that improved after I began taking iron. I’m not a doctor, of course! But I think that iron deficiency can be overlooked as a possible factor in migraine. (Read a great paper by Esa Soppi which is where I learned about it.)
The artificial sweetener that is in many B12 products is the likely culprit. For some people the best option is to get monthly and sometimes weekly injections. It’s easy to learn how to self inject B12.
Any thoughts on whether methylated B 12 can actually cause headaches for some people? I’ve been taking 1000 mcg for 9 months, last B12 level was 382 (had been 187), but in this time I’ve gotten diagnosed with vestibular migraines and have daily low level headache and vestibular symptoms that so far aren’t shifting much with diet, exercise, magnesium, B2, D, propanolol, (and I’ve failed 3 triptans and 2 CGRP drugs). I’ve seen some research that methylated forms of B 12 don’t work for some people.
I’m very happy that your migraines improved with B12. You cannot have too much B12. Even a level of 2,000 is OK.
Thank you so much for your recommendation to add B-12 to my regimen to bring down my homocysteine level. It worked and has had a marked effect on my lifelong migraines. But my B-12 labs are now charting at 1,275 pg/mL and I wonder if this is too high. I am taking a B-complex and 1 mg of B-12 daily. Would you change either? Thank you again.
Magtein, or magnesium threonate, is a good form of magnesium, but it is not necessarily better than other chelated forms of magnesium such as glycinate and it is much more expensive.
What do you think about Magtein magnesium? Would I still want to take 400mg per day?
Thank you!