How I Got Rid of My Migraines without Medication: An Editorial
I used to be a regular sufferer of migraine headaches, and when I say sufferer, I really do mean it, it was utter misery that I would never wish on another human being. I got migraines three or four times a month that would last the whole day and be followed by another day of total exhaustion, so I was losing up to eight days a month of my life to migraine.
They started with a strange pain in my face and then later I would develop a headache that got gradually worse, until I could no longer stand any noise or light. I would be bed-bound in darkness, being sick for the remainder of the day.
Having tried acetaminophen as a child, I found it didn’t help me so I didn’t try it again. The only relief I got was from using an electric fan and putting cold compresses on my head.
Then one day I read in an alternative therapy book that if a migraine was caused by hypertension or a dietary problem, it could be relieved by peppermint. I decided to experiment with the theory and started drinking two or three cups of peppermint tea as soon as I felt the strange pain in my face.
I found that as long as I drank it immediately, the migraine would fail to develop. If I waited for the first symptoms of headache, it would progress and there was nothing I could do about it.
I did this for a couple of years, always keeping a supply of peppermint tea in the house in case of emergency, and all my migraines aborted before they took hold.
Then I began keeping a food diary and realized that my migraines always happened after drinking red wine and percolated coffee, so I stopped drinking red wine and switched from percolated to instant coffee and immediately stopped getting the face pain and migraine.
That was five years ago and I’ve never had another migraine since.
Medical Evidence for Peppermint Use for Headaches and Migraine
The International Journal of Clinical Practice found in a study in 2010, that menthol (the active ingredient of peppermint) was effective at aborting migraines without aura, or significantly easing them.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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