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#1 |
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Scholar
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 90
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HeadOn Migraine Relief (Homeopathic)
So I was at the gym, and saw a commercial for this migraine relief "GlueStick" (for lack of a better term) that you apply directly to your forehead (red flag #1 went up) to help relieve migraine pain. The happy migraine free woman on the commercial declares it's "all natural" (red flag #2)
I thought I'd look into it at least because my wife is a frequent sufferer of migraines, and the perscription medications such as Imitrix give her digestive distress. Found it on the internet here: http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...Y-PLST-0-BRAND and immediately saw the "Homeopathic" (Red flag #3) which sealed the fate of this product as "snake oil" in my eyes. Can anyone with homeopathic experience explain to me the ingriedient list in this thing? Is medicine going thru the forehead, skull, to your brain even possible? |
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#2 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,189
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The homeopathic ingredients are a bad idea--Potassium Dichromate, ick! But one of its "inactive" ingredients is menthol--i.e., it works like Vicks Vap-o-Rub.
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#3 |
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Abiogenic Spongiform
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: In a handbasket
Posts: 9,030
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Actually, at the Homeopathic concentrations listed for this product, none of the active ingredients are contained in the product.
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#4 |
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Scholar
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 90
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#5 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,189
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6X is 1 ppm, which is plenty high enough for Potassium Dichromate.
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/p5719.htm
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#6 |
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Abiogenic Spongiform
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: In a handbasket
Posts: 9,030
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Christine:
They started with a .03% (30,000 ppm) solution, though. Dilute that to 6X potency, if there's any left I'd be suprised ![]() On second thought, there might be some, but not enough to be physiologically active. After a 6X dilution, that's, what, .0000000003% (.03 ppm)? It weighs 5.67 grams, so that makes about .0000017 milligrams for the entire tube. If there's any effect at all (highly doubtful), it's from something supposedly "inactive". Edited because I forgot to add two decimal places for a percent to convert to decimal |
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#7 |
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THE Lisa Simpson
Administrator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: 123 Fake Street
Posts: 20,111
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Barb, one of the forum homeopaths, told me about this. It really worked wonders for my migraines. I went from having about 20 migraines per month to 3 or 4. It's a device worn over the front teeth while asleep to keep the user from clenching the back teeth. I didn't even know I was clenching and that the clenching was the cause of my migraines.
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__________________
That's what the Internet does -- you get a free bonus prize of Stupid Lies with every box of Delicious Facts. - cracked.com Facts are satanic litter on the heavenly highway to blind faith! - Betty Bowers |
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#8 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,189
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Going back to what I quoted before, .05 mg/m^3 solution would correspond to .05 mg / 1,000,000 g water, or one part per 20,000,000,000 (20 (US) billion) or .00000000005%. So it's way, way past the permissible levels, although I'm not totally sure how to interpret those guidelines. Of course you're not going to bathe in the stuff, so maybe the .00017 mg is acceptable. Still, we're talking about very, very nasty stuff.
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#9 |
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Masterblazer
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 6,414
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Maxalt RPD. Works. Is damned expensive though.
![]() ETA: And screw that "all natural" crap. Botchulism is totally natural. I won't be having any of THAT though. |
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__________________
Almo! My Blog "No society ever collapsed because the poor had too much." — LeftySergeant "It may be that there is no body really at rest, to which the places and motions of others may be referred." –Issac Newton in the Principia |
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#10 |
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Graduate Poster
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 1,008
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Since we don't know how much of the homeopathic remedies each tube contains, we don't know the actual mg per tube. I suspect that it is mostly menthol and other ingredients (carriers and stabilizers) with a few drops of the "remedy"...
I suspect there is much less than .00017 mg of Cr per tube. |
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__________________
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali A powerful and moving story of a strong and courageous woman’s struggle to free herself from a culture that treats women as property. Despite repeated death threats from religious zealots, she campaigns tirelessly for the rights of Muslim women. A tearful, chilling, yet inspiring, tale of personal triumph and dedication to free expression. |
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#11 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,189
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Unless they mean that .03% of the goop in the tube is the 6X solution.
Honestly, I'm having trouble understanding all this. If the goop is 1% "remedy" wouldn't that make is 6X1C? Of course there's the added problem that you aren't eating the stuff. So you are rubbing an insignifigant amount of an chemically inert substance and supposedly getting the same result as if you had eaten a signifigant amount of the chemically inert substance?It really irritates me when these guys can't even stick to their own rules. |
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#12 |
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Apathetic Agnostic
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Reading, PA
Posts: 1,535
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__________________
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense and to the same extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart." - H. L. Mencken "Why believe in things that make it tough on you?" - Devo, "Love Without Anger" GoogleBomb Sylvia Browne now! www.StopSylvia.com |
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#13 |
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Abiogenic Spongiform
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: In a handbasket
Posts: 9,030
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#14 | ||
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Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 4
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I haven't used homeopathic meds for headaches, but do like them a lot for the other things I use them for. I have a great naturopath who suggests homeopathic rememdies when appropriate, but who also uses all sorts of natural remedies. Anyway, one good one for headaches is Petadolex for migraines. The site where I get my supplements,
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#15 |
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Downsitting Citizen
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: In the argyle
Posts: 17,136
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Zombie thread!
Welcome to the forums, neuf08. Do you know how your naturopath decides if a homeopathic remedy is appropriate?
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__________________
"Please, keep your chops cool and don’t overblow.” –Freddie Hubbard What's the Harm?........Stop Sylvia Browne........My 9/11 links |
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#16 |
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Critical Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 475
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Dear god, have you seen the reviews of the product on the site? It's screaming out for a double blind trial using a menthol stick instead (oh wait, homeopathic treatments don't go through DBTs).
I did laugh at:
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__________________
"You see, that is why we never do double-blind testing anymore. It never works!" - Chiropractor |
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#17 |
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Graduate Poster
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Finland
Posts: 1,569
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I was under the impression that migraines happen because the vessels get too much blood? If this actually increases the blood flow and circulations, isn't it dangerous? Correct me if I'm wrong here. Here's where I got my info: http://www.migraines.org/myth/mythreal.htm
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__________________
Richard Dawkins: "We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." Pixie of key: "HOW IS YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT I AM GIVING LECTURES ON A PROBLEM." |
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#18 |
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Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Emily's shop
Posts: 15,450
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In the UK we have what is essentially an identical product (4head) without the homeopathy woo. They explicitly state that levomenthol is the active ingredient.
http://www.4headaches.co.uk/ |
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#19 |
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Sum of all evils tm
Deputy Admin
Join Date: May 2007
Location: 25.50 N, 77.54 W
Posts: 14,499
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A new user, on their 1st (and thus far only post) tracks down a thread from 6 FEB 06...and the "meaningful" contribution is the suggestion folks try a product bought from a website?
I'm thinking this is nothing more then a ad for the website & product mentioned in neuf08's post. |
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__________________
Member Simpson 15 and Ex-defendant in Simpson v. Randi, et al. | StopSylvia.com | JREF Forum Twitter
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#20 |
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Mostly harmless
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Nor Flanden
Posts: 22,489
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__________________
"You got to use your brain." - McKinley Morganfield "The poor mystic homeopaths feel like petted house-cats thrown at high flood on the breaking ice." - Leon Trotsky |
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#21 |
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Militant Elvisian Tacoist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 9,859
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__________________
...it rings a bell in my head that just don't chime...--pillory There is no God but the Great Taco In The Sky and Elvis is his prophet. |
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#22 |
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Downsitting Citizen
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: In the argyle
Posts: 17,136
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__________________
"Please, keep your chops cool and don’t overblow.” –Freddie Hubbard What's the Harm?........Stop Sylvia Browne........My 9/11 links |
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#23 |
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Forklift Operator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: N38°35' W121°29'
Posts: 3,013
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#24 |
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Pith Artist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: The '80s
Posts: 8,711
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__________________
With extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth was flat. - Jeffrey Burton Russell No one "proved" that a bumblebee can't fly. What was shown was that a certain simple mathematical model wasn't adequate or appropriate - Ivars Peterson |
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#25 |
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NLH
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 25,929
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Almost anything can make you forget a migraine if you bang yourself on the head with it hard enough- but I'm sure rocks are cheaper.
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#26 |
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Graduate Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 1,384
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Vicodin seems to relieve my headaches. I don't think it's all natural though.
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#27 |
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Mostly harmless
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Nor Flanden
Posts: 22,489
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__________________
"You got to use your brain." - McKinley Morganfield "The poor mystic homeopaths feel like petted house-cats thrown at high flood on the breaking ice." - Leon Trotsky |
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#28 |
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formerly skeptigirl
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Shifting through paradigms
Posts: 40,799
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Glue Stick.
![]() Just wanted to add: One) anything applied to the skin can affect about a millimeter or two locally and then it's absorbed into the bloodstream. It cannot affect the head except via the blood so this method of application is a fraud. Two) The commercials only imply all these products do anything, apply to forehead, apply to scar etc. Listen carefully, no real claims are made. Three) Head On has already lost a lawsuit for fraud. They've had to refund millions though they can continue to sell the product. Go figure. |
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__________________
(*Tired of continuing to hear the "Democrat Party" repeatedly I've decided to adopt the name, |
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#29 |
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Frequencies Not Known To Normals
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,636
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What?!? Head-On doesn't work?!? Crap.
Next you'll be telling me Enzyte is load of bull too. |
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#30 |
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Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Emily's shop
Posts: 15,450
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It basically works in the same way that putting a cool damp cloth or gel pack on your forehead works.
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#31 |
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Graduate Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,377
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I actually have a T shirt that is a parody of HeadOn.
HEADSHOT, APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD. Its a gamer thing but yeah, I found it funny. |
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#32 |
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Sum of all evils tm
Deputy Admin
Join Date: May 2007
Location: 25.50 N, 77.54 W
Posts: 14,499
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__________________
Member Simpson 15 and Ex-defendant in Simpson v. Randi, et al. | StopSylvia.com | JREF Forum Twitter
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#33 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,630
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Yes, at least some (maybe all, I'm not sure) are caused by increased blood flow, so anything that reduces blood flow to the head should help relieve the pain. That's why caffeine helps some people.
If this product has something in it that is absorbed through the skin and reduces blood flow I suppose it could theoretically work. I doubt it does, just because the ads are so annoying, but it could be possible. BTW, one common migraine trigger for many people is red wine. Anyone who suffers from migraines shouldn't have even a sip! White is fine but red is instant agony. |
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__________________
SweatyYeti or Bill Munns would be my vote for looking at this - BFSleuth @ BFF I've got plenty of common sense! I just choose to ignore it. - Calvin; October 15, 1986 |
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#34 |
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Frequencies Not Known To Normals
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,636
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I wonder if it's too late to get my money back for all those Kinoki detox foot pads I bought. Maybe I should put them in a garage sale along with my Ginsu knife set, FlavorWave Oven, Enzyte pills, and buckets and buckets of HeadOn.
More-On! Apply directly to the consumer! |
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#35 |
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hairy farting brute
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Montréal
Posts: 972
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Hey, Ginsu are decent knives. Just not really japanese.
Okay, it isn’t tough to make a decent knife. |
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#36 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Bellingham, WA
Posts: 4,037
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It doesn't. It has menthol in it, which is commonly used as a topical anesthetic.
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#37 |
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Muse
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Posts: 569
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#38 |
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Frequencies Not Known To Normals
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,636
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#39 |
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Graduate Poster
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,855
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I consider naturopathy the ultimate in quackery. Some say that description belongs to homeopathy; but naturopaths employ homeopathy, as well as any other quack idea they encounter. You can read about the foolishness (free registration):
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/465994 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/471156 As well as at www.naturowatch.org |
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#40 |
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New Blood
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 3
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As I understand it, although the pain above the eyes and in the head is caused by vasodilation, this is just an after-effect of the migraine, as such. The actual migraine is the constriction of blood vessels at the base/back of the brain. It is this lack of blood to the areas dealing with vision and sensation in the hands which lead to the aura and the numbness that particularly severe sufferers get.
And I talk from experience Believe me, I understand why people having their first migraine can think they're having a stroke. Blindness, numbness, vomiting, severe pain - a wonderful combination! Apparently, this constriction happens in pulses which can be either as rapid as one every minute or two, to long slow squeezes followed by periods of relative normalcy over hours. The cause of the pain is apparently the rush of blood to the head after the first constriction relaxes. This dilates the blood vessels and causes the, frankly, crippling pain that I any many others on this thread seems to exprience when we get hit by one! My own, purely anecdotal, evidence supports all of the bumf above that I have gleaned from my doctor and various websites, as I definitely experience the periodic tightening and loosening at the base of the neck, accompanied by related worsening or easing of the symptoms. I control mine through watching that I don't eat any of my triggers (cheese, large amounts of chocolate all at once and, weirdly, USA-sold orange fanta!) and by ensuring I sleep regularly and eat regularly. For the record, IMHO, homeopathic remedies for migraines are just as effective as homeopathic remedies for anything else, which is why I don't take them ![]() Anyway, that's the benefit of my experience and input for what it's worth. Ciaoski for nowski. ETA : Oops! Let's not forget the low doses of beta-blockers I also take which have helped!
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