Natural Headache Relief

I first recall getting headaches on a regular basis when I was in 8th grade.  I'd take Ibuprofen but didn't notice much improvement.  I struggled with them off and on in my teenage years, but then it really escalated shortly after we got married.  Every day I'd wake up with a dull ache in my head and a burning sensation.  I described it as feeling like I'd been hit on the head with a hammer and having fiery hot spiders crawling around my brain.  Obviously, I've never actually experienced those things, but that's how I imagine this felt.  So I went to neurologist.  He was very intelligent and a good communicator.  He enlightened me about the differences between headaches and migraines.  Migraines aren't just bad headaches.  They don't go away with OTC medications.  They run in families.  You have a slightly different structure to the base of your skull.  He said, "You have a migraine right now, don't you?"  I said yes.  He told me he could tell because one of my pupils was dilated.  So interesting!  But ever sing learning that I have noticed that to be true for me when I'm experiencing a migraine.  Anyway, he got me started on a daily medication that really helped a lot, but once I got pregnant with Sarah I needed to get off of it.  While I was pregnant I didn't have too many migraines, but when I did it really stunk because I could only take Tylenol.  I actually had one of the worst ones ever the day I found out I was pregnant.  After Sarah was born I had every intention to get back on the medicine, but the migraines just never got horrific like they had been.

Like I said, I've never been one to take Ibuprofen and feel better half an hour.  Robert is the total opposite and is a new person half an hour after taking Aleve, just like in the commercials!  Any time I would get a migraine I pretty much knew that I would feel like that all day, and then sleep it off through the night.  Of course, this doesn't work great when you have a life like all of you probably do.  It's hard to "push through" a migraine and take care of a two year old all day.  So I started trying to educate myself, and I've come up with an arsenal to combat migraines that is working really well for me.  I want to share my positive experiences and knowledge with you, dear reader, just in case you suffer from migraines and could benefit from what I've learned.

1. Intervene as soon as possible - At this point in my life, I've learned that my migraines don't just go away.  They're only going to get worse throughout the day, so if at all possible I need to intervene as soon as I started to feeling one coming on.
2. Have a cup of coffee every morning - Various OTC medicines like Excedrin have caffeine in them, and for me I've noticed that if I have one cup of coffee right away when I wake up it really helps me prevent migraines for the day.  I don't drink more than that because I don't want to be jittery, and I try not to drink it any later in the day except for on special occasions so it doesn't interfere with my night time sleep.
3. Peppermint oil on trigger point - I totally wasn't an oils person, but since having Sarah I care more about what comes into our house, and I don't like the idea of having lots of chemicals around that could be deadly if ingested.  So anyway, I've gotten a bit into oils, but I'm not expert.  However, I can speak the praises of peppermint oil!  Seriously.  I rub this into the base of my head, my temples, or my forehead, and it starts providing relief almost instantly.  I love it!
4. Diffusing peppermint oil or lavender oil - Robert got me a diffuser for Christmas, and I've been enjoying it.  I've always like lavender for its scent and relaxation, but I've also started enjoying peppermint for the nausea associated with migraines.
5. Rice sock or cool eye mask - It changes, but every time I have a migraine I can easily tell if a hot rice sock or a cool eye mask is going to feel better.  My rice sock is not fancy.  It's literally a long tube sock with dry white rice in it, and I heat it up in the microwave for two minutes.  My cool eye mask stays in my refrigerator so it's ready whenever I need it.  Both feel good over my forehead/eye area or on the base of my skull.
6. Himalayan salt massage rocks - I mentioned in a previous post, that I'm not about to get into whether or not Himalayan salt ionizes the air or if that's even necessary, but massage rocks are awesome when you go to the spa, and these are just as great to have at home!  I like heating them up and rubbing them on my jaw, temples, head, and neck to provide some heat and pressure.
7. Magnesium oil - In 2017 I read a book called Sleep Smarter and was introduced to the benefits of magnesium oil.  Probably about five years ago I had learned about magnesium's ability to prevent headaches and calm anxiety, but when I took the supplements they made me really nauseous and were tough on my system, so when I learned about magnesium oil I was intrigued.  The author, Shawn Stevenson, presents scientific evidence that magnesium is best absorbed topically, so through something like an oil or a lotion.  I was able to buy magnesium oil from a local health food store, but I'm sure you could get it on Amazon easily as well.  I spray it on the bottom of my feet every night.  Since it does make them a bit oily it's nice to do it at night since I'm not trying to walk anywhere, but you could also just put on socks after putting it on.  Stevenson also recommends putting it on your chest, but I noticed that the oil was leaving grease stains on my clothes, so you've been forewarned.
8. Mouth guard - Previously, I told you that I've been diagnosed with TMJ and clenching my jaw in my sleep.  I got a custom-fit mouth guard and was really hoping that it would work since it was fairly pricey.  Within two days I was sold!  It's been a month now, and I have absolutely no dental pain, and I have to also imagine that clenching my jaw all night was not helping anything in the migraine department.  Often, when you grind your teeth your spouse notices and says something because it's a very annoying sound, but clenching your teeth/jaw is silent, so your spouse doesn't know that it's happening in the night.  My dentist could tell by the signs of wear on my teeth that I'm a clencher, so the next time you're at your dentist ask him if he can see signs of clenching or grinding.  Honestly, the mouth guard doesn't bother me at all when I sleep.  It has yet to fall out while I've been sleeping.  I was used to it after maybe five days.

I hope you notice some relief by implementing these tips!