This was me today, feeling insane while driving and getting a migraine. Hard to explain if you don’t get migraines with auras. Colors and disorientation. I couldn’t get my hat down low enough and couldn’t find my migraine shades for the first 5 minutes of the onset. Pulled over and found them and took this.
I was going to submit some poems, with the hot weather upon us, I thought it was important to share this migraine headache protocol. For me, and many others, the likelihood they’ll have a migraine increases with the hot weather. The heat, the smoke, the bright refracted light, the glare off of cars while driving can all trigger a migraine. I have been photophobic since I was a child.
At the onset, to prevent it from escalating
Imitrex 25 or 50mg
For the anxiety
Immediately take nervines, hypnotics, and sedatives in tincture form. Usually a combo of passiflora, lactuca, kava kava, pedicularis densiflora, California poppy, and vervain.
I also take 3000 mg of glycine (amino acid) very effective in relieving anxiety and panic.
Drink 8 ounces of water mixed with Calm (Magnesium) and electrolytes.
1 mg Lorazepam
For light sensitivity
Immediately put on shades.
Close your eyes or go into a dark room.
Put on a migraine helmet and ice on the carotid artery in the neck (base of the skull) This helped to reduce the inflammation in the brain.
Reduce stimulation of all kinds.
If the headache part makes it though (despite imitrex) I have a cup of black unsweetened strong coffee (vasoconstrictive) to constrict blood vessels in the brain.
Postdrome care (which can last 3 weeks for me)
Migraine helmet, electrolytes, hydration, and continued magnesium. Cold nettle infusion. Lots of rooibos tea. Lots of sleep, stay out of the sun. Wear migraine glasses inside as well as outside. Apply Icy Hot from top of shoulders all the way up to the bad of the head. Avoid movies with flashing lights and busy scenes. Avoid bright screens of all kinds, computers, smartphones, etc. Keep lights dim. Take lukewarm or cool showers.
Prevention
Above all, avoid all high histamine foods. 25mg amitriptyline each night before bed. 50g quercetin capsules each night. 15g CoQ10 to lower levels of the pain-related protein CGRP. Drink rooibos tea daily, drink cold nettle infusions or chilled nettle tea often. Avoid getting super stressed out.
Let things go.
~ Migraineur of 41 years
This should not be taken as medical advice at all, this is merely what works for me.
Prettythunder Jolaoso
Prettythunder Jolaoso She lives in the deep woods of Northern California on the native land and home of the Kashaya Pomo, with her family and two dogs Rosie Farstar and Ilumina Holy Dog. She is a farmer, freedom grower, practitioner and student of herbal medicine and the founder of The Cloud Women's Dream Society, as well as a contributor and publisher of Cloud Women's Quarterly Journal. She is a well-traveled poet who loves rock, porch swings, pickup trucks, cooking, campfires, lightning, steak, long drives, hot cups of coffee, gathering and making medicine and singing with friends and family. She is a practitioner of Indigenous Spiritual and healing traditions. Generationally gifted/ cursed and charged with possessing the 5 Clairs.