If you suffer from chronic migraine headaches, you know the excruciating pain that you must endure. For those how have never had a migraine, you cant even begin to imagine what the pain is like. In order to deal with chronic migraines, there are a number of different methods. If you can locate the root cause of the headaches, then you can get rid of them. However, most people are unable and they turn to prescription drugs.
Popular Migraine Headache Drugs
There are some drugs that work well, and others that dont work quite as well. For instance, many people who suffer from Migraines have reported that they have great success while taking Excedrin. This pain reliever combines the power of caffeine, aspirin, and acetaminophen to quickly reduce the pain. This drug has relatively few side effects.
Prescription drugs are generally stronger than those available over the counter. Drugs such as Topamax are taken daily to prevent the migraines from even coming (whereas many drugs are taken after the migraine has set it and only mitigate the pain). However, Topamax comes with some very serious side effects.
Birth Defects and Stevens-Johnson syndrome
An individual that takes Topamax puts themselves at an increased risk of developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome. This terrible skin disease is painful and almost always results in hospital stays that can last for weeks. If it is not treated properly it quickly can progress to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). TEN is fatal in 70% of the cases.
But thats not all. This drug has been known to increase the risk of birth defects if it is taken while pregnant. Even though it was claimed to be safe, research has shown that women taking the drug significantly increase the risk of their child being born with defects such as oral clefts, anencephaly, or heart problems.
There are natural ways to treat migraine headaches. With all of the dangers that surround prescription medications, it is probably in your best interest to look more into those natural methods.