On Dr. Hain’s Migraine Prevention Flowchart, he lists several alternative treatments that he recommends first. The treatments include Magnesium, CoQ10, Riboflavin, and Butterbur. Has anyone actually tried these treatments? I am just about to start taking some type of medications for my MAV. I have read studies stating the benefits of some of these alternative treatments for migraine headaches, but are they effective for MAV?
I know that chart since i am a patient of Dr. Cherchi, who is in the same pratice as Dr. Hain.
Here is my experience:
At the time they gave me the chart I was in the middle of a cluster of headaches (I tend to get a late Winter cluster and an early Fall cluster where I get migraines all day for three or four weeks (the “Oh my God, I need to lay down” type of migraine), then it settles down during the regular year, where I get one or two headaches a week that I can wipe out with Advil.
First thing I tried was a compound of those ingredients called Migrelief, or Migraway, or something like that. It had all those ingredients. The first dose made me feel weird and I got a rash on my torso. So then I tried to disaggregate the ingredients and take them separately.
I tried Magnesium at 400mg/day from Whole Foods (Solaray brand) and while it did not improve my dizziness, I can report that I have not had a headache since i have been taking it (about 5 months now), which is either an odd coincidence or has something to do with the Magnesium. A week after starting the Magnesium my headache cluster stopped cold. Again, I am not sure if this was coincidental timing, or cause-and-effect from the Magnesium.
I tried Coq10 but it made my heart race unless I took small doses. I tried B2 but it made me get a rushed feeling that was uncomfortable, I had to walk around the block five times to calm down. I did not try the other ingredients separately.
So I ended up trying and sticking with the Magnesium.
You might also try ginger. My wife is from Taiwan and she cooks me a ginger tea every night from fresh ginger root. It has a very very minimal positive effect, but better than nothing.
Basically I am a vitamin wimp. I take the gummy vitamins from Whole Foods, yes, the adult gummies!
If I were you, I would try one of the compound formulas and see if you can tolerate it. Good luck.
I had crap results with B2, Butterbur etc. Same here, magnesium (I just take one pill at night) helped with the migraines but the others made me worse.
Christine
I have been taking the following religiously since this sh*t started:
Magnesium 300/400mg daily (split dose)
Gingko Baloba 120mg daily (split dose)
Vit C 1000mg daily
B-Complex 100mg daily
COQ10 120mg daily
I honestly dont know if they’ve made a difference or not… or if it’s the Nortriptyline… But I’m a lot better than I was 3 months ago (but still FAR from 100% and every day is a sh*t fight in some way).
I wont stop taking them now out of fear that some of my progress is due to them!
I’m a 24/7 Mavver with no headache.
I posted some info about this in an old post that I can share again here that you may find useful, as it concurs with Hain’s suggestions. My docs are top in the field as well so it seems these suggestions are not odd:
I can share the info that was given to me by the the Headache Center at the University of Pittsburgh where I see one of my neurologists (the one specializing in migraines). The handout covers everything briefly (natural and medical methods for headache management as they call it), most of which we already know. In the section about supplements it reads:
“Certain nutritional supplements have been shown to assist in the stablization of migraine headaches: magnesium (250 mg twice daily), coenzyme Q-10 (150 mg twice daily), vitamin B2/riboflavin (400 mg daily), and alpha lipoic acid (300 mg twice daily). Butterbur root (Petadolex 50-75 mg twice daily) and feverfew are herbal remedies for migraine.”
It was suggested to me that I take the magnesium AND vitamin b2/riboflavin btw (in addition to my prescription). I don’t know if in other patients they would want you to take all of the supplements at once, but it wouldn’t surprise me (minus the herbal ones) since the synergenic properties may work best.
As of now 6/2011, I take Magnesium (although I think they now suggest 500 mg twice a day which I try to take) and B2 (whIch I only take 200 mg because it bothers my stomach). I think it helps along with my meds, or at least I have seen some improvement with them. ALone, I don’t know how beneficial they would be because I never took them without my meds.
I’m interested in the magnesium recommendations others have been given by docs or read about. I’ve been taking 250 mg at bedtime, plus there’s 50 mg in the multivitamin I take after breakfast. Since I have some breakthrough headaches (mostly mild, fortunately - and only rare breakthrough dizziness), I’m wondering if I should go up on the magnesium.
I’m at a “measly” 300/day, and it’s sounding like 400-500 is more common, with 1000 (!!) a possible new recommendation? :!:
Anybody else want to cast their “vote” re other magnesium recommendations from docs or reliable medical reference sources?
I take 500 of magnesium, 250 of ginkgo Biloba (twice a day) 50 mg of Zinc, a multi vitamin and B12. I have no idea if any of them are doing anything for me, but as Muppo said I keep taking them just in case they are doing something. I used to take Ginger everday, but stopped and I can’t feel any difference.
I was taking 300 mG Coenzyme Q10 daily. Noticed no diff.
I never noticed much improvement on the migraine front although a magnesium powder I used to take did give me an energy boost until it started increasing IBS about a year later. Haven’t been able to get back onto the stuff and last time I did I got killer headaches.
Have a read through this archive for info on the supplements you inquired about:
http://www.mvertigo.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=24
S
FWIW, I’ve been on Migrelief for about 2 months now and have noticed that my symptoms have almost completely disappeared (except for the apparently permanent hypersensitivity to low frequencies that I’ve had since last summer). Notice the wording though, I’m not about to attribute cause and effect. A lot has happened since I started on the supplement: end of winter semester, return of the sun, getting lots more exercise. I tend to think the exercise may have more to do with my improvement than anything else.
I know Migrelief isn’t one of Hain’s recommendations. Just FWIW. And: if you try it, be aware that the feverfew it contains has a whopping withdrawal syndrome that’s no fun at all. I had to stop it last month for a medical procedure and was miserable with headaches and nausea until I started up again.
Thanks for the info everyone! I have been on the migraine diet for 4 weeks (with the exception of MSG) and my dizziness has improved my about 20%-30% already. I think caffeine was my trigger, none of the other trigger eliminations have seemed to help. However, my associated symptoms and headaches havent improved. My ENT is going to prescribe some medications soon. I REALLY hope that medication will help me improve the rest of the way because I cannot function like this. I am optimistic, by having a minor success with the migraine diet, it shows me that my condition CAN improve.
It is really hard to cut out MSG from my diet, how important do you think it is that I cut out this trigger?
— Begin quote from “ichbindarren”
Thanks for the info everyone! I have been on the migraine diet for 4 weeks (with the exception of MSG) and my dizziness has improved my about 20%-30% already. I think caffeine was my trigger, none of the other trigger eliminations have seemed to help. However, my associated symptoms and headaches havent improved. My ENT is going to prescribe some medications soon. I REALLY hope that medication will help me improve the rest of the way because I cannot function like this. I am optimistic, by having a minor success with the migraine diet, it shows me that my condition CAN improve.
It is really hard to cut out MSG from my diet, how important do you think it is that I cut out this trigger?
— End quote
If you are getting MSG from Chinese food, then here’s some phrases for you:
“Wo bu yao wei jin”
In Chinese that means literally, “I no want MSG”
Or you could say “Mei yo wei jin”
That means “No have MSG”
My Chinese is not great, just passable, but I use these often, especially when in China or Taiwan.
Thanks for the advice longshort. 
Hain seems to really like Effexor, I might ask my doctor if I can try it. But what would everyone here recommend? Here are my symptoms:
Chronic: Imbalance, dizziness when I move my head or eyes. Trouble focusing eyes.
I have only had a few migraine headaches since Ive had MAV. I never had migraine headaches before that.
I’ve been on magnesium and riboflavin for almost five months and it hasn’t done much. I have noticed that if I take a magnesium supplement when I’m feeling a headache come on, that it can help relieve it, but not always.
I just read an article called “Drugs used in migraine prophylaxis” written by Dr. Cherchi on the Chicago Dizziness and Balance website. It says that they sometimes recommend these alternative treatments if the patient is not able to take medication, such as during pregnancy.
My conclusion after hearing the experiences of everyone here, I am not going to mess around with the natural cures. I just want to get on some medication ASAP. Thanks!