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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2002 >> herbal remedies
        
(Message started by: JimF on Apr 8^th, 2002, 4:48pm)

Title: herbal remedies
Post by JimF on Apr 8^th, 2002, 4:48pm

Ive been taking feverfew 4- 3xdaily...it seems to help. Also read that all CH patients have a magnesium deficiency so ive been taking that....and a B complex vitamin.
believe it or not, the pain level seems to be down. im only taking the imitrex about 1 out of 3 headaches.

Title: Re: herbal remedies
Post by notseinfeld on Apr 9^th, 2002, 12:16am

Jim,

whatcha got on literature so far as a Mg shortage is concerned? I've never heard that before.

thx

nots

Title: Re: herbal remedies
Post by JimF on Apr 9^th, 2002, 9:18am

had to think back....actually, there was an neuro on the Today show. He said studies show CH sufferers consistently have a mag deficiency. I simply bought a bottle of mag tablets and took double the recommended dosage. he also said take B2..it stimulates brain cell activity.
Also just had two headache free nights after taking a Claritin before bedtime...maybe coincidence, maybe not. but worth a try.

Title: Re: herbal remedies
Post by Bob_P on Apr 9^th, 2002, 10:39am

This again from an article in the OUCH Research Library:

SERUM IONIZED MAGNESIUM LEVELS (IMg2+) IN 500 PATIENTS WITH HEADACHES
A Mauskop

New York, NY

BT Altura, RQ Cracco, BM Altura

Brooklyn, NY

Serum IMg2+ levels below 0.54 mmol/L predict the response of patients with migraine and cluster headaches to IV infusions of MgSO4. IMg2+ levels are a more sensitive indicator of Mg deficiency than total Mg levels. The objective of this study was to measure IMg2+ in 500 patients with headaches and to correlate IMg2+ with clinical features. All patients presenting to our headache clinic were asked to consent to have blood drawn for IMg2+ measurement. There were 127 men and 373 women; 22 were under 18, 401 between ages 18 and 49, and 77 older than 49. Tension headaches was the main diagnosis in 45 patients, chronic tension headaches in 83, migraine without aura in 208, migraine with aura in 38, chronic daily headache in 81, and cluster headache in 45. IMg2+ was below 0.54 mmol/L in 29% of patients. The only clinical feature that correlated with low IMg2+ was pulsatile quality of pain (P<0.03). These results indicate a high incidence of low IMg2+ in patients with headaches. In a prior study, in patients during an acute migraine attack, we found this incidence to be as high as 53%. The latter patients responded to IV MgSO4. Pulsatile quality of pain may be a useful clinical indicator of low lMg2+.
~~~~~~

Too bad they didn't separate the CH from the rest in their data however, since pulsatile quality of the pain is the indicator and since CH is not pulsatile pain but a constant boring type of pain, I guess one could conclude the clusterheads don't have low magnesium. Still be much more conclusive if there was a study on clusterhead mg levels.