Drug info - Do any good otc,non acetaminophen containing migraine cures exist?

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim deals with some horrid migraine headaches from time to time.Excedrin Migraine is the only thing he has found that is over the counter and somewhat helps the problem.Swim really doesn't want to deal with acetaminophen at all though,thus swim has a problem.Any good remedies that don't contain this liver destroying poison?

[tayo]

ibuprofen works well... wouldn't suggest Head On considering it is just wax... uh, white willow bark contains something similar to aspirin in it, and aspiring itself could help. how you doin?

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim is pretty good,luckily he doesn't have a migraine this night.Swim just thought of this for future reference.Swim is curious about willow bark.He hasn't seen it in many stores and an all natural remedy for headaches and the like could prove useful.

[tayo]

A link!

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/w...ark-000281.htm

and an excerpt..

"
Studies suggest that willow bark may be useful for the following conditions:
Headache
Willow bark has been shown to relieve headaches and there is some evidence that it is less likely to cause the same gastrointestinal side effects that other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, do. However, studies have not shown this conclusively, and people who are prone to stomach upset may want to avoid willow bark. Large-scale studies are needed to fully determine the safety and effectiveness of willow bark for chronic or recurrent headaches.
Low back pain
Willow bark appears to be effective for back pain. In a well-designed study of nearly 200 people with low back pain, those who received willow bark experienced a significant improvement in pain compared to those who received placebo. People who received higher doses of willow bark (240 mg salicin) had more significant pain relief than those who received low doses (120 mg salicin).
Osteoarthritis
Several studies have shown that willow is more effective at reducing pain from osteoarthritis than placebo. In a small study of people with osteoarthritis of the neck or lower back, those who received willow bark experienced significant improvement in symptoms compared to those who received placebo. A similar study of 78 patients hospitalized with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip joint found that patients who received willow bark experienced significant pain relief compared to those who received placebo.
Other uses
Some professional herbalists may recommend willow bark for the following conditions, although at present, no scientific studies have supported these uses:

• Menstrual cramps
• Fever
• Flu
• Tendonitis
• Bursitis

DOSAGE....
ADULT
General dosing guidelines for willow bark are as follows:

• Dried herb (used to make tea): boil 1 - 2 tsp of dried bark in 8 oz of water and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes; let steep for ½ hour; drink 3 - 4 cups daily
• Powdered herb (available in capsules) or liquid: 60 - 240 mg of standardized salicin per day; talk to your doctor before taking a higher dose
• Tincture (1:5, 30% alcohol): 4 - 6 mL three times per day

[geophagus]

Perhaps SWIY should consider trying kratom to treat the pain.

SWIM has found kratom to be both a potent analgesic & anesthetic that rivals the best pain relieving medications that SWIM has ever tried. Kratom has multiple alkaloids, and it appears that mitragynine is the one that garners the most attention.

SWIM remembers reading that it's been proven to be more potent than morphine in laboratory animals, but SWIM is not sure where he read that. Anyhoot, SWIM did find these links to some similar information that tends to support what SWIM remembers reading concerning the equivelancy of the kratom alkaloids vs morphine:

http://opioids.com/kratom/index.html

http://opioids.com/kratom/mitragynine.html

http://opioids.com/kratom/hydroxymitragynine.html

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Thats right white willow was used to develop aspirin,swim read that in an article discussing how Bayer marketed both aspirin and heroin.If only Bayers more infamous product was still sold in the medicine aisle in your friendly,neighborhood,supermarket!

[tayo]

yeah, swim has had mixed results with kratom, sometimes it gives swim a headache or increases pain when swim already has a headache... but swim thinks it has to do with dehydration caused by kratom.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim has been very curious about kratom,swim is just skeptical about such things.Would it be worth it for swim to get something that may be opiate like when he could get actual opiates?Or is kratom in itself a whole new experience with marked differences from opiates?Swim would need a large amount of it most likely because he wants the sedating and painkilling effects not the stimulant ones.

[geophagus]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Would it be worth it for swim to get something that may be opiate like when he could get actual opiates?

In SWIM's opinion, yes it would be worth it to get the kratom. SWIM feels this way due to the fact that in the USA most of the actual opiates that are used for treating migraines are combined with acetaminophen & aspirin. Granted acetaminophen & aspirin are not the worst things to put into SWIY's body, it's just that SWIM does not feel that they are really needed, or wanted as much as the opiate itself, for SWIM that is, and appearantly you too considering the title of this thread.

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Or is kratom in itself a whole new experience with marked differences from opiates?

SWIM finds the effects to be indistiguishable from any other opiate he has tried. That would include codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine. The level to which the kratom was equivelant to any of those was in direct proportion to how much kratom had been consumed.

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Swim would need a large amount of it most likely because he wants the sedating and painkilling effects not the stimulant ones.

SWIM felt the same way about this, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that he only needed 7 to 10 grams to feel a very effective level of pain relief that he felt was the equivelant of having taken two Percodan or Percocet tablets (oxycodone/aspirin and oxycodone/acetaminophen respectively). That 7 to 10 grams equals a little more than 3 teaspoons or so of kratom powdered leaf, and SWIM does not consider that to be a large amount, especially considering that SWIM's a big boy at 6' tall & weighing in at 245 lbs, as well as the fact that SWIM is a seasoned stoner who is really not a lightweight (so to speak) concerning these things.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim doubts a heavy opiate tolerance would effect his abillity to experience kratoms effects,so he hopes.Swim also wonders if kratoms painkilling abillities would be good for migraines?Swims migraines are absolutely nothing like a regular headache.These things hurt so badly swim feels nauseas and finds it hard to stand up.

[geophagus]

SWIY should read the links that SWIM provided above when SWIM first responded to this thread which clearly state that kratom has been proven to have more powerful analgesic properties than morphine in laboratory animals.

SWIM does not have to wait for clinical trials on humans to prove that this is a real deal. SWIM spent very little cash on this several weeks back to sample it for himself, and SWIM has never been so impressed as he was by the effectiveness of kratom compared to any other non-prescription legal substance that SWIM has ever tried. Food for thought brother.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim has heard this a few times in various places,how true it is he can not attest.That is swims only qualm about kratom.He is worried it might disappoint him like other legal substances that were made to sound very good had in the past.However kratom is illegal in Thailand in Australia and has a known potential for addiction so something about it must really work.

[geophagus]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Swim has heard this a few times in various places,how true it is he can not attest.

Clinical trials that are published in peer reviewed journals do not attest opinions. They attest that which is testable, replicatable, and true.

[tayo]

oh, kratom is one of not too many "legal highs" that have distinct effects that swim would compare to vicodin. it definitely has noticeable effects, but it takes alot to nod off, it takes swim 30+ grams to hit a nodding point. definitely one to try if swiy likes opiates and definitely less addictive in swim's experience, which would be the biggest downside if not price, to traditional opiates.

[rxbandit]

Swim is not sure what exactly is available to swiy, but as for a treatment for migraines that is non perscription alot of evidence has surfaced that low doses of psilocybe cubenis mushrooms is very effective in combating cluster headaches and migraines. A friend of mine who suffers migraines has attested that a dose of around a gram of dried psilocybe cubenis mushrooms significantly helped the pain and overall impairment of his migraine headaches. Something to look into if these are available to swiy. If you google Migraine and psilocybe or something similiar you can find tons of journals and articles on the subject.

[Jatelka]

There is an article on Cluster headache's response to LSD and Psilocybin in the archive here...

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/loc...d=769&catid=68

Granted, Cluster Headache is a different beast to Migraine, but they are not completely unrelated

On a purely anecdotal note, a certain flamingo hasn't had a single migraine since she started using LSD again (she was crippled with them in her late teens and early twenties, when she didn't use it)

[Pomzazed]

500mg Mefenamic Acid?
A good choice of treating migraine (brand name : Proscar[in my country]).
Just take a note that dont take it with empty stomach.

[tayo]

Wikipedia's cluster headache photo! apparently it's this bad...

423px-Clusterhead.jpg