BootsnAll Travel Community

Ok, you people out there who get 'em, what do you do about it when you're on the road or in the bush? I've never traveled for more than six weeks at a time, so I've been able to load myself down with enough Imitrex to last me. Does anyone have any more lasting solutions?

Get Imitrex on the road. In many countries prescription drugs can be gotten over the counter.

I've given 1200 -1600 mg of old fashioned Ibuprofen to people who had migraines, and it seemed to work. You can get that most places too.
Course, for some people ibuprofen doesn't do much, I'm told.

Ibuprofen is pretty good stuff, since it lowers all kinds of swelling, joint, and minor muscle pains.

My wife has them occasionally and she bought some prescription strength stuff in Bangkok for cheap. We just described to the pharmacist the problem and he recommended them. We did have to go to a couple until we found one that would do it though. They're not all as easy as the stereotype suggests.

The pills she got worked great, but she used them sparingly since they made her kind of jittery. I think they were really high in caffeine.

Depends on what works for you. Coffee seems to discourage mine. Plus I'm a weird type, only Tylenol works on my migraines ( sold as paracetamol here) and all that weird prescription stuff doesn't help me at all.
Other than that, local doctors all over the world are there to help. Just make sure you're in a big enough city that has fully stocked pharmacies when you restock. After all, even in the poorest countries there will be an upper class paying for access to the finest that western pharmaceutical companies have to offer. So you can get just about anything in any country of the world, assuming the city is big enough to have enough paying customers (upper class).

I've had a similar problem in the past. I take the Imitrex shot, which can require alot of explanation when traveling through airports! I have been surprised by what helps my migraines. Usually taking my shot and going to bed, but I have also done acupuncture while traveling. That has also helped. How long are you going for? Can you take enough meds with you to be safe?

I tend to get bad sinus headaches which, if I let them go untreated, turn into migrains. That's one of the reasons I always have Sinutab or Advil Cold and Sinus in my purse. If I can catch it in time it will go away, but if I don't I'll end up throwing up and in bed.

It sounds like you took Pseudo-ephedrine, which is sold over the counter here.

It gives you the jitters big time.

Immitrex never worked for me so I switched to something different. ANYWAY, feverfew is something that you take everyday and helps to prevent migraines (as recommended by James Duke in the GREEN PHARMACY--an excellent natural medicine book, worthy of buying). Since I started taking feverfew (I only get migraines when I am working--stressful job, grrr, and I take it 4-5 days a week) and I have very few migraines.

Also--what causes your migraines? This might be something to think about. Perhaps you can alter your behaviors? My migraines are caused by stress, lack of sleep, and some other mysterious elements. Therefore, I try to get more sleep now and I doubt I will be as stressed as I am now on the road.

good luck!

Calliope,

I used to get migraines all the time. For two months, my doctor had me keep a daily log of everything I ate and when, plus my daily routine (work for eight hours, home for 4 hours, in the car, in the movie theatre, etc), and also how I felt that day and if I had a migraine. It was a lot of work, but when I finished, we started finding patterns, and we figured what my "triggers" are.

For instance, eating pork products or other foods that are really greasy, eating a lot of cheese (like pizza for lunch and lasagna for dinner), and consuming a lot of caffiene set off the migraines. We ALSO discovered that the cleaning product I used for cleaning the bathroom was a trigger, as was my roommate's bug spray. Lighting, such as lots of florescent or really bright glaring light, can also be a factor, especially if combined with other triggers. Stress, of course, plays its part too, as is the case of most of us.

All that to say that I rarely get them anymore now that I know what to avoid. I used to get two week, and now it's more like two a year. I still have medication to combat them when they come, but I'm now much more aware of the environmental factors that come into play.

Everybody's different, so it might not work for you, or you might discover your trigger is something virtually unavoidable (hopefully not!), but I would encourage you to give it a try. Rather than feeling limited by what I discovered, it's actually a great feeling of empowerment. Now I have some measure of control over the migraines, rather than the other way around. Even better, I don't have to rely so much on the medication. I could travel for a year with just a small emergency supply and feel comfortable about being prepared.

Regardless of the solution, I hope you are able to find some relief.

The best thing I have found for treating my migraines is peppermint tea. Also, you can buy a little roll on stick of peppermint and I think lavendar essential oils which numbs out your head and makes it feel a lot better (try a health food store or Bath & Body Works).

For preventing migraines, I've found that taking mega-doses of B2 and magnesium helps immensely. You should be able to find dosage info somewhere on line. But finding B2 can be a challenge...

-Jillian