Over the years the frequency of my migraines has slowly been increasing. Now I get two to three migraines per week. I have been taking triptans whenever I feel the early symptoms. I have worked my way through them, as you do if you are a sufferer, as nobody knows which one will work for you until you try it. I use Maxalt (Rizatriptan). They work by immediately making the migraine worse, then an hour later it is gone. For those lucky people who have never had a migraine, let me tell you what happens if I don't treat it. They can last from 3 hours to, wait for it, 3 long painful days.
If the migraine starts in my neck then I have found that Syndol is a slightly cheaper way to remove the symptoms. The problem with that is that I am often left with a fuzzy feeling for the rest of the day. Now whilst this can sometimes be quite a nice happy haze, it isn't ideal, especially if my boss is trying to tell me something important and I am sitting there grinning at her.
Then disaster struck. I got a really bad migraine at work and had left my triptans at home. To my horror I realised that I was out of Syndol. Nothing else has ever touched them, but in the vein hope that this time might be different from all of the rest, I took 2 panadol. Unsurprisingly, they didn't even dent the pain. So what has Syndol got in that panadol doesn't. One of the active ingredients is caffeine. I had recently read that the reason caffeine is added to drugs is to speed up the absorption process. I don't normally drink coffee. In fact I don't often have anything with caffeine in it. But I was a desperate man with a pain in the head. So out came the mug, in went the granules and in went the water, just off boiling. Old hotel management habits die hard as coffee should not be made with boiling water. Tea is made with boiling water and for coffee the water should be just off boiling.
I sipped the strong black drug (no milk for me) and as I expected... Nothing! By the time I finished the mug the migraine was still th... Um actually, hold on a minute. I feel my head in disbelief. The pain has to be in there somewhere. But shock, it has gone!
Let's not get too excited here. Sometimes they do just go after a short time and this was probably one of them. So the next time I got a migraine I thought, why not! So I had another mug of coffee.
First sip.... Nothing. The pain was still there.
Second sip... Nope, it must have been a coincidence.
Half way through... Still got the pain. Oh well.
Almost finished... Hold on a minute, the pain is going.
Finished... So had the migraine!
Extended trials have shown (that is me grabbing a cuppa each time I get a mig) that a cup of coffee will stop about 3 out of 4 migraines in their tracks. I have tested it a number of times since. Every time I feel the migraine, even the very early signs of one, I pop on the kettle and brew up. By the time I have finished the mug the pain has gone. The amazing thing is that there are no side affects other than feeling really good!!!
I have looked into this in a bit more detail and apparently this is not unknown for coffee to help migraine sufferers. Why am I always the last to find out about these things? Apparently the caffeine makes the blood vessels dilate (or something like that) which is similar to what a triptan does. You have to be careful not to drink too much coffee of else you will start to depend on it and it might ever cause you to get more migs. But one cup every two days is fine (and yes I have checked this with my doctor).
So there you have it. A migraine cure in a mug. Cheap and available almost everywhere. Let me know if you suffer and how you cure your headaches.
Update... Sadly the frequency of which a mug of coffee works has dropped a bit over the last few months (I originally drafted this blog a while back). I now find that a cup of coffee will cure perhapse 1 in 3 migraines and even then, only when taken with another drug. But you know what? I don't care. Anything that stops the pain is good. The more options and cures that work the better!
What a shame that it's not as effective as before. Could it be a different variety of coffee? Could it be the strength and what about real coffee versus instant?
ReplyDeleteHi Rosalind,
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting point and one which I am planning to try out at some point. Different brands definitely do make a difference but I can't remember which ones were better than others! Instant coffee was the original one that worked. On the odd occation that I have been near somewhere that sold real coffee I have tried that but it didn't work. Perhaps that might be the subject of a future blog. Which coffee cures the most migraines!
Here is an interesting post in reply to my blog which was posted on a migraine forum. I will definitily try both of these out!
ReplyDeleteYes I found this out about this recently after reading it in a magazine. It said to drink a cup of espresso and have a glass of water. I find it works probably 7 out of 10 times if you catch it early. Luckily we have a great coffee shop at work so if I feel one coming on, I go and get an espresso. I think it works better if you don't already have caffeine in your system, so if its the first coffee of the day!
My neurologist suggested trying red bull as an alterative, but I didn't find any benefit personally from that, and to eat 80% dark chocolater (in moderation!).
I've also found hypnotherapy helpful - I have a self hypnosis mp3 track and if I feel a migraine coming on I try and find a quiet place to play it. That has worked a few times too.
No one thing gets rid of them all the time (apart from my Maxalt), but you have alternatives to drugs that's got to be good!
Wow, that is extremely interesting, next time I feel one coming on I will have to try it, I can't stand the taste of coffee but will give that and even red bull ago, like you said anything is better then the pain when you have a migraine. Thank you for this post!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. I was searching for the effects of coffee on migraine, because I've heard about it before. My migraine started about 2 hours ago and 10 minutes ago I made myself a coffee and the migraine...wait for it...is gone!
ReplyDeleteHay Jt91, I have tried energy drinks, and whilst they give me a buzz, then don't touch the migraine. Still... worth a go!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicky. Wow I am so glad that it worked for you. It really is like a miracle that a simple cuppa can clear the pain. I also find that the occasional cup works in conjunction with a triptan to increase the effects. Let's hope it continues to work for you!
Yes, caffeine works for me too IF I have it in time. I pop a caffeine pill because I don't like coffee. The more often I have them, the less well they work though. I used to get an effect with half a pill, now sometimes a whole one does nothing.
ReplyDeleteThree weeks delivery period max, usually arrives in two weeks. Get it from www.ondoorsteppharmacy.co.za
ReplyDeleteWhy pay the extra postage? Apparently Syndol is coming into the country in 2014 so patience is the key!
Deletei have been suffering from migraine since i was 8 or 9 yrs old now i m 43 and i used to get very severe ones lasting from 1 day to 4- 5 days and they used to be so severe that i used to think about cutting my temples whichever side the pain used to be on they alternate, but now i have discovered that if i drink 6-8 glassed of water and dont forget or be lazy to do my morning or evening walks (one time during the day) for 30 to 45 min. i dont get them. also earlier i used to get them for aroung 20 days in a month but now i only suffer 4 - 5 days. it works this way all migraines happen because of stomach problems it may be gas, constipation or any other thing related to stomach also obesity if u keep ur stomach clean and healthy, u wont get them so enjoy drink water be healthy and migraine free.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post sherrylpeter. Drinking pure refreshing water definitely does help to stave off some of my migraines. It is so good to hear that it has helped you so much. They do also say that exercise helps but I have never found this to be the case for me! Gosh why are the so individual! Good luck in keeping your migs down and keeping fit as you go :-)
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ReplyDeleteQuite by accident I discovered this. I have suffered since my teens from debilitating migraines. I will lose sight in one eye, can't handle light or sound and become physically sick. I flew recently to visit my daughter in another state and arrived with the "aura". I'd forgotten to pack my Sumitriptan (which never worked anyway) . I knew Excedrin Migraine had caffeine so I asked my daughter for coffee. "We don't drink coffee." (Where did I go wrong?). She went to buy me Excedrin Migraine (bless her heart but worthless to me) and returned with a couple of Red Bulls. I'd never had one. She told me to chug it down. Blecch!! Patooey!! I laid down in the dark for 15 minutes and it was gone!! Hmm.. Fluke? Well I picked some up at the grocery store to keep on hand should I need it and one night I got the chance to try it. I was in full blown migraine stance. I remembered the Red Bull in my fridge. I sucked it down quickly. Within 15 minutes I was up and at 'em. My Rx instructs to take one tablet at onset and to take another in 2 hours if still needed. Two hours is two too many to wait with migraines. Ain't nobody got time for that. I will never be without Red Bull in my fridge again. I consider it a miracle remedy. Believe me I've tried it all. Peppermint, lavender, ice packs, heat packs, Maxalt, yoga, cold showers. But this Red Bull has always been almost immediately effective. That's proof enough for me.
Since then I always keep some in my fridge just for those times. NEVER HAS IT FAILED AND THAT'S NO BULL. DRINK A RED BULL!! "IT GIVES YOU WINGS."
Hi Cecilia,
DeleteIt is so nice to hear about cures that actually work for people. There are so many out there that promise to work and do nothing that when you accidentally find something that actually does work, it is pure gold dust!
I find this doubly interesting as a few months ago I discovered that diet coke worked for me most of the time. I might try red bull but am a bit worried as when i tried an energy drink before I ended up floating on the ceiling with my mig so I am a bit cautious about them now.
Best of luck to you though and I hope that they continue to work!