If you suffer from migraine headaches, you know all about the excruciating pain. They used to be called "sick headaches" because of the nausea and vomiting that are often associated with these kinds of severe headaches. This really unbearable pain can last for up to three days with little relief from taking plain aspirin or even stronger over-the-counter medicines. As a migraine sufferer you know that it gives warning before it strikes. You may experience blurry vision or see black spots or lines before your eyes.

Usually the headaches will be on one side of the head and often centered around one eye. Noise and light seem to be intolerable, and eating might be impossible. People sometimes will just go to bed with a migraine to try and lessen the pain. When the headache finally wears off, usually one to two days later, the sufferer will be pretty weak and shaken. After feeling normal again the person will usually feel alert and fine, until the next migraine strike occurs.

To understand about how to cure and lessen migraine pain, you first need to learn about what causes these terrific headaches. It has been said that migraines are associated with people who are perfectionists and drive themselves relentlessly in order to succeed. They will do this until they are totally exhausted, but they also feel triumphant from their work in the process. This is when many of the migraines will start up. Sometimes it just takes excitement, or even fright, to trigger the migraine.

A person with this type of high drive personality should be aware of what happens to their body when they push themselves beyond their physical capabilities. Before this person finally lets go to exhaustion, the migraine will already be starting to attack. The blood vessels start to shrink in the head, which doesn't let the blood circulate normally and leads to visual abnormalities. Then, when the person finally does let go of his exhaustion, the blood pressure rises. The blood vessels then start to dilate and the walls of the vessels swell. Then the brain produces and releases a stress enzyme. Soon the migraine headache starts with its unusually harsh throbbing and pain. Some time after, the digestive system starts to become upset. The migraine is full-fledged at this point.

There are several approaches to relieve a migraine, but the best one is to prevent it altogether. The high drive personality of a migraine sufferer is usually mostly to blame. This person should slow down in his stressful business and/or personal life. But when a migraine attack is inevitable, the person should not give into it by going to bed or abruptly slowing down his activities. If he or she gives into the headache slowly and not quickly, it will keep the blood vessels from over relaxing and therefore causing the first ebb and flow of the migraine. Fresh air, coffee, a massage and a heat lamp applied on the back of the neck can help to restore circulation and relieve the pain.

The nutritional approach can also help the sufferer. He or she should be eating a high vitamin, high mineral and high protein diet. Additional supplements should also be taken. The sufferer should check with his or her doctor before using any of these natural remedies for their migraine headache relief. Remember that migraines can be caused by lots of stress and also nutritional deficiencies. The sufferer needs to relax and start taking it easy (or easier!) and of course needs to eat a nutritional diet along with supplements. Prevention is the key for curing migraines

"A migraine is like a tornado; it attacks fast without any warning and wreaks havoc."

Migraines usually start during the teenage years or early in adult life, affecting more women than men with a ratio of three to one. Migraines are caused from constricted (tightening) arteries that supply blood flow to the brain. When the arteries constrict, blood flow to the brain is reduced as well as the brains oxygen supply. The brain reacts by dilating (enlarging) arteries to meet the brain's need for energy. The dilation spreads to the arteries in the neck and scalp and is the culprit of the pain in migraines.

If you live with migraines, make sure to have your Doctor rule out an underlying illness or other medical conditions that mimic migraines with the appropriate tests: for example, x-rays determining sinus infection, EEG for seizure activity or a CAT scan to detect blood clots or a brain tumor. Your Dr. may determine a drug to help ease your pain.

Eight Migraine Triggers

1. Cerviogentic Headache:

Some people who have a tender neck and suffer from sore bone and joint problems are diagnosed with this type

2. Temporomandibular Migraine:

Triggered by teeth grinding

3. Sinus Migraine:

Triggered by allergies and caused by excessive mucous and often accompanied by a fever. If you have this type of migraine, you may experience pain around both eyes and also may feel nauseated and sensitive to light.

4. Genetic Migraines:

Studies have lined a gene to people affected with migraines. Often when the gene for migraines is passed on to the next generation, the recipient will also experience headaches around the same age as the person who passed on the migraine.

5. Stress Migraine:

Stress can be a major contributing factor to the onset of a migraine. Type A personalities are more likely to experience migraines. Type A is ambitious, bright, perfectionist, emotionally repressed, cautious and has a decreased ability to manage stress. However, this is the easiest type of migraine to treat because a type A personality can acquire the skills necessary to manage stress.

6. Hormonal Migraine:

Fluctuating hormones in women are often the cause of migraines and can happen during menstrual cycles.

7. Cigarette Migraine

An equal opportunity source of migraines is because the nicotine alters blood vessels. High carbon monoxide levels in a person who smokes or even inhales second hand smoke can lead to a migraine.

8. Food Migraines Food allergies are another factor that leads to migraines. However, migraine sufferers are able to eat chocolate without falling prey to a migraine. Some patients actually report relief from eating chocolate.

Foods that Can Cause Migraines

1. Aged cheese such as Roquefort, Stilton and Sharp Cheddar
2. Fermented Dairy such as Sour Cream, Buttermilk and Yogurt
3. Citrus: Oranges or Grapefruit, including juice
4. Nuts: Peanuts, Walnuts or Pecans
5. Legumes: Peas, Beans and Soy product 6. Onions and Garlic
7. Bananas
8. Pickled foods: picked herring is the most common instigator
9. MSG found in Chinese food
10. Alcohol

Now that you know the common triggers, also note that skipping meals also causes migraines. Skipping meals causes your blood sugar to drop, which in turn causes a migraine.

Eight Ways to Kiss Your Migraine Goodbye

1. Medicine

Medicines have been used for centuries to treat migraines. Today Dr's prescribe Beta Blockers to treat migraines by maintaining adequate dilation of blood vessels. Antidepressants: The brain chemical 'serotonin' plays a role in migraine attacks because the levels of serotonin may cause or relieve migraine and that's why Drs sometimes prescribe antidepressants for migraines. Antidepressants reduce migraine frequency by regulating serotonin levels in the brain. Other drugs are triptans available as an injection or nasal spray. This type of drug shuts down the inflammation and transmission of migraine pain.

2. Surgical Treatment

Nerve stimulators have been used to control back and muscle pain and in 2003 a nerve stimulator was successfully used to treat chronic headaches. With nerve stimulation, one end of a wire is connected to a nerve that controls pain and the other is connected to a small battery powered generator. The patient controls the generator via a remote device. Once turned on, it disconnects the pain signal.

Not only do chronic migraine suffers face agonizing physical disabilities, they also have the psychological fear of not being able to earn a living or manage their home life because daily activities can suddenly become unbearable with the onset of a migraine.

3. Holistic Intervention

Rarely are people offered a non drug approach to treating migraines. Treating a migraine holistically not only can treat the migraine at onset but can also act as prevention.

Create a headache diary listing the 5 W's.

A. Who were you with?
B. Where? Did someone irritate you? At work with glaring lights?
C. What? What medications were you on?
D. When? When did the headache start?
E. Why? Did some particular food or drink aggravate the situation? Did you get enough sleep?

4. Review your diary after 30 days and see if you can isolate the trigger.

5. Use heat to help dilate the blood vessels in the body. This must be done at direct onset of your migraine. Soak your hands in hot water for 20-30 minutes. As the migraine progresses and the blood vessels enlarge, apply ice to the back of the neck and forehead to help constrict capillaries that are pressing against the nerves.

6. Relaxation techniques

You can use relaxation techniques to manage stress. Research has found that people who consciously practice yoga daily for 30 - 45 minutes can learn to positively manipulate involuntary bodily responses like migraine pain. Studies have shown that relaxation practiced on a regular basis achieves a 45 to 80% reduction or elimination in both migraine severity and frequency. Yoga triggers a boost in the brain chemical serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is involved with your body's anger, pain, sleep and migraine and can be a cure for headaches. Frequent headaches are a sign that you are stressed out and it's your body's way of saying slow down and take care of me. Especially if you are a type A personality. My type A patients often say they can't sit still and have a difficult time with the relaxation/mediation part of yoga. My reply? What's more difficult to live with. Meditating daily or living with a migraine, a stroke or a heart attack? These are very real situations that afflict people with constricted arteries and that's why it's vital that you make time for your health. Unfortunately for my patients, I often meet them after they've suffered from a condition of vascular abnormality. They are very motivated to participate because they have experienced what happens when blood flow to the heart or brain is compromised. Consequently they practice my techniques daily to reduce a recurrence. Why not make time now? There are 1440 minutes in a day. 45 minutes a day practicing yoga is a wise investment in your health that offers a positive life style with increased energy without the use of toxic drugs polluting your liver and fewer Doctor visits which equals fewer co-payments. Yoga Chi for Energy DVD includes medically engineered relaxation techniques with an 11 minute meditation by a crackling fireplace.