B2 And Migraines

[BillBrown]

My wife has suffered from migraine headaches for over 30 years.
She has taken a variety of medicines to prevent them and nothing worked.
Imtirex stopped the pain, but its side effects would put her in bed for a couple of hours.

Several weeks ago I read that 400mg a day of vitamin B2 worked to prevent them, in most people.

It has worked for her. She hasn't had one since she started taking it. She was having 2 or 3 a week.

You probably won't hear about this from a doctor. It's cheap and can't be patented- not the kind of thing the AMA is interested in.

[johnrocks]

Thanks for sharing! My Mom,who is 88 suffers from migraines occassionally,lately(past year or so) they seem to be more regular, I'll have to mention B-2 to her, I guess it's available wherever vitamins are sold?

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

I attended a seminar presented by an NP who told us that some people admitted to nursing homes and the like with "dementia" were found to actually be B-vitamin deficient. And when that was corrected, they became mentally alert and oriented once again.

[59Flash]

My Dr. gave me blood pressure med.(inderal) I didn't have high BP. I haven't had a migraine since (3 months now). My BP is normal still. I even had a constant headache all the time (slight), now that is gone too. When I was still getting the migraines I would take midrin as soon as I got the "aura" before the migraine, it stopped the migraine from happening.

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

Mine are brought on (I'm convinced) by stress and lack of sleep. When I worked for the Hospital From Hell, I was getting them 2-3 times a week. I have never figured out what my aura actually is; my daughter gets squiggly lines in her vision, but nothing like that for me. I just KNOW it's coming. I guess my "aura" is just a sense of foreboding lol.

[BillBrown]

My Dr. gave me blood pressure med.(inderal) I didn't have high BP. I haven't had a migraine since (3 months now). My BP is normal still. I even had a constant headache all the time (slight), now that is gone too. When I was still getting the migraines I would take midrin as soon as I got the "aura" before the migraine, it stopped the migraine from happening.

She was put on Inderal several years ago for her migraines. It didn't work for her. She also had some bad side effects from it.
I'm glad it's working for you.

[BillBrown]

Thanks for sharing! My Mom,who is 88 suffers from migraines occassionally,lately(past year or so) they seem to be more regular, I'll have to mention B-2 to her, I guess it's available wherever vitamins are sold?

Walgreen's and WalMart didn't have it.
She finally found it at GNC.
It's available on the internet a lot cheaper. It's dirt cheap anyway.

[59Flash]

Mine are brought on (I'm convinced) by stress and lack of sleep. When I worked for the Hospital From Hell, I was getting them 2-3 times a week. I have never figured out what my aura actually is; my daughter gets squiggly lines in her vision, but nothing like that for me. I just KNOW it's coming. I guess my "aura" is just a sense of foreboding lol.


I get the squiggly lines too, it starts out small in the center of my vision then grows outward till it goes out of the sides......then comes the pain.

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

I get the squiggly lines too, it starts out small in the center of my vision then grows outward till it goes out of the sides......then comes the pain.
I have a couple of friends who become nearly totally aphasic... or if they speak, it's all jumbled and nonsensical. Another friend gets expressive aphasia; she'll look at a pencil and tell you it's a car or whatever. Strange stuff.

When I get one, I sound like I'm drunk. My speech gets slurred and very slow and deliberate and I have a really hard time with searching for the right words.

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

Walgreen's and WalMart didn't have it.
She finally found it at GNC.
It's available on the internet a lot cheaper. It's dirt cheap anyway.

Our Walgreen's has it. And they sell it online. I'd be leery of vits bought over the interwebs through anyone not a known retailer.

http://www.walgreens.com/search/search_results.jsp?term=b2&x=21&y=8

[59Flash]

I have a couple of friends who become nearly totally aphasic... or if they speak, it's all jumbled and nonsensical. Another friend gets expressive aphasia; she'll look at a pencil and tell you it's a car or whatever. Strange stuff.

When I get one, I sound like I'm drunk. My speech gets slurred and very slow and deliberate and I have a really hard time with searching for the right words.

I get the EXACT same thing as you do! WOW. I described it as "mass confusion" But you seem to describe it exactly as I get it. It also feels like I am in a dream, or something like that.

I had that "all jumbled and nonsensical" when I was 12 years old and my mother took me to the hospital and they did a brain scan and all of that stuff, they didn't find anything wrong with me. I just had a CT scan about 4 mths ago, nothing wrong again.

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

I get the EXACT same thing as you do! WOW. I described it as "mass confusion" But you seem to describe it exactly as I get it. It also feels like I am in a dream, or something like that.

I had that "all jumbled and nonsensical" when I was 12 years old and my mother took me to the hospital and they did a brain scan and all of that stuff, they didn't find anything wrong with me. I just had a CT scan about 4 mths ago, nothing wrong again.
My friend's parents took her to the ER thinking someone had slipped her (or that she'd taken) some drugs---she was that bad.

[mysticbeauty_nbeast]

My wife has suffered from migraine headaches for over 30 years.
She has taken a variety of medicines to prevent them and nothing worked.
Imtirex stopped the pain, but its side effects would put her in bed for a couple of hours.

Several weeks ago I read that 400mg a day of vitamin B2 worked to prevent them, in most people.

It has worked for her. She hasn't had one since she started taking it. She was having 2 or 3 a week.

You probably won't hear about this from a doctor. It's cheap and can't be patented- not the kind of thing the AMA is interested in.

Oh I hate Imitrex! It does take the pain down...but makes my brain feel like it's been dipped into a vat of Vicks! I've been in a cycle of 'cluster migraines' these past five days now. I've never had them this long before. :confused: Frustrating to say the least!

So..down to the CVS I go...B-12...heck..I'll get some super B complex and see if it works. Thanks for the heads up! I hope it works!

~Mysty

[BillBrown]

Oh I hate Imitrex! It does take the pain down...but makes my brain feel like it's been dipped into a vat of Vicks! I've been in a cycle of 'cluster migraines' these past five days now. I've never had them this long before. :confused: Frustrating to say the least!

So..down to the CVS I go...B-12...heck..I'll get some super B complex and see if it works. Thanks for the heads up! I hope it works!

~Mysty

It's B2. You need 400 mg per day.
You won't get near that much of it in a B complex pill.
You'll have to buy the B2 separately.

[mysticbeauty_nbeast]

It's B2. You need 400 mg per day.
You won't get near that much of it in a B complex pill.
You'll have to buy the B2 separately.

Got it...B-2 separate from a B complex vit. I used to take a B complex along with five other vits..daily. Fell out of the practice when life got a bit wacky. (FIL in hospital for over a month...passing away..and doing nothing but family clean up duty for my MIL) I'm going back on them today!

Really..thank you for putting this up....I'm ready to pull my darn hair out! Migraines just keep getting worse and worse..and last longer and longer. Doctor keeps telling me it's all part of my disease process (RSD). I couldn't understand the correlation between a autoimmune disorder/nerve disorder and migraines. :drool:

~Mysty

[BillBrown]

Got it...B-2 separate from a B complex vit. I used to take a B complex along with five other vits..daily. Fell out of the practice when life got a bit wacky. (FIL in hospital for over a month...passing away..and doing nothing but family clean up duty for my MIL) I'm going back on them today!

Really..thank you for putting this up....I'm ready to pull my darn hair out! Migraines just keep getting worse and worse..and last longer and longer. Doctor keeps telling me it's all part of my disease process (RSD). I couldn't understand the correlation between a autoimmune disorder/nerve disorder and migraines. :drool:

~Mysty

I hope it works for you.
My wife calls it a miracle.

[JenyEliza]

For the migraine sufferers here: If you take Imitrex, please be very careful to follow your dosing schedule exactly. Follow up with your doctor on a regular basis and if you have any GI/abdominal pain, be seen right away.

Four years ago my brother nearly died of pancreatitis caused by the Imitrex he used to take for migraines. He was in ICU for about two weeks. Emma might remember this. I had a thread in OO asking for prayers on his behalf.

Imitrex is very useful, but needs to be treated with great respect. It can make you seriously ill--even fatally so.

Use with caution and don't miss any appointments with your doctor.

[JenyEliza]

Mine are brought on (I'm convinced) by stress and lack of sleep. When I worked for the Hospital From Hell, I was getting them 2-3 times a week. I have never figured out what my aura actually is; my daughter gets squiggly lines in her vision, but nothing like that for me. I just KNOW it's coming. I guess my "aura" is just a sense of foreboding lol.

My whole family gets migraines--except for me and my son. Both parents, both brothers and my one sister get them, as well as my daughter.

Just before the migraine comes on, her aura is "two caterpillars humping" (that's how she describes it). Maybe that's the same as your daughter's? :think:

So far, the pediatrician has only given her Fioricet for them, which she tries not to take because it just knocks her for a loop. She only takes it when she's desperate and can go lay down in her dark silent room.

[nortman]

I am usually the cause of migraines, not the sufferer of them. I'll let others know about this.........maybe.

[tislaw]

I've had them since I was a teenager...and I rarely get them now. I was on ambitriptilin to build a wall (in my 20s) and then midrin when it peaked over the wall....but the midrin would still make me sleep a couple of hours and then I couldn't sleep well that night.

I did as my neurologist suggested and avoided caffiene. Now, from early 30s to now, I might get 1 or 2 a year and am on no meds.

[tislaw]

My whole family gets migraines--except for me and my son. Both parents, both brothers and my one sister get them, as well as my daughter.

Just before the migraine comes on, her aura is "two caterpillars humping" (that's how she describes it). Maybe that's the same as your daughter's? :think:

So far, the pediatrician has only given her Fioricet for them, which she tries not to take because it just knocks her for a loop. She only takes it when she's desperate and can go lay down in her dark silent room.


The fioricet can cause rebound headaches because caffiene is a component in the pills. I was proscribed those during my teenage years.....and the rebound headaches were almost as bad as the original migraine.

[JenyEliza]

The fioricet can cause rebound headaches because caffiene is a component in the pills. I was proscribed those during my teenage years.....and the rebound headaches were almost as bad as the original migraine.

That may be why she doesn't like to take the Fioricet. She will refuse them when I ask if she wants one. If the migraine is intolerable, she'll ask for one.

I didn't know she could get a rebound headache from the Fioricet. I'll have to ask her if she gets a headache after the migrane when she take the Fioricet.

[tislaw]

That may be why she doesn't like to take the Fioricet. She will refuse them when I ask if she wants one. If the migraine is intolerable, she'll ask for one.

I didn't know she could get a rebound headache from the Fioricet. I'll have to ask her if she gets a headache after the migrane when she take the Fioricet.


While I don't like Midrin because of how it affected me, it works wonders for other Migraine sufferers. It's a vassal constrictor that stops the rushing of blood through the brain vessels that cause Migraines.

Ask her doctor about that as an option. Since she knows when one is coming on, she can take it at the outset and avoid the Migraine.

[JenyEliza]

I'm taking her in soon for her high school physical, so I'll ask the Ped then about her migranes and the Midrin.

Thanks for the heads up!

[tislaw]

I'm taking her in soon for her high school physical, so I'll ask the Ped then about her migranes and the Midrin.

Thanks for the heads up!


No problem......I get the whole schebang w/migraine.....auras, nausea, senstitivity to light and sound....blech.....and I don't want anyone to have to suffer w/them. I used to have to get a yealy Demoral shot from the hospital, because I'd have one that would NOT go away...and since I was told to avoid caffiene and given vassal constrictors as medicine....they've decreased significantly......and I haven't had to get the "yearly" shot in almost 8 to 10 years.

[angelicmadrigal]

Back when I was having chain migraines I was taking Topomax to get rid of them. It seemed to work fairly well, problem is the medication is so damn expensive, and my new insurance didn't cover it.

[tislaw]

Back when I was having chain migraines I was taking Topomax to get rid of them. It seemed to work fairly well, problem is the medication is so damn expensive, and my new insurance didn't cover it.


Some of it is that way. The Midrin (generic is Duradrin) only cost me $10 for about 60 I think it was.

[angelicmadrigal]

Some of it is that way. The Midrin (generic is Duradrin) only cost me $10 for about 60 I think it was.

yeah, my nacolepsy medication was up there too....bleck.

[tislaw]

yeah, my nacolepsy medication was up there too....bleck.


Some meds are just waaaaaaaaay too expensive. It is usually that way with any anti-biotics I am prescribed (I tend to get routine ear infections for some reason). And because I can't take Cipro....they give me the 90 to 100 dollar scripts.

[BillBrown]

Some of it is that way. The Midrin (generic is Duradrin) only cost me $10 for about 60 I think it was.

Imitrex was over $20 a tablet.
It went generic a few months ago and is much cheaper now.
Hopefully the B2 will keep working for her and she'll be through with the Imitrex.

[tislaw]

Imitrex was over $20 a tablet.
It went generic a few months ago and is much cheaper now.
Hopefully the B2 will keep working for her and she'll be through with the Imitrex.


Hopefully and see if she avoids caffiene, suprisingly it does wonders, after the withdrawals.

[angelicmadrigal]

Some meds are just waaaaaaaaay too expensive. It is usually that way with any anti-biotics I am prescribed (I tend to get routine ear infections for some reason). And because I can't take Cipro....they give me the 90 to 100 dollar scripts.

::nods:: I know how that is....and it sucks when there is no generic form to try. Topomax and Provigil both have no generic equivalent. Though sometimes generics aren't much better in price. My bf had to get a generic for augmentin that ran him about $60.

[mysticbeauty_nbeast]

Have any of you heard about some shot that is now administered instead of oral medication for migraines? This shot of whatever in the heck it is is supposed to keep the patient migraine clear for a streach of time. Has anyone used it? They are ubber expensive...my medicare won't touch it until I've had migraines for at least 5 years. So I'm stuck with the Imitrex until then....blech.

~Mysty