Migraine is a painful condition from which all sufferers want immediate relief. Unfortunately, it is not enough that you use medication to get rid of its symptoms, but to manage it in such a way as to minimize its recurrence, if not totally avoid it.
The objectives of treatment for migraine are to relieve current pain and to minimize attacks. But before even deciding on how best to relieve the pain, you need to know what triggers your migraine attacks so as to avoid them. This is your first line of defense against headaches.
As you probably know, stress is one of the major triggers of migraine. You need to learn, understand and practice relaxation techniques to minimize migraine attacks. You also need to consult your doctor to help you understand the real cause of your pain, like lack of sleep, stress, fatigue, and certain drinks and foods. More importantly, your doctor can provide you with the necessary medications to relieve and control your discomfort.
Preventive treatments include the use of doctor-prescribed drugs to keep you from getting head pains. They include medications like antidepressants, blood pressure medication, and anti-seizure medicine. They are taken daily to treat actual headaches and to lessen the frequency and severity of migraine episodes, especially if you experience more than one migraine per week.
It is important though that they are taken under your doctor’s supervision to minimize risks, normally through overuse and side effects. It likewise must be noted that some medications have addictive properties. They are not to replace the value of recognizing and dealing with the triggers that may be causing your migraine.
Another way of treating migraine headaches is through abortive medication used, as the name suggests, to abort or prevent a migraine attack as it starts. Abortive drugs include triptans, which help lower serotonin levels in the body. Triptans specifically target headache pain, but not back problems, arthritis, menstruation, and other conditions that trigger bodily pains.
There are other medications not specific for migraines, but which can help ease almost any kind of pain – Butalbital compound (Fioricet, Fiorinal) and Acetaminophen and codeine (Tylenol with Codeine). They are less desirable than the other migraine-specific drugs, primarily because they can be habit forming, but they can be taken primarily as a “backup” when a specific drug does not work.
A lot of people rely on a number of over-the-counter (OTC) medications for headaches, but you should be aware that they could lose their potency through overuse. This is a pitfall for many migraineurs, who rely on OTC medicines and experience more intense pain and photophobia when their effectiveness wears off. In this case, you should make a quick visit to your doctor because he can help you overcome your pain.