I'd never had migraines until this spring when I started getting some pretty awful "ice pick" headaches. (Or at least, I'd never noticed migraines before. Maybe the persistent headaches were so bad that the migraines didn't stand out like they do now that the regular headaches have become rarer.)
Cherí and Gary were talking about neti pots after choir one night. I realized that I had not been using my neti pot because I hadn't felt stuffy from a cold. I thought maybe I should try it. I found that feeling like you have blocked-up sinuses may have nothing to do with what's really going on in there. I couldn't get any water to flow through. After a couple of days of whittling away at the rot in my head, I began to be able to use the neti pot properly. But I knew that, whenever I used it, I would get one of those ice-pick headaches --temporarily-- but aiming from the inside to the outside of my skull. It was the exact same pain as the migraine, only backwards. The good thing, though, was that it lasted only 5-10 minutes. Still, it was hard to force myself to the bathroom sink when I knew how badly it was going to hurt. Over the weeks, as I kept at it, I happily realized that I was no longer having migraines. And the mini-migraine pain that had initially accompanied the neti pot had also disappeared.
I get to feeling fine, and then I don't bother with the neti pot. If I forget for more than a week, headaches start sneaking up on me again. Then I have to diligently use the neti once or twice a day to get myself back to being comfy enough to ... well... y'know... forget to keep at the regimen again.
I know there are a gazillion causes for migraines, and a neti pot certainly won't cure most people. It probably wouldn't even help most people. But I was pleased to find that something this easy did so much to ease my pain.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
OH MY. I just read all about it on wikipedia and saw the pictures. I would be terrified to do that, especially for the first time. Hey, at least it works, and you don't need to take meds. I enjoy how it falls under the category of "nasal irrigation". Funny term.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I WAS TERRIFIED to do it. Rachel and Gary told me how great it was. And I knew that they had done it and hadn't died. But I knew I would die from pouring water up my nose. I mean, it sure sounds to me like asking to be drowned. So I had to get awfully awfully miserable from a head cold before I was willing to risk drowning myself. But I was impressed with the results. Sure helps when you have a cold. And does more for a sinus infection than anything else, even antibiotics. The migraine help, though, that surprised me.
ReplyDelete