Toronto-Centre Natropathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Migraine headaches are well treated using naturopathic medicine. Migraine headaches are debilitating headaches that may last for hours or days, and may start without warning or be preceded by an “aura” of visual and other symptoms. Migraine headaches may occur several times monthly, or only once or twice yearly. Some persons notice changes in their general well being in the days before a migraine, including increased thirst, food cravings or depression.
Seek emergency medical care if your headache:
- Is sudden and severe
- Accompanies a fever, stiff neck, rash, confusion, seizure, double vision, weakness, numbness or difficulty speaking
- Follows a head injury
- Gets worse despite rest and pain medication
- Is preceded by an aura, if you have never had an aura in the past
Symptoms of migraine headaches and auras
Possible symptoms of migraine headaches include:
- Possibly a preceding aura
- Pain affecting one or both sides of your head
- Pain of a pulsating or throbbing quality
- Moderate to severe pain intensity
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Aggravated by physical activity
Auras begin approximately 15 to 30 minutes before migraine headaches begin, and may continue for the duration of the headache. Possible symptoms of an aura include:
- Shimmering spots or stars across your field of vision
- Zigzag lines across your field of vision
- Blind spots in your field of vision
- Flashes of light in your field of vision
- Blurred vision
- Loss of vision in one eye
- Dizziness
- Speech difficulties
- Feelings of numbness and tingling
Migraine headache treatment at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of migraine headache treatment are to reduce pain and intensity of headache episodes, and reduce and (if possible) eventually eliminate recurrence.
Conventional treatment for migraine headaches may include a variety of medications, including antidepressants, beta blockers, anti-seizure medications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opiates which may have short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your migraine headache symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating migraine headaches is to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., stress, food sensitivities, sedentary lifestyle, sleep disruptions, use of estrogen-containing medications). Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Acupuncture
- Cleansing protocols
- Nutritional supplements
- Botanical (herbal) medicines
- Homeopathic medicines
- Bowen Therapy
Reference
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Migraine [Online]. [cited 2009 Feb 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-headache/DS00120
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Migraine with aura [Online]. [cited 2009 Feb 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-with-aura/DS00908