More important than credentials however, is you doing your research. If you make a plan to improve your health, its up to you to do some ownership in looking at options and making as individualized a plan as possible. That's an ongoing process, especially with something as complicated as migraine headaches. You are obviously on that path, and I hope that you find all you need to get healthy.
My male friend has had migraines since taking the covid shots in 2020. He takes Sumatriptin, and it goes away. He doesn't want to keep taking them. We have tried ginger, he takes a 550mg capsule twice a day. He has taken 4 of those when a headache is starting, and it hasn't helped. I need to read all your posts, but we need some more things to try. Sumatriptin is known for causing rebound headaches, and he does seem to need it every day for a few days, until he can go for a while again without a migraine. But it's too frequent now; he's taking that stuff too often. Thank you
Sumatriptan can be a very useful drug, but it does not manage the root cause factors that promote migraines. It downregulates the overactive nerves in the brain caused by a migraine attack, i.e. it helps limit the result, not the cause. The rebound we see at times is a re-assertion of the underlying process where the intensity or duration of symptoms were only partially alleviated during drug therapy. Symptoms are like the 1/7th of the iceberg you see on the surface. The root cause factors that underlie the process are the other 6/7ths.
As you've seen, I do have a lot of potentially applicable posts available to sort through. Given his story, I would recommend that he starts with FAQs #16, 33, 38, 40 (especially the part about the 'Basic Four'), 48, 56, and 58. You can find all these through the FAQ Table of Contents at https://naturalmigrainerelief.substack.com/p/faq-table-of-contents-updated-december
I hope you find the additional leads he needs to get at the root causes, and then hopefully a resolution for his migraine headaches as well.
Thank you, Dr Baker, so very much for your reply and the list of resources! I will start there, and I appreciate it very much!
He usually has pain at the base of his skull on one side or the other; it switches. Do you have any writings or thoughts on whether the migraines can be exacerbated by his having a slight head-forward posture that he probably needs to address? I would be interested in reading anything along those lines as well. Thank you again for your work unraveling the mystery of migraines.
It may be that his headache hasn't been fully diagnosed accurately, as the posterior location of his headache is less typical of migraine. If he has not seen a neurologist, that may be indicated next.
Are you really a real doctor? I feel like anyone can just claim to be a doctor on the internet nowadays and at this point I don't know who to trust.
Hi Linda, I understand your skepticism about iternet gurus and their advice. I've been a licensed and practicing physician since 1985. You can check that out through my verified LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-baker-3a8a6989/ or via my page at the Arkansas Medical Board: https://www.armedicalboard.org/Public/verify/results.aspx?strPHIDNO=ASMB15960
More important than credentials however, is you doing your research. If you make a plan to improve your health, its up to you to do some ownership in looking at options and making as individualized a plan as possible. That's an ongoing process, especially with something as complicated as migraine headaches. You are obviously on that path, and I hope that you find all you need to get healthy.
My male friend has had migraines since taking the covid shots in 2020. He takes Sumatriptin, and it goes away. He doesn't want to keep taking them. We have tried ginger, he takes a 550mg capsule twice a day. He has taken 4 of those when a headache is starting, and it hasn't helped. I need to read all your posts, but we need some more things to try. Sumatriptin is known for causing rebound headaches, and he does seem to need it every day for a few days, until he can go for a while again without a migraine. But it's too frequent now; he's taking that stuff too often. Thank you
Hi Suzie,
Sumatriptan can be a very useful drug, but it does not manage the root cause factors that promote migraines. It downregulates the overactive nerves in the brain caused by a migraine attack, i.e. it helps limit the result, not the cause. The rebound we see at times is a re-assertion of the underlying process where the intensity or duration of symptoms were only partially alleviated during drug therapy. Symptoms are like the 1/7th of the iceberg you see on the surface. The root cause factors that underlie the process are the other 6/7ths.
As you've seen, I do have a lot of potentially applicable posts available to sort through. Given his story, I would recommend that he starts with FAQs #16, 33, 38, 40 (especially the part about the 'Basic Four'), 48, 56, and 58. You can find all these through the FAQ Table of Contents at https://naturalmigrainerelief.substack.com/p/faq-table-of-contents-updated-december
I hope you find the additional leads he needs to get at the root causes, and then hopefully a resolution for his migraine headaches as well.
Thank you, Dr Baker, so very much for your reply and the list of resources! I will start there, and I appreciate it very much!
He usually has pain at the base of his skull on one side or the other; it switches. Do you have any writings or thoughts on whether the migraines can be exacerbated by his having a slight head-forward posture that he probably needs to address? I would be interested in reading anything along those lines as well. Thank you again for your work unraveling the mystery of migraines.
It may be that his headache hasn't been fully diagnosed accurately, as the posterior location of his headache is less typical of migraine. If he has not seen a neurologist, that may be indicated next.
Ok. Thank you.