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With ever more pressure against CAM & holistic therapies in proving their  effectivenes through pharmaceutical trials. CTC will now give readers a list of preventative mainstream drugs & a list of Complementary & holistic treatments stating their side effects and cost for the prevention of migraines.

Preventative measures mainstream

• The antiseizure drugs divalproex (Depakote), valproate (Depacon), and topiramate (Topamax)
• The beta blockers metoprolol, propranolol, and timolol
• The triptan drug, frovatriptan (Frova), for short-term menstruation-associated migraine

Anti seazure  drugs have been proven to have negative effects on welbeing of patients such as feelings of self hate & suicide. Beater blockers can be effective though the strength of these drugs can leave patient incapable of much else and inhibit sleep.

Naratriptan a drug that decreases the size of blood vessals in the brain it also reduces the ammount of other substances in the body that may inhibit migraines such as sensitivity to light.

Side effects of Naratriptan

You should not take this medication if you are allergic to naratriptan, if you have any history of heart disease, or if you have coronary heart disease, angina, blood circulation problems, lack of blood supply to the heart, uncontrolled high blood pressure, severe liver or kidney disease, ischemic bowel disease, a history of a heart attack or stroke, or if your headache seems to be different from your usual migraine headaches. Do not take naratriptan within 24 hours before or after using another migraine headache medicine, including almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex, Treximet), zolmitriptan (Zomig), or ergot medicine such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot, Migergot), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal), or methylergonovine (Methergine).

Before taking naratriptan, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease, high blood pressure, a heart rhythm disorder, or coronary heart disease (or risk factors such as diabetes, menopause, smoking, being overweight, having high cholesterol, having a family history of coronary artery disease, being older than 40 and a man, or being a woman who has had a hysterectomy). sourced from drugs.com

The complimentary approach to migraine preventions

Acupuncture has been known as good at prevention as well as symptoms alleviation. See fact sheet.

Although most people had heard about acupuncture being a technique involving the insertion of fine needles into specific points to regain balance within the body, they still weren’t quite sure about the typical session. Therefore, apart from explaining how acupuncture can be effective, Lin spent more time on demonstration.

Acupuncture is such a broad topic, there are more than one way to treat migraine. Lin chose several ways that she had found very effective in practice to demonstrate. Here are some pointers:

Standard body acupuncture: Based on typical TCM differentiation, involving points locally and distally. Although good for both prevention and alleviation, personally Lin prefers prevention.

Moxibustion can be used at the same time in some cases.
Quick body acupuncture: This is a special way to treat migraine, mainly based on Meridian theory. Under the influence of Dr. Tan’s balance method and Master Tung’s acupuncture, Lin only needles a few distal points, but with very quick result. Though seen as an acute solution, it has fairly good long-term results given certain treatment course.

Auricular acupuncture: Our ears are such amazing parts that every structure of the human body could be mapped on the auricle. The possible mechanism of pain relief is that endorphins have been released into the blood by stimulating certain points on the auricle. The headache line on anti-tragus is the part often used in this case. This is a method can be used separately or combined with body acupuncture. Lin prefers the latter.

Battlefield auricular acupuncture: This is a great way to relieve pain quickly, which has been used in US Air Force. It favors the processing and modulation of pain in the central nervous system involving the hypothalamus, thalamus, cingulated gyrus, and cerebral cortex structures. Only three points on each ear are used.

Korean hand acupuncture: There is a close relationship between the hands and the brain. Korean hand acupuncture has 14 micro meridians just as the macro ones along the body. Therefore, points on hands can be treated by needles or even pellets (perfectly for those who are needle-phobic).