Feverfew Used to Treat Migraine Headaches

A Migraine can be one of the most crippling of headaches. The pain, which is often excruciating, and the sensitivity to light can send the victim to bed in a dark room for days. Some suffers even have bouts of nausea. There are many drugs available for the treatment of migraines, but they don't always work for everyone. Feverfew is an herb that has been used for centuries to help prevent migraine headaches.

At age thirty-five, I started suffering from migraine headaches. Over several months I was able to determine they were hormonal related migraines, as I would get them at the same time every month. It got to where I could predict them and even plan my life around them. But I could not prevent them.

I would try to hold out as long as possible before having to call the doctor, praying the migraine would just go away. After about two days, when I couldn't stand it any longer, I would call the doctor, who always instructed me to go to the emergency room at the local hospital, where I would be given a much needed shot of Demerol. Afterwards I would come home and sleep several hours. Not because of the drug, but because of exhaustion from hours of fighting the migraine.

This was my routine for two years, going from doctor to doctor, medication to medication, finding no relief. One doctor even prescribed Prozac, which was a disaster. Prozac threw my thyroid all out of whack, causing hypothyroidism. I would sleep every chance I got and ate double portions at every meal. By the time my primary doctor realized what was happening to me, I had gained thirty-three pounds within a year's time. I was taken off the Prozac and had to have my thyroid level tested every month. After eight months, it finally went back to normal and I did not have to take thyroid medication for the rest of my life. I considered myself very lucky in that respect.