1. ICY HOT IS YOUR FRIEND. Lather it on the back of your neck all the way up your hair line. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the area at the base of your head. TIP: DO NOT APPLY RIGHT AFTER SHOWERING. It will burn your skin. Not literally, but it will feel like acid is burning through your skin. It soaks into the pores too quickly and too much.

2. WARM UP. Heat packs can be used in the days leading up to the migraine. I wear it for 20 minutes at a time. I have one that pops into the microwave and velcros to stay securely around my neck.

3. CHILL OUT. Ice packs can be useful when the migraine is full blown. BE CAREFUL! I left one of these one for too long, and the following days felt like the base of my head was bruised. Probably not a good thing.

4. BREATHE. Remember those breathing techniques you learned for child birth. USE THEM NOW! I’m not kidding. Breath in through your nose, deep and slow. Breath out through your mouth. Doing this literally cut one of my migraines in half. (only 4 hours… which sounds crazy, but it’s better than 8 to 12 hours.) It also helps me relax when I’m tensing up, which can lead to a migraine. And if I start doing it before the migraine is in full force, it sometimes actually goes away. (As long as I stay relaxed after.)

5. FIND THE CULPRITS! I also had to figure out some of the triggers. Lack of sleep didn’t help. Also, sulphites are a big culprit for me. That time of the month… I “take it as easy as possible”. Learn how to dial down the stress. I figured out which foods needed to be on my no, no list. A lot of additives in foods trigger migraines. Like MSG… which is hard, it’s in sooo much. AND DIET SODA!

6. ENLIST HELP! It’s also good to let someone close know you get them. Someone who may be able to help you out in the event you get one and aren’t able to function or care for yourself or the tiny tots.

I hope that it helps!