6 Reasons to Choose Natural Headache Cures Over Medications for Migraines

Headache sufferers can live their lives in frequent misery. While there are many natural cures for headaches that can help in the long run, tools for immediate relief of headaches are a strong need.

Far too many headache sufferers turn to medications to cure their headaches, but in no situation does the medication actually fix what is causing the headache in the first place. Many drugs use to treat headaches merely stop one brain cell from communicating with its neighbor, but do not make the original, problematic brain cell any healthier.

One very common medication used to treat headaches (most often migraine type headaches, although it is not uncommon for a prescription to be written for a tension-type headache as well) is amitriptyline, the most common prescription being Elavil. This class of drugs blocks both the serotonin and norepinephrine uptake in the brain (SNRI). As noted, this pathway has little to do with what actually causes the headaches in the first place, but can stop to progression of the signal from one brain cell to the next.

While there are many natural approaches for headache sufferers to use that can have strong effects on symptom, frequency and duration of the headaches, controlling stress remains one of the most powerful tools.

Acute stress is actually very good for the brain. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. If we had a Saber tooth tiger jump out of the underbrush looking to attack us, the last thing we want is for our brain to get all fuzzy and kick off a headache. Instead, acute stress snaps our brain and the way our neurons are firing into attention. Otherwise, as a species, we wouldn't be here on this planet.

Chronic stress, on the other hand, has a very detrimental role in brain function. Much of it is focused around the hormone cortisol and one of the derivatives of cortisol called tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC). In acute situations this compound has a strongly anti-seizure, anti-migraine effect. However, in the long term with chronic stress, the same compound becomes very pro-seizure and pro-migraine. So, stress is a major trigger of both headaches and seizures. This is most likely due to this particular hormone.

So, it all boils back down to needing to manage our stress with a variety of different tools to keep stress levels under control. Ideally, any stress we experience should be the short term brain protective stress rather than the long term chronic brain damaging stress.

There's a lot of ways to calm the brain and keep one neuron from inappropriately firing to its unsuspecting neighbor and creating a migraine or a seizure.

One very powerful method to calm the brain that has been around for several thousand years is meditation. It can be as complex as a meditation course or can be as simple as a relaxation CD that you'd buy used at a bookstore for $5. The choice of methods is up to the individual.

A recent study compared the effectiveness of using amitriptyline vs hypnotic relaxation that was done in the neurologist's office. The results were very encouraging:

1) Over half (58%) chose hypnotic relaxation over the drug approach
2) The patients who used higher levels of analgesics were more likely to choose amitriptyline
3) When given a choice to later switch groups, over 5X the number of patients chose to switch over to hypnosis vs drugs
4) 74% of patients in hypnotic relaxation group had a good response (50% or greater improvement)
5) Only 58% of patients in the amitriptyline group had the same response
6) Long term adherence with hypnotic relaxation was greater than the drug

Meditation has been shown to actually calm the brain. These are based on EEG studies where we see less brain activity during meditation. Realize that there's no other time that the brain truly quiets down. Even in sleep the brain is very active. It's only during meditation that we start to see brain waves and brain activity slow down. So, meditation is wonderful for affecting that in a positive way.

Other ways are biofeedback. There is actually a device called the RESPeRATE that's FDA approved to lower blood pressure and is basically a biofeedback device for breathing. The device is used by putting on headphones and listening to the tones that indicate when to breathe in and when to breathe out. During this time period, you find that your focus is entirely on your breathing. Once that happens, you're not focusing on anything else, which is essentially a form of meditation that allows the brain to quiet down. In our office we've had people who are in the middle of an anxiety attack use the RESPeRATE. In 15 minutes they are a completely relaxed person.

There are other devices similar to the RESPeRATE. One uses visual stimuli where you focus on certain designs with specific music playing in the background, and you find that the focus becomes so intense on what you are hearing and seeing that it gives the brain a chance to rest and not think about everything else that contributes to your stress levels.

We live in a society that stresses us out beyond anything that any society has ever come across before. It's work, it's home - these stressors don't ever seem to go away. Our body deals well with acute stress, but it's the chronic stress that really starts to break down our brain.

These tools and others can help to calm your brain, but you also need to take a good look at your life and what is stressing you and do whatever it takes to start to remove the stresses or learn to not let them go. Quite frankly, whatever you're stressing about today, and probably the next 10 things you're going to stress about tomorrow, really aren't going to matter. They're going to happen whether or not you stress about them. However, we seem to stress more about the things that are most out of our control. Does this not seem ridiculous? If they're out of our control, what's the point of stressing over them? And, there is no doubt that your stress levels are destroying your brain slowly, piece by agonizing piece.

For more info read: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.02055.x/abstract
More on the Resperate: http://lifecarechiropractic.com/blog/general-information/product-reviews/resperate-reviews-and-cuts-down-stress-in-15-minutes/

Dr. Bogash has a passion for understanding physiology, the medical research and how the combination of these two can lower the risk of disease or manage current chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis or heart disease. Visit http://lifecarechiropractic.com/blog/?p=blogroll to sign up for Dr. Bogash's Rantings, a biweekly email that summarizes the daily blog posts related to improving society's health.

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Another Supplement Tied to 20% Less Seizures?

In those who suffer from migraine headaches and seizures, anything that can help to reduce the number of attacks they have is a welcome addition. Clearly lifestyle and supplementation play a strong (if not stronger) role in the management of both migraine headaches and seizures along with the mainstream medical approach of pharmacological management. For many sufferers, this information is rarely shared by their physicians.

Before we illuminate today's brain protecting nutrient, we need to cover a little basic physiology. Those of you with very good memories will undoubtably recall that the cells of our organs are made up of a lipid bilayer. Consider our membranes as sort of a fatty moat made up of bunches of molecules that look like a head with legs. On the outsides of both sides of the moat we have the heads, which are soluble in water. The legs that dangle from the heads face toward the center of the moat, meeting each other in the center. These legs are made up of fats that do not dissolve in water.

All by itself, not much can pass through this moat. Things that dissolve in water can make it past the heads, but not the legs in the center. Things that are fat soluble can't make it past the heads to get into the moat at all. A relatively impenetrable moat.

But things still need to get in and out of the cell. The cell needs to get messages in and out, it needs nutrients in and out and things manufactured inside the cell need to get outside of the cell.

The cell does this through the use of pores embedded in the membrane. Some go all the way through the moat, some only go partway. An important factor of how well messages are transmitted, or NOT transmitted, is the health of the cell membrane. Lower quality fats (such as trans fats) will impede healthy cell communication.

On the flip side, higher amounts of healthier fats in the cell membrane ensure that messages that are supposed to be passed along are passed along. Overall, it just makes for a healthier, happier cell.

What does this mean for a condition like epilepsy? Seizures and migraine headaches can occur when a cell is not healthy enough to communicate effectively with its neighbor. This can mean that an inhibitory neuron (that shuts down its neighboring cell) may not be effective at calming a connecting cell. Or, it could mean that an individual brain cell fires before it is supposed to fire, beginning a cascade of wild messages that trigger a headache or a seizure.

A recent study in the March issue of Epilepsy and Behavior demonstrated that the fish oil DHA was able to lower seizure rates. The study was small and non-randomized, but is consistent with our understanding of what triggers seizures as well as prior studies.

Of the ten people in the study receiving 1,000 mg of DHA, 6 had a reduction in the number of seizures. One patient had a marked reduction in seizure activity. Overall, the reduction in seizure activity was 16%. Quite an accomplishment for something as safe and inexpensive as fish oils.

Of course, the big question is, why had fish oils not been a recommendation prior to this study? Even that single patient with the marked reduction in seizure activity could've had a massive impact on his or her quality of life by such a simple intervention long before this study.

Read the study here http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152550501100686X

Dr. Bogash has a passion for understanding physiology, the medical research and how the combination of these two can lower the risk of disease or manage current chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis or heart disease. Visit http://lifecarechiropractic.com/blog/?p=blogroll to sign up for Dr. Bogash's Rantings, a biweekly email that summarizes the daily blog posts related to improving society's health.

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The Truth About Migraines

You may have heard of someone that wakes up early in the morning with extreme pain behind one of their eyes. The individual then tries to perform their normal daily activities, but can't because of the pain and difficulty focusing. The person feels hungry but doesn't feel like eating breakfast. The person avoids the kitchen all together because the smell of food makes them nauseous. The individual seeks solitude and tries to avoid any kind of sounds. This is a common daily occurrence for a person with a migraine headache.

Migraines may be minor for some people but extremely debilitating for others. Migraines can prevent one from working or performing their normal daily tasks at home. They often cause one to feel restless or have extreme anxiety. They can disrupt one's sleep and cause fatigue. They can cause one to lose their appetite.

Some people with migraine headaches may have a warning sign come on before the headache. This is called an aura. The aura often begins approximately 30 minutes before the headache comes on. Those experiencing an aura often describe it as spots, wavy lines or flashing lights.

The typical time frame for migraine headaches ranges from four to 72 hours if untreated. The frequency and time frame is different from person to person. The symptom of a migraine is often described as throbbing and is usually located on one side of the head. Some migraine sufferers may experience the headache on both sides. The pain is usually worsened by physical activity. Nausea and vomiting may also occur with the headache. Migraine sufferers are often sensitive to light, noise and smell.

Prodromes are also common with migraine headaches. These usually occur one or two days before the headache comes on. These are subtle symptoms that can signal a migraine will be coming. These subtle symptoms might include constipation, diarrhea, food cravings, depression or neck pain. Postdromes may also occur after a migraine is over. This is considered the final phase and the typical symptom is exhaustion or feeling euphoric.

If you are experiencing migraines, it is a good idea to record the frequency of attacks and characteristics of the attack. If the headaches persist, it is a good idea to seek professional help. The traditional method for dealing with migraines is medication. Because of the harmful side effects of medication, many people are seeking out other natural safe alternatives to help. Many find chiropractic as a safe, effective treatment method that has lasting results.

- Nathan Leavitt DC

Dr. Leavitt has helped numerous people with migraines and other headaches through natural chiropractic. To learn more about him, go here: knoxville chiropractic

To learn what others have said about the doctor, go here: knoxville chiropractic

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Brain Damaged From Migraines or Seizures? Try These 6 Tips

In my experience, many migraine or seizure sufferers do not fully understand that, even when headaches or seizures are not occurring, there is brain damage occurring. Luckily, there are many proven ways to help protect your brain from these dangerous conditions.

With that being said, it is common for mainstream medicine to recommend medications that control the seizure or headache, but do nothing to help protect the brain. This is obviously a severe shortcoming and a failing in the way we treat migraines and seizures in society today. It is indescribably important for a patient to understand that the ultimate responsibility for their health lies within. It does NOT lie with the physician. They can guide and coach you, but the job of improving the health of your brain is yours alone.

Brain cells require a massive amount of energy (in the form of ATP) to function normally. The mitochondria inside of a cell is where this valuable ATP is made. You can't make all this energy needed to run a healthy brain cell without waste byproducts. Imagine lighting a fire to cook or heat water. When you do this, smoke is going to be produced as a by-product of the fire. And we all have heard that in a house fire more victims die of smoke inhalation rather than the fire itself. So this smoke can be dangerous. In physiology, this "smoke" produced as a by-product of generating ATP is termed "free radicals."

You may have heard of free radicals before. These free radicals are hostile little molecules that damage anything they touch. For those of you that used to play with fireworks as a child, the little "buzzing bee" type of firework always reminds me of a free radical. When they were lit, these little fireworks started to spin very rapidly in a circle, faster and faster, spitting small flames out the side. The end result is a small circle of fire spinning and buzzing all over the ground. So, picture this little buzzing bee molecule bouncing around inside of your cell, damaging anything it touches. Proteins in the cell, your DNA, even the mitochondria that produces the free radicals in the first place while making ATP. All can be damaged by free radicals.

Complicating this bad situation is the fact that the mitochondria do not do a very good job of protecting themselves from free radical damage. So the one part of the cell that we really, really want to protect and keep from being damaged, can't really protect itself very well. Too much damage and the mitochondria itself dies off, leaving the poor little neuron with less ATP factories to run the way it's supposed to.

This leads to what I refer to as a "sick neuron."

In general, if we stop a sick neuron from communicating with its healthy neighbor by loading people up with drugs and stopping the communication, we think that we've been successful. All we've done is stop the communication, but we haven't fixed the sick neuron. In many cases, that neuron continues to degenerate. If one neuron is going to be sick, it is highly likely that the situation is present for other neurons to be sick as well. Merely controlling the headache or the seizure with medications, rather than a complete program to heal the brain cells, is not optional. It is required if you'd like to truly improve the state of the way your brain is functioning and protect your cognitive ability for years to come.

Given that the mitochondria are so incredibly important in the process of brain health, what can we do to protect them inside of our brain cells? Here are some ideas.

1) Manage stress - is what you are stressing about as important as damaging your brain? Probably not.

2) Avoid environmental chemicals. There is a barrage of more than 82,000 chemicals registered with the FDA that we are exposed to on a daily basis. This ranges from having your house sprayed for bugs or weeds, to all the pesticides, fungicides and herbicides that are used on our conventionally grown produce. We have tens of thousands of chemicals in our environment that we were never been exposed to before and that our bodies are unsure of how to eliminate. As an example, there are the flame retardants built into things like clothing, mattresses, pillows, dog beds and furniture. As of July 2007, mattresses were required to have a much higher level of flame resistance; the amount of chemicals required to make it this flame resistant are much higher. These chemicals than show up in our bloodstream and may contribute to health problems by destroying our mitochondria. Another example is the use of nonstick cooking surfaces, which is achieved through the use of chemicals, which also show up in the bloodstream.

3) Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners. Period.

4) Avoid exposure to heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and aluminum. This can be achieved by taking your shoes off at the door, avoiding certain fish known to be high in mercury (like albacore tuna, ahi and swordfish) and staying away from cigarette smoke and areas where people commonly smoke.

5) Supplements like L-carnitine, Coenzyme Q10, whey protein and resveratrol have been shown to improve the health of our mitochondria.

#6 is clearly one of the most powerful methods to improve both the number and function of our mitochondria: Calorie restriction without nutrient restriction. This means that your 1200 calories / day comes from broccoli, not a Big Mac and supersized fries. With this approach, our cells have to use every scrap of glucose and every nutrient to function. Our cells run a tighter ship, creating more efficient and greater numbers of mitochondria. The opposite is true with too many calories-our cells get lazy and mitochondrial function heads south.

A study in the April issue of Free Radical Biology and Research provides further support of the concept that calorie restriction stimulates the production of more mitochondria in our brain cells, thereby protecting our brains and potentially reducing both the frequency and severity of migraine headaches and seizures, while working on truly healing the brain and eliminating these conditions.

For more reading http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584912000391.

Dr. Bogash has a passion for understanding physiology, the medical research and how the combination of these two can lower the risk of disease or manage current chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis or heart disease. Visit http://lifecarechiropractic.com/blog/?p=blogroll to sign up for Dr. Bogash's Rantings, a biweekly email that summarizes the daily blog posts related to improving society's health.

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