Migraine Prevention Guide
Still to this day, doctors do not know what exactly causes migraines, but over the years, they have concentrated on finding medications which will help prevent these headaches or decrease the frequency to which they occur. Migraines can cause severe pain, can occur frequently, and can lead to significant decreased quality of life.
For most people, exercise is a way to relieve stress, which can lead to headaches. When it comes to migraines, certain exercises can actually trigger the onset of the pain. So how does one stay healthy without triggering a migraine if they are prone to getting them? There are two ways to help prevent a migraine if you want to exercise. One way is to pay attention to what exercise causes the migraine, and try different exercises until you find the exercise that you can do without triggering a headache. Second, take medication for migraines when you feel one coming on to combat it before it strikes. Remember these three helpful tips on keeping your migraine away:
- Pay attention to migraine triggers.
- Be willing to make lifestyle changes.
- Take migraine medication.
Beta-Blockers
Preventive medication is a type of treatment that is good for people who have frequent migraines. This approach is good to take unless you experience side effects from this type of medication. These drugs can lessen migraine pain, prevent the onset of migraines, or reduce the number of migraines per month.
Even though beta-blockers are usually used to treat heart disease and blood pressure; they somehow seem to help with migraines too. Physicians believe that blood flow improvement from using the beta-blockers may be the key to preventing the migraines. They aren't exactly positive in their studies. Some of these drugs are Inderal, Innopran XL, Blocadren, Lopressor, and Toprol XL.
Antiepileptic Drugs
Antiseizure drugs are also known to prevent migraines. Neurons in the brain are calmed by certain antiseizure medications. Even though the percentage isn't high, 20% of people who have epilepsy have migraines. Studies show that neurons excitability may be partly responsible for epilepsy and migraines. Medications to take which will help with both are:
- Depakote
- Depacon
- Topiragen
- Topamax
Next Page: triptans, botox, and lifestyle changes.
