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Fever-few
My cousin swears by fever-few leaves, which she has every day. I find them rather bitter, though. Can I get them in tablet form?
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is available as the pure leaf or leaf extract, both of them in capsule form. The pure leaf form is taken three times a day and the leaf extract just once daily.
How can I be sure I am taking the right amount of feverfew?
Research suggests that 100 mg of leaf extract, once daily, should be taken with food. You should take it for three months to see if there is a reduction in headache days. If there is no effect at that dose, it is probably not going to help.
For how long should I take the feverfew?
Feverfew is used as a preventative drug, and these are usually taken for three months to see if there is any response. If at the end of three months there has been an improvement, it is reasonable to take it for a total of six months before stopping it. If the attacks come back, you can always start taking it again.
Are there any side effects I can expect from using feverfew?
Mouth ulcers tend to be the main side effect experienced with feverfew. You may experience soreness or inflammation of the mouth and even a loss of taste. Other side effects include a bitter taste in the mouth, indigestion, diarrhoea, and possibly nausea and/or vomiting.
Should I talk to my doctor before trying feverfew?
It is not essential to see your doctor but it might be worth checking that your blood pressure is normal. You should not use feverfew if you are on the contraceptive Pill, or are pregnant or breast feeding.
Minerals, Vitamins and Supplements
Someone in my local health-food shop suggested that I try magnesium. Does magnesium work?
Magnesium was found to be effective in two out of three trials in reducing the frequency of migraine but side effects were relatively high. Diarrhea affected nearly 20% of people and irritation of the stomach affected nearly 5%.
What dose of magnesium should I take?
The dose of magnesium used in trials looking at migraine prevention was 300 mg a day.
If I find that magnesium works for me, how long should I take it?
Using magnesium in this way is about migraine prevention, so you should try it for three months and see if there is a reduction in headache days at the end of that time.
Any preventative drug should be taken for three months to assess whether there is any reduction in headache frequency. If there is no significant change, it should be stopped. If there is some improvement, continue taking it for a maximum of six months and then stop it. The aim is to break the cycle of headache days – there is no treatment that will be able to stop them completely.
Another customer in the health-food shop was buying riboflavin for her headache. What is riboflavin? Can it help my migraine?
Riboflavin, vitamin B2, is a co-enzyme that is involved in energy production in the muscle cells of the body. (An enzyme is a protein that controls chemical reactions that occur in the body, and a co-enzyme is a substance that is essential for enzymes to work and do the job they were designed for.)
The results of trials using riboflavin have suggested that it is effective in reducing the number of migraines experienced.
If I decide to try riboflavin, what dose would I need to take?
The recommended dose is 400 mg a day. You may notice some benefit after a few weeks but the maximum potential effect will be achieved after three months of daily treatment. The most dramatic side effect is that it turns urine bright yellow. The only other side effects that have been documented are diarrhea and polyuria (passing a lot of urine).
Someone suggested that butterbur could help my migraine.
Can you tell me a bit about it?
Butterbur must be used in the form of purified root extract. It has been shown to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks by more than 50% when taken by adults for four months at a dose of 75 mg twice a day. It has been used with good effect in children aged 6 to 9 years at a dose of 25 mg twice daily and in adolescents aged 10 to 17 years at a dose of 50 mg twice daily.
Could co-enzyme Q10 work in reducing the number of migraines I get?
Co-enzyme Q10, if taken, is used as a preventative drug. A small study found that co-enzyme Q10 at a dose of 150 mg a day reduced the number of migraine days by more than 50%.
Reiki
I was reading an article recently about complementary therapies, and it mentioned Reiki. What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese word meaning ‘universal energy’ or ‘universal life energy’. It is a system of natural healing in which the Reiki practitioner places their hands over the body of someone who is lying down, fully clothed, and relaxed. The healing is said to occur at any level, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
Reiki sounds a bit way out. Is it safe?
It is said that Reiki is gentle and can be used for a wide variety of conditions in many different settings. Although there is no scientific evidence supporting its healing claims, it involves relaxation, which might help you and certainly won’t do any harm.
If I decide to try it, what can I expect from a Reiki session?
You should wear comfortable clothes and will be encouraged to either sit or lie down. The practitioner will have a light and gentle touch. You may feel heat, tingling, coolness, or throbbing sensations under the hand as it moves around your body, or you may
feel nothing at all. At the end of the session, which can last up to an hour, you should be left with a feeling of well-being and relaxation, or may come away feeling energized.
Everyone is different.
