Published May 4, 2005 in the North Island MidWeek

Migraine headaches can be quite severe and effect millions of people in North America. They are often preceded by an “aura” which may consist of flashing lights or visual disturbances. Nausea, sweats, dizziness, light and sound sensitivity and slurred speech can accompany the headache.

There is still marked debate about the cause of migraines and in naturopathic medicine, as with many diseases there is no ONE cause, but a multitude of causes and if most of these can be treated then the suffering can stop.

Julie, age 34, has been getting migraines around her period for 10 years for which she was taking Imitrix. She was in a car accident 10 years ago and felt she had no repercussions from that. She was in a high stress job, in front of her computer all day and her vision was worsening.

During a physical exam I noted a lot of tension in her upper neck and back area. I recommended that she see a grostic technique chiropractor and massage therapist as part of her treatment program. Often there is some sort of neck pain or previous injury to the spine that complicates matters. I also learned that she has bruxism (grinding of the teeth at night) and I recommended she get a nighttime mouth guard to help her with this symptom of stress.

The most common deficiency causing migraines is magnesium. Most people might think they are getting enough in a multivitamin or even in their calcium magnesium supplement but I find this is rarely the case. The form of magnesium is very important as well as the amount. I often recommend increasing magnesium to bowel tolerance to determine the required dosage always using capsules and a citrate, malate or an orotate form of magnesium. I gave Julie my favorite calcium magnesium mineral supplement along with extra magnesium malate.

Riboflavin is another common B vitamin that is deficient in these people and what is in a multivitamin is not therapeutic for migraines. I gave Julie a B complex and extra riboflavin.

Feverfew is my favorite herb to recommend. Julie told me she had already tried it but not the form that I recommend. So we tried it again and this time it worked much better. I reminded her that the potency of the herb is important and often what you find on the market is not consistent and professional sources are stronger and thus more therapeutic.

Julie’s diet was atrocious and over the next few months we put her on the blood type diet as well as a South Beach type diet which helped her with her chocolate and sugar cravings, huge triggers for migraine headaches. Getting people off the most common allergens, wheat and dairy, makes a big difference in many symptoms including fatigue. In Julie’s case her seasonal allergies cleared right up and she didn’t need any anti-histamines for the first time in years!

Purified fish oils (we use Nutra Sea or Carlson’s Cod liver oil) and a probiotic (acidophilus) HMF forte were also given to Julie to help her with her overall immune system and intestinal health.

In about three months she was a very happy camper! Not only were her migraines gone, (she had also stopped the Imitrex), but her period cramps, which she hadn’t mentioned to me, were much better.  She was sleeping better and had more energy to exercise, helping her deal with her stressful job, which hadn’t changed.