Feverfew For Fewer Migraines

I've never had migraines, although I used to suffer terribly from frequent headaches. I still get a whopper of a headache, once in a while, but certainly not as often as in the past. It's usually stress or pillow-related, and sometimes lasts throughout the day, finally dissipating the following morning. They're never fun, and I can empathize with migraine-sufferers who have to deal with much more than just a pounding head that they'd give anything to chop off their willing shoulders. I've had many a headache where I've felt very much like doing that, or at least paying someone to do it for me.

So, add to an agonizingly painful head: extreme sensitivity to light, nausea, and some vomiting for good measure, and you have the symptoms of a full blown migraine. I've had friends who get them, so I've seen how debilitating they can be.

If you get migraines you might want to consider:

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium):

It's a member of the sunflower family, and the dried leaves (along with the flowers and stems, sometimes) are used to combat not only migraines, but fevers, stomachaches, insect bites, toothaches and several other things.

A clinical study of patients taking a combination of Feverfew and White Willow (aspirin-like herb) taken twice daily for 12 weeks, reduced the frequency, intensity and duration of migraine attacks.

The Rodale Book "The Herbal Drugstore" recommends using a feverfew tincture or capsules that contain freeze-dried feverfew leaves, and NOT supplements made with dried leaves. Apparently, it won't work and could possibly worsen the migraines. They recommend taking the following daily:

15 drops of the tincture daily or
300-mg capsules per day

Though it might not work for everyone, I'd think it would be worth a try. However, as with all herbs, make sure you thoroughly research the potential side-effects etc. Further information and details of side effects etc. can be found on the above links. The following is taken from one of those websites, UMM.edu:

Precautions

The use of herbs is a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. Herbs, however, contain components that can trigger side effects and that can interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, herbs should be taken with care, under the supervision of a health care provider qualified in the field of botanical medicine.
Side effects from feverfew can include abdominal pain, indigestion, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and nervousness. Mouth ulcers, loss of taste, and swelling of the lips, tongue, and mouth may occur in some individuals who chew raw feverfew leaves. Allergic reactions to feverfew, although rare, have also been reported. In fact, people with allergies to chamomile, ragweed, or yarrow will likely be allergic to feverfew and, therefore, should not take it.

Feverfew may increase the tendency to bleed, especially in individuals with bleeding disorders or taking blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin or warfarin. Do not use feverfew if you have bleeding disorders or are taking blood-thinning medications unless you are under the supervision of a doctor.
Pregnant and nursing women as well as children under 2 years of age should not take feverfew.

Do not abruptly stop taking feverfew if you have used it for more than 1 week. A withdrawal syndrome characterized by rebound headache, anxiety, fatigue, muscle stiffness, and joint pain may occur.

The Basis of Homeopathy

Guest posted by Frasypoo at This and That



The basis of homeopathy

Like cures like
For example, if the symptoms of your cold are similar to poisoning by mercury, then mercury would be your homeopathic remedy.

Minimal Dose
The remedy is taken in an extremely dilute form; normally one part of the remedy to around 1,000,000,000,000 parts of water.

The Single Remedy
No matter how many symptoms are experienced, only one remedy is taken, and that remedy will be aimed at all those symptoms.

What I like about homeopathy medicines was that it was aimed towards the patient, it was not a one size fits all deal! I started getting migraines when I was 11, and it was horrible. I got those "auras" and puked all over my classroom!! My mom would be called to school to come and pick me up. Those days we did not have a telephone and there would be one person on the road I lived on who did, and they would have to pass on a message to my mother! Since my dad was at work, my mom would have to get an auto (a three wheeler taxi) and take me home!! What an ordeal! But my mom had migraines when she was young, and she decided to take me to the homeopath. It was a free clinic every Friday, and you had to get there 2 hours early! That was the only homeopath they knew. But once I started on medication I had very few attacks.

The pills are tiny, like little mustard seeds, and tasted like sugar. I also remember them telling me not to drink coffee! As I grew older I discontinued the medicine since the migraines were rare. I started getting them once a year when I moved here, and that's when I had to get my mom send me some. I wrote my entire case history on a letter and she took it to the homeopath.....a new one who lived near her house! But that's how we have been doing it so far. She mails them to me and it costs about $25.00. I could have labelled this post as how homeopathy saved my life, because it did. There are virtually no side effects, though the coffee part bothers me. I am not nice without my coffee in the mornings, but I switch to tea when I remember to do so.

Homeopathy works with your body and not against it. I would recommend it to anyone who would be willing to give it a try.