Coping Strategies for Migraine

So, how do you cope when you do get a migraine?

Though my migraines have GREATLY improved in the last year or two, I do still get them sometimes, so here are a few coping strategies I've learned about and used over the years:

- Hot and Cold treatment: Thoroughly wet a towel with cold water and wrap it around your head and soak your feet in hot water at the same time.
Theory behind it: When you get a migraine, the arteries in the head swell, so cold helps to take the swelling down. At the same time, we want to get the blood flowing elsewhere, so having your feet in hot water draws the blood down there.
Quick, simple and cheap, but unfortunately the relief only lasts as long as you are soaking. This could help until your medication of choice kicks in.

- Cold compresses: Soak 2 facecloths in cold water and put an ice pack in a plastic container. Lie in bed with one of the facecloths on your forehead (and whichever temple is pounding) while the other facecloth is cooling. Switch them back and forth.
This can provide relief for hours or until your medication kicks in.
I've used this method when I got rebound headaches and didn't want to take medication again.

- Reflexology points: Learn the reflexology points for your head on your hands and feet.
This works nicely when you're not home and need some temporary relief.
There's nice demonstration of how to work on the feet at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYvoWq9XodQ
You can do this yourself or have someone do it for you.

- Medications:
Anacin: I used to find Anacin worked well for less severe migraines. It's made of ASA (aspirin) and caffeine. ASA, of course is a pain killer and blood thinner and caffeine directly contracts swollen arteries. (A cup of coffee works too!) Unfortunately, I seem to be allergic to ASA now, and the neurologist said that I should avoid caffeine because though it does relieve a migraine attack, studies show that avoiding it altogether worked better for migraineurs.

Acetaminophen (Paracetamol): Brand name Tylenol. Acetaminophen is an anti-inflammatory, so it can help with mild or moderate migraines. You can also find it blended with caffeine, which makes it a lot more effective. (See Anacin above). Sometimes, Acetaminophen is all I need, so I try it first because if it doesn't I can still take my stronger meds.

Tryptophans (Imitrex, Sumatriptan, etc):  These are prescription drugs that directly shrink expanded arteries. Sumatriptan works for me. It's expensive and I don't have a drug plan, so I only use it if I have to. When I do take it, I still have to lie down and let it take effect. It makes me very sleepy, so I usually take it, lie down and wake up in an hour or two feeling OK. One caution: because it constricts all the arteries in the body (not just the head), we have to be careful about overexertion after taking the medication. There is apparently a slight danger of heart attack. I've never had a problem, but then I don't go running up stairs or anything after I've taken it!

- Cupping: If you are fortunate enough to have a cupping set and someone to apply the suction cups, you can do a cupping of your lower back. I find this helps since it tends to draw the blood from the head to lower down in the body. (See Hot and Cold treatment above).

These are just some of the tricks that work for me. I hope they help you too!
Please let me know your tricks and tips and I can add them here if I think they might help others.