Healing Headache Pain Naturally

More than 45 million Americans suffer from headaches. Nearly 20 million are known as “migraineurs” suffering from that dastardly, throbbing one-sided headache. The onset of a migraine is often heralded by an aura, which tells you that the headache is coming. There may be distorted lights, nausea and even vomiting. More than two thirds of this group are women, and their lives are often severely disrupted by this unwanted intruder.

Another large number of Americans endures chronic daily headaches. These people wake up every day with a headache and go to bed every night with a headache. The causes are multiple and may be overlapping-arthritis, ear problems, jaw problems, sinus problems, and/or vascular problems, to name a few. Can stress cause headaches? Yes, but only indirectly. When you are overburdened and  frustrated you might begin to clench your teeth, tighten your facial and neck muscles and feed your vasoconstricting adrenaline cycle. These actions, or reactions, can cause headaches.

Sales data suggest that over 70 percent of American take something for their headaches-a pill of some sort, at least once a month.

The approach to healing headaches through the principles and laws of healing offers a fresh look at an old problem: restoring vital force, looking at energy circulation, supplying the necessary nutrients, uplifting the cellular messengers and being sure that toxic drugs are out of the system. Simple approaches may yield healthy dividends.

If the headaches are from the muscular skeletal system, massage, osteopathic manipulation, or a temporal mandibular bite plate may play an important role. Nutrition is always paramount. Routinely I suggest supplementing with different nutrients, and I especially recommend magnesium and coenzyme Q-10 to strengthen muscle function and make sure that there is good vascular flow. Occasionally I suggest pain-relieving herbs such as feverfew. Strengthening the serotonin system either by using dietary supplements 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) or even selective drugs that block the re-uptake of serotonin is also a worthwhile strategy.

Other options include using drugs known as alpha-blockers that block high adrenaline activity, or starting a low dose of a calcium channel blocker which opens up the magnesium channels. Most recently there has been excitement about using botulinum toxin for headaches. This has the ability to block widespread, out of control muscle spasm and nerve excitement, which often causes an improvement in headaches.

An Emphasis on 5-HTP
A nutritional agent, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), is a clinically validated natural remedy for migraines that may be able to replace many persons needs for medical drugs by naturally raising serotonin levels. In Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia, Michael Murray, N.D., wrote “For all chronic migraine headache sufferers, I have an important message: Give 5-HTP a try. It works.” 1

Many factors disrupt serotonin in the body. Among these are food allergies and histamine-releasing items such as cheese, chocolate and red wine. Chemicals such as nitrates, nitroglycerin, monosodium glutamate and aspartame-containing foods (Equal or NutraSweet) can also release histamine and trigger headaches. In addition, caffeine withdrawal, psychosocial stress, hormonal fluctuations, sleep deprivation, excess muscular tension, weather changes or even glare and eyestrain from computer monitors can release histamine and adrenaline and cause severe, seemingly relentless headaches.

Raising the body’s levels of serotonin helps to decrease the sensitivity of the receptors to the chemical and restore balance. In fact, many prescription drugs for migraine headaches affect the body’s serotonin levels. Sumatriptan (Imitrex) activates serotonin receptors in the blood vessels that cause constriction and Methysergide (Sansert) blocks the receptors that cause dilation, thus preventing their uptake of serotonin. Antidepressants classified as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) help keep serotonin levels high. These include the popular drugs Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Celexa.

In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration required Sandoz, the manufacturer of Methysergide, to warn users that its long-term use could cause lung and heart fibrosis. Some researchers have observed that chronic use of headache drugs may actually worsen the condition and trigger daily headaches – so they are often no longer recommended except in extreme cases where all other options have been totally exhausted. 

The beauty of 5-HTP is its absence of side effects and complications, combined with proven clinical efficacy. It is not meant to offer immediate relief, but rather to help prevent recurrent chronic vascular headaches. At the Headache Unit of the Hospital Valle Hebron, in Barcelona, Spain, use of 600 mg daily of 5-HTP was compared to Methysergide.2  After six months, 71 percent of patients taking 5-HTP and 75 percent of users of the prescription drug experienced at least a 50 percent or greater reduction in frequency or severity of their headaches; thus, the results were statistically equivalent. The users of 5-HTP experienced far fewer side effects. These results suggest that 5-HTP could be a treatment of choice in the prevention of migraine, reported the researchers.

At the University of Florence, Italy, when 5-HTP was again compared to Methysergide, impressive results were achieved with far lower dosages (200 mg daily). 3, 4  Many more studies, especially of children’s headaches, have demonstrated the clinical efficacy of 5-HTP supplements in alleviating chronic vascular headaches, especially migraines.5, 6

Although the dosage of 5-HTP used in the above detailed studies ranged from 200 to 600 mg, it is often not necessary to take that much. Start low and gradually go up. Positive results can be seen in many migraine patients with very low doses, especially if they are following a total nutritional headache program.  If you are considering taking 5-HTP for migraine prevention, start at a dosage of 50 mg three times per day. After a couple weeks, go up – if you are not experiencing significant improvement, try increasing the dose to 100 mg three times per day. Give this regimen at least a two-month trial period, beneficially altering the body’s serotonin receptor sensitivity occurs gradually. If you are on an agent such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil or Celexa, further caution is advised. These drugs will raise serotonin by blocking uptake. If you are rapidly raising it yourself through nutrition you could get a serotonin overload, which is also not good symptoms include a weird restlessness, confusion, insomnia, and tremulousness, so please coordinate with a physician who understands these potential problems.

BioNatures sells a high-quality 5-HTP under their own label. This brand is particularly outstanding because it is made from the Griffonia plant, which I feel is the best source for 5-HTP supplements. More information on BioNatures 5-HTP.

References:
1 Murray, M. 5-HTP. The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia. New York: Bantam Books, 1999.
2 Titus, F., et al. 5-Hydroxytryptophan Versus Methysergide in the Prophylaxis of Migraine: Randomized Clinical Trial. European Neurology; 1986;25:327-329.
3 Sicuteri, F. 5-Hydroxytryptophan in the Prophylaxis of Migraine. Pharmacological Research Communications, 1972;5:213-218.
4 Sicuteri, F. The ingestion of serotonin precursors (L-5-hydroxytryptophan and L-tryptophan) improves migraine. Headache, 1973;13:19-22.
5 De Giorgis, G., et al. Headache in Association With Sleep Disorders in Children: a Psychodiagnostic Evaluation and Controlled Clinical Study, L-5-HTP Versus Placebo. Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research, 1987;13:425-433.
6 Battistella, P.A., et al. Beta-endorphin in plasma and monocytes in juvenile headache. Headache, 1996;36:91-94.