What would be good to take for migraines? I have no health insurance so I can't go to the doctor to get my former lifesaver of the demerol/vistaril injection. I need to find an herbal remedy that will help me. They are horrible.

  Google the words: herbal vasodilator. All migraine meds are vasodilators, except the demerol part is a pain killer. Aspirin will work better than other over-the-counters. Once you google, choose one that will be cost effective and available in your area. Also, talk to a pharmacist. There are lots of programs to help people who can't afford meds, especially with chronic conditions like migraine. I am an RN, so I'm not just talking out of my arse here...

  Until you get some help, avoid alcohol. Warm steamy showers/baths or a warm washcloth over your face and neck may help. Try 350mg of aspirin. RELAX!!! Do something soothing to try and avoid tension pile-ups when you feel the migraine on the horizon.

  Hope you feel better. I will think of you and pray for some relief to come your way. Chronic pain is hard to live with but don't give up!

Migraines are horrible!! I have to catch mine as soon as I realize my peripheral vision is afflicted for best management.  I trust you can detect early-(ish) when one is incoming?  I take advil with caffeine right away.  I do that for cramps too, it seems to help.  Then I go to a quiet dark room and check out for a bit (take a nap) or I lay there and flex and relax the muscles in my back, shoulders, neck, face/head.  I read that just going into full relax  mode can fuel the painful symptoms because the blood vessels open up even more and go >ouch!  So alternating flex/relax does seem to help. Definitely watch your neck and shoulders to be sure they're not terribly tense and nothing else during a migraine.

Here are some other interesting things to try.  Sit in a chair with your feet in water that's as hot as you can stand it.  Then put a handtowel or kitchen towel that's icy cold around your neck and maybe one more over your eyes. This one sounds good to me and I'm gonna try it next time.

I've also heard that massaging your feet to the point of almost painfulness can help too.

Peppermint oil on your temples. Or, lavender, eucalyptus (be careful and try oils beforehand on the inside of your wrist or somewheres, some can be burny), clove and sandalwood.

Go to iso-tones.com and listen to the tones recommended for headaches or pain.  Listen the first time when you do NOT have a headache to see how you tolerate the tones.  Play with the volume and such and see what you think.  I find them vastly helpful, but I haven't tried the one for headaches yet.   haven't had one. *knock on wood*  I'll be grateful to Ember for recommending that site for a long time!

Almonds. Eat 10-12.  Also might try almond oil on your temples.

Riboflavin (B2) and magnesium

Accupuncture/pressure

Regular sleep patterns. Regular eating patterns. Regular exercise to cope with the chronic effects of stress.

When you're suffering, no TV, no computer, no electronic business.  LOTS of water  or tea.

I hope something in there is useful!  Feel better!

Thanks ladies, I appreciate the info. Unfortunately my migraines rarely ever come on me when I am awake. They usually come on during the middle of the night and I wake up with them. Which usually means I will have at least 1 miserable day so I need remedies that will help take an already raging migraine away from me in most cases.

Okay, very important correction here!! VASOCONSTRICTOR!! not vasodilator. I took a nap and recharged my brain ( only running on about 3 hrs of sleep this morning ) and it came to me I told you backwards. Everything else is still good prevention advice, I just wrote my terms bass-ackwards. So sorry if it caused any harm!! So in short, google herbal vasoconstrictor and try some of those along with relaxation techniques. Oh, and the cold neck/face with hot feet during a migraine may surprise you. That one was Great!!

I'm going to try that hot feet-cold neck/face thing, I promise!  Next time I get one. It does sound good!  Most of those things I listed are things you can try in full swing of a migraine except the ones that are preventative like regular meals/sleep/exercise and riboflavin.  Some ppl swear by the riboflavin anyways.

marjoram and a quiet room work awesome for my migraines!

I have migraine attacks since more than 10 years! I tried a lot of things: i changes my eating habits. I cancelled dairy products, drank lots of water, cancelled chocolate....nothing changed. I tried different kinds of medicine. At the moment i take sumatriptan. It helps really good, but unfortunately makes me a bit sleepy...

I cannot do the reagular sleepnig and eating thing since i have a job with very variing shifts, also night shifts.

I just found out that I get what are called "Silent Migraines" still researching that one! Seems it's like all the symptoms of migraine but without the headache, maybe they call it a "silent" migraine because of that, you're not moaning in agony LOL

Hi in the UK we can chew the bark of willow which is an ancient headache remedy further than this I believe the cultivar named "crack willow" (assumingingly named after the way the bark cracks?) is the most potent. but please research it well first and make sure you're dealing with willow there. -edit, apparently aspirin comes from willow just searched.

I am lucky here as health care is free and my doctor prescribes me migraleive which is paracetemol based with something called bucclizine in it but it can be purchased over the counter here too; also get atenolol to lower blood pressure. I hope this helps, I always have to sit in the dark too when one comes on.

Do you suspect that you may have a sleep apnea issue?

Like you, I get migraines fairly often and have no insurance.  Excedrin Migraine helps me.  It doesn't completely get rid of the migraine but it usually brings it down to a manageable level.  Good luck and, if you find anything else that works, let me know!