Originally published February 15 2006
Holistic medicine offers hope to people suffering from migraine headaches
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Norwich Bulletin provides a glimpse of how holistic medical practitioners like Dr. Stephen Reisman, director of the Mind-Body Medical Center in Nashville, and Dr. Patrick Lavin, director of the Vanderbilt Headache Clinic, employ alternative medicine to help patients suffering from migraine headaches.
On the advice of a friend, she saw a physician who took a holistic perspective on her health and prescribed dietary changes, supplements, stress reduction and exercise.
She says that over a period of about three years, she went from having weekly -- sometimes twice weekly -- migraines to having migraines every six weeks or so.
Holistic medicine practitioners say addressing the triggers of migraines and using supplements and herbs to minimize symptoms can help others with the condition do the same.
Prescription drugs aim to treat or prevent migraines, but they don't work for everyone and have side effects ranging from liver damage to hair loss to weight gain.
Nearly 60 percent of headache sufferers had tried an alternative remedy, according to a survey released in 2005 by the nonprofit National Headache Foundation.
Fifty-five percent of respondents turned to alternative medicine because their medications were not effective, while 49 percent were concerned about side effects of prescription medicines.
The prescription drug Depakote -- a powerful drug used to treat seizures and conditions such as bipolar disorder -- helped 12-year-old Cody Hodges of Nashville, Tenn., manage his migraines for about three years.
His doctor's solution was to add another drug to his regimen, which Cody's mother, Tracy, refused.
Her son had to have a blood test to check for liver damage every six months to make sure the Depakote wasn't poisoning him, and she wasn't about to put him on another drug with another list of side effects.
Reisman prefers treating migraines with dietary changes, stress reduction and supplements rather than powerful prescription drugs.
Stress can be a migraine trigger as well, so he works with patients on stress management and relaxation techniques.
People with migraines tend to have low magnesium levels, for example, so Reisman prescribes high doses of the mineral for them.
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