Living with Migraines Series: Feverfew Tea

Looking for an all natural method for migraines? Feverfew may be an option for you. Once you get the medicinal plant into your system, you may find the healing effects what you are looking for to help ease the havoc that wreaks throughout your body.

Last summer, I began reading about herbs for migraines after reading a blogging friend's usage of feverfew tea for her daughter's migraines. It  also got me thinking about all the money I spent trying to prevent and ease migraines and all the chemicals I was adding to my system and how many of those were not actually needed. Boy, the money!  I can just see it going up in smoke. Some of those shots were $100 a piece. My insurance did not cover them, but hey, they worked.  They worked so well, the side effects made me think I was on fire from the point of the injection all the way to the top of my head. It was not pleasant and I would never go with that prescription again!

I know many people don't believe in the use of herbs or that they really work. I remember the first time I heard about using herbs, all I could think of was a hippy witch doctor ~ I have my upbringing to thank for that thought. Sadly, many people who live a  more natural life are considered off in their thinking, but they are more than likely healthier than most people. When I think about herbs, I think how God created them and he gave man the wisdom to use herbs for thousands of years before there were any chemical laden medicine. Think about it!

Living With Migraines: Feverfew Tea

In February, I finally broke down and bought some bulk feverfew.  I was planning on making tea with it since I had read that it is easier and quicker for the body to absorb the tea than it is for it to be in a pill form. Of course, if I had feverfew growing, I could chew on the leaves, but after drinking the tea, there is NO WAY I could chew on leaves. :) It's that bad!

Here's is what I wrote about receiving and making the first cup of tea.

I love getting mail! When my husband came on home on Friday, he had a box for me. I was excited because I was anticipating the delivery of my vanilla beans, Feverfew and tea infuser that I had ordered the day before Valentine's Day. Being new to buying bulk herbs, I didn't realize four ounces was quite so much. I've been reading up on Feverfew and the best way to take it for migraines and from what I've read, a tea is better than a pill, since it is already been broken down for your system. With a tea, you can drink it a couple of times a week to help in preventing the migraine. This is something I'm working on at the moment.

Yes, I'm trying my best to drink this tea down as quickly as possible. It tastes just like it smells~ dried weeds! Actually, if I would have added more honey or sugar it probably wouldn't taste so bad. I'm seriously going to be considering buying the capsules to fill.

I can't help but giggle when I think back to that day. Yes, Feverfew is an extremely bitter herb. There is no getting around the taste, as far as I can see.  The first trial run of drinking the tea made me realize, I would probably not be able to take it during a migraine. The first couple of sips made me nauseous. I just knew I wasted money on this. After finishing up what I could, I had no ill side effects. I just didn't see me being able to drink this a couple of times a week. In all honesty, extra honey and sugar will not help any.

It wasn't until after I began digging around the internet for help with the taste that I found THIS webpage. I read about the soothing effect Feverfew has on your body. If you've ever suffered from a migraine then you know what kind of havoc it can wreak on you. I was amazed at all the ways Feverfew helps your body throughout a migraine. I was able to find out if the soothing of Feverfew was real, last Saturday. I was quite thrilled to not experience any of the other effects of a migraine that I normally experience.

I steeped a cup of tea for about 30 minutes. I had to hide the tea in a glass of sweet tea. I tried hiding it in a Dr. Pepper and ruined the Dr. Pepper. All I could taste was the tea. Sweet tea hid it and within two hours after finishing up the last of the bitter brew, my migraine was gone.

Hopefully, this will not be like some of the over the counter medicines that work for a few months and then stop. I'm hoping this will be my go to remedy for migraines here on out. Yeah, I'm really thinking about making the tincture for a preventive route. And for all those who think bad about bringing alcohol into your home to make an all natural remedy... you can't bring in NyQuil without bringing in the alcohol.  ~ Just a thought.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a healthcare provider. I am simply a wife who is sharing what she has learned from research and a trial and error routine of finding healthy alternative for myself and family.

Living with Migraines Series {Part 2}

I noticed several of my friends mentioning they have been suffering from migraines lately. Thankfully, I have not had one since July but I completely understand what they are going through.

Living With Migraines Part 2

Since I have not had a migraine in a while which is a surprise for me, I thought I would share what I have used in the past to ease the pain or to prevent them.  Sadly, the list is long and scary! It took me many years, to finally move closer to natural healing. Even now, there are times when I have to take something stronger.

The list starts from when I was first prescribed medicine and ends with the last prescription I was prescribed.

•  Fiorcet
•  Fiorcet with Codeine 
•  Naproxen
•  Inderal 
•  Toradol 
•  Darvocet 
•  Demerol shots 
•  DHE nasal spray 
•  Imitrex
•  Imitrex shots

I told you it was long and SCARY! Sadly, I used all of those different medicines within a 12 year period. When I was under the care of a neurologist while working to find a treatment that would work, he advised two things for me to try. The first thing he told me was to make sure I was not propping my head up on the arm of the sofa while watching TV or reading.  With the way the neck is being "misplaced" it brings stress to the area. During a migraine, the neck and spine need to be aligned correctly to help ease the stress that is going on. Lying flat is the best position while trying to recover. The second thing I was advised, drink lemonade at the onset and during a migraine.  It was not until I started making fresh lemonade that I started seeing a difference. Yeah, I was once a Country Time drinker!

 I still do not prop my head up in an odd position to watch TV and/or read. I sleep with a super soft goose down pillow to help with keeping my spine aligned.  If I have a migraine, I will sleep without it.

In the last year of taking the Imitrex shots, a lady I taught school with recommended a homeopathic spay for me to try. It was similar to MigraSpray and I bought it at Walmart; it was a green bottle with a yellow label. I can't find anything about it on the internet now, so there's no telling what it was or if it is still around.

Once I started using the forgettable name of spray, I also used aspirin to help alleviate the pain. Another friend explained why the aspirin helped ~ the blood vessels in area of the migraine were constricting and the aspirin helped the blood flow through the vessels. Aspirin doesn't always work, but it has helped with the pain in the past. Since aspirin can harm your stomach lining and other organs, it's definitely something I don't use very often.

In the last year, I have been reading up on herbal treatments for migraines. I have not used any so far, but I am planning on giving herbs a try within the next month or so. I will keep you updated on how that works for me.

If you missed the first part you can read Living With Migraines. I’ve also shared about Feverfew Tea for Migraines.

Living with Migraines Series {Part 1}

Until you have experience the debilitating effects of migraines, it's hard to imagine what one goes through during a migraine. For about 25 years I have suffered from migraines. I don't really remember having them until my last three years in high school; from then on migraines have been a part of my life.

 I remember the first time I went to the doctor to try and get some help; our family had moved to an area that really was not up to speed when it came to medicine so the doctor prescribed medicine to deal with the pain and did not try to diagnose the problem.  I received several prescriptions and shots over a five year period with no help.

For five years I suffered with excruciating pain when I had a headache. Not only did I have pain, but I also had nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. Ninety percent of my migraines effect one side of my head with a pulsating pain. The other ten percent will effect the whole top of my head with the same pain.

Living with Migraines

One day in 1994, I had my first AURA;  I went to work with a blinding headache. Literally, I could not see to drive into work that morning. To this day, I don't know how I got to work without having a wreck.  After being at work, I took 2 Tylenol and waited. Two hours later, I took 2 Advil and nothing happened. Two hours later, I took 2 more. A friend had a sample of a new Tylenol rapid release that had not hit the market and I took them; nothing worked. I was at the point where I could not see, nor could I stand. I was very ill with the nausea and had to lay on a couch in an office. Everyone was afraid for me to fall asleep because of all the medicine I took, so a friend called my mom.

I spent the next two days trying to recover from the worst headache I had ever experienced up until that week. After visiting an ENT doctor to rule out sinus problems, I was seen by neurologists in a headache center. I will never forget that day as long as I remember. When the doctor came in, I explained the pain, the side effects and how I felt at that moment. The doctor's assistant came in with a tray of several syringes. I was given five shots in my neck and in the area of the headache in the back of my head. Let's just say, I felt good not long after those shots. That day I was diagnosed with migraines.

After being sent home with a little homework (a detailed journal) I discovered I had inherited my migraines. Both of my grandmothers suffered from them. My father's mother who was still living at that time, told me how she would have to lay down under the cotton plants while she was in the field when one hit. My mother's mother had them and would drink an icy cold Coke and take a Stanback powder for hers.

I also learned I have a trigger food I have to be careful eating. Processed meat is my biggest contributor to my migraines. We don't eat a lot of processed meat because of this, but when we do, we eat turkey. I personally love a fried bologna sandwich and a good hot dog, when we eat those meats, I have to buy turkey.

Anytime the barometric pressure rises, I can count on having a migraine. I use to watch and listen to the weather all time, so I would know what the barometric pressures was doing. Now days, I don't even pay attention to it. When I have a migraine and know for a fact that I have not eaten any processed meat, I know the barometer is moving up.

Sadly, my son has inherited the dreadful migraine headaches. Thankfully, he doesn't have them too often. He usually only has two or three a year and his are mostly weather related, although, I suspect process meats maybe a culprit.

Migraines are not like other headaches

Migraine headaches are NOT your typical headache. I have been told by people over the years, "I come to church with a headache" or "I got all my papers graded and I had a headache" the list goes on and on.  Unless you have personally had a migraine attack, it is hard to understand what one goes through during an episode. These attacks are violent, they can last from 4 hours to 3 days or longer, the pain is debilitating, the other symptoms are not only bothersome, but some of them are down right scary.

I deal with migraines at least on a weekly basis. Within the next few weeks, I'll be writing more about how I deal with my attacks and explain what I go through while trying to live comfortably through one.