Yes, Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs.

Here are 2 articles that may be of use to you.  Enjoy your day!

Roman

Gentle yoga may aid migraine sufferers
http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=1863

Herbal Extract Reduces Migraines
http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?id=521&title=Herbal+Extract+Reduces+Migra
ines&event=news_print_list_item

Here are 2 articles that may be of use to you.  Enjoy your day!

Roman

Gentle yoga may aid migraine sufferers
http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=1863

Herbal Extract Reduces Migraines
http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?id=521&title=Herbal+Extract+Reduces+Migra
ines&event=news_print_list_item

how about big pharma?

try Plavix.

worked for me

j.

Chiropractic care has worked very well for thousands of chronic and acute
migraine sufferers

Your are probably dehydrated. Start replacing most of your liquid
intake with water. Build up to eight to ten glasses a day over a
couple of months and then keep it up. Add a little organic sea salt to
your diet daily so that you get your trace minerals. Take an iodine,
zing, magnesium, and some calcium supplements for a while. I'm no
doctor this is just my opinion. I think that if you do this you won't
only get rid of your migraines, but a whole lot of other problems as
well. Good luck. Read a book called "Your not sick your thirsty".
Jerry, the Canuck

Two things to note.  The first is not surprising, the British Medical
Associate finds acupuncture more effective on Migraines than other
control interventions.  The second, well, read it yourself!  Yup, MD's
readily dig acupuncture.  Its quite nice to see someone get so much
relief from such a simple, safe procedure.  I guess thats not too
surprising, especially when you've seen the results....over & over
again.

1. The traditional "gold standard" of whether a treatment or procedure
is effective is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). After examining
several clinical trials of acupuncture for various medical conditions,
the report concludes that acupuncture "is more effective than control
interventions" for back pain, nausea and vomiting (most convincingly
for post-operative symptoms in adults), migraine and dental pain.

2. GPs' overall knowledge of acupuncture was found to be low. Only 16%
said they had "considerable knowledge" of acupuncture or "knew a lot"
about the subject; 82% said they had "very little" or only "basic"
knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine. However, nearly
half (46%) said they would like to receive further training in
acupuncture in order to treat their own patients in the future.

In one of the most surprising statistics, a full 79% of practitioners
reported that they would like to see acupuncture provided in the
National Health Service. For this to happen, however, the survey
concluded - as did the full report - that more rigorous clinical
trials would need to be conducted.

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2000/aug/08bma.html

BMA Acknowledges the Benefits of Acupuncture
Report Recommends Treatment Be Integrated into National Health Service
By Michael Devitt

In the past decade, several national and international organizations
have issued reports concerning the safety and efficacy of acupuncture.
The most well-known of these reports, the National Institutes of
Health Consensus Development Statement, concluded in 1997 that "there
is sufficient evidence · of acupuncture's value to expand its use into
conventional medicine and to encourage further studies of its
physiology and value."1

Now, the British Medical Association has offered its opinion on the
subject. At the BMA's annual conference in London this June, the
association published a report, Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and
Practice,2 which acknowledges the scientific benefits of acupuncture
and recommends that the treatment be incorporated into the National
Health Service, Britian's national health care program.

"(Acupuncture) is clearly something that people are turning to in
large numbers," said Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, head of health policy at
the BMA. "And it is clearly something that GPs (general practitioners)
are turning to in increasing numbers."

The current report is the result of a resolution passed at the BMA's
annual representative meeting in 1998, at which a resolution was
passed to "investigate the scientific basis and efficacy of
acupuncture and the quality of training and standards of competence in
its practitioners." The paper also represents the third time in the
last 15 years that the BMA has published a major report on
complementary and alternative care.

Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and Practice contains sections that
study the efficacy and safety of acupuncture; the ways in which
acupuncturists are taught; and the future development of the
profession. The report also summarizes a BMA survey of general
practitioners and their feelings toward complementary and alternative
care, and issues recommendations as to how the delivery of acupuncture
can be improved.

Safety and Efficacy of Acupuncture

The traditional "gold standard" of whether a treatment or procedure is
effective is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). After examining
several clinical trials of acupuncture for various medical conditions,
the report concludes that acupuncture "is more effective than control
interventions" for back pain, nausea and vomiting (most convincingly
for post-operative symptoms in adults), migraine and dental pain.

Less conclusive results, meanwhile, have been found for conditions
such as neck pain and osteoarthritis, recovery from stroke, tension
headaches, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, smoking cessation and
weight loss.

Regarding the safety of acupuncture, the report states that most
adverse reactions generally fall into three main areas: physical
injuries (such as cardiovascular trauma); infections from blood-borne
viruses; and other adverse reactions (such as drowsiness or fainting
after treatment).

Although some adverse reactions may be difficult to control, the
report stresses that most physical injuries can be avoided with proper
training in anatomy and physiology, particularly in terms of the depth
and location of major organs. Transmission of infectious agents,
meanwhile, could be greatly reduced by improving sterilization
techniques or using only pre-sterile disposable needles instead of
reusable needles.

Education and Training of Acupuncturists

Acupuncture can - and has been - taught and practiced in a variety of
ways. In fact, the report concludes that "within agreed parameters," a
certain amount of diversity in acupuncture training can be considered
"healthy" in meeting the individual needs of students and the
different approaches and practices among acupuncture instructors.

With such diversity, the report recommends that "a core curriculum for
practitioners" be put in place that includes instruction in anatomy
and physiology, research methods, acupuncture techniques, fundamentals
of diagnosis, and ethics. These courses should be "of a credible
duration" to provide students with the ability to practice acupuncture
with an acceptable level of competency.

The report also recommends greater undergraduate training and
accredited postgraduate training in acupuncture at medical schools.

"Because patients and doctors are turning to acupuncture in increasing
numbers," said Dr. Nathanson, "doctors need more information about its
safety, and medical students need better training while at university
to give patients advice."

Future Developments in Acupuncture

Although there are no comprehensive acupuncture guidelines for general
practitioners or patients, and there are no national regulatory and
safety standard in place for acupuncturists in Great Britain, the
profession continues to flourish. For acupuncture to continue growing,
however, the BMA feels that more collaborative studies should be
conducted to study the costs and benefits of treatment.

"There is a need for greater consensus on the part of the government,
Department of Health, NHS Executive, the medical profession, and
acupuncture organizations to provide guidelines and agree how
acupuncture and other complementary and alternative medicine services
can be integrated into the UK healthcare system," the report stated.

"We need to see more high-quality research into the effectiveness of
acupuncture," added Dr. Nathanson. "We welcome complementary medicines
into medical practice, but only based on robust research and robust
training."

Recommendations

The report lists several recommendations for the integration,
regulation and funding of acupuncture. Among the most noteworthy:

Consideration should be given to the creation of policies and
guidelines that would make acupuncture more widely available to
patients under the National Health Service.
A general list of all acupuncturists, medically and non-medically
qualified, should be produced and maintained to facilitate the
referral process for NHS doctors.
Further research should be conducted into the cost-effectiveness of
acupuncture treatment, particularly for those conditions in which
acupuncture has been identified as an effective form of care. Research
should also be conducted into other conditions that may be usefully
treated by acupuncture.
Acupuncture organizations should collaborate in creating a national
system for the reporting of adverse events.
Relationships between acupuncturists, general practitioners and
patients must be strengthened. An atmosphere of mutual respect should
be promoted between GPs and their patients regarding the use of
acupuncture. Doctors should ask about their patients' use of
acupuncture and other alternative forms of care; acupuncturists, in
turn, should recommend that their patients inform their GPs of their
treatment.
Acupuncture should be included in any familiarization course on
complementary and alternative medicine. Accredited postgraduate
courses should be provided to inform doctors and other clinicians
about acupuncture and its possible benefits.
All acupuncturists should be fully trained in infection control
procedures, and immunization against hepatitis B should be considered
for the protection of acupuncturists and their patients.
BMA Survey of Acupuncture in Primary Care

In addition to its review of acupuncture and recommendations,
Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and Practice summarizes a survey of
general practitioners in the United Kingdom to assess their use of
(and attitudes toward) complementary and alternative medicine. A total
of 365 GPs completed the survey, which was sent to every general
practitioner in the country.

Of those who responded to the survey, more than half (58%) had
arranged complementary or alternative therapies for their patients.
Almost half of those surveyed reported arranging acupuncture treatment
for their patients.

Acupuncture was also the most common form of alternative care used by
general practitioners, and was used most commonly for pain relief and
treating musculoskeletal disorders. It was most often performed in
pain clinics or physiotherapy departments.

GPs' overall knowledge of acupuncture was found to be low. Only 16%
said they had "considerable knowledge" of acupuncture or "knew a lot"
about the subject; 82% said they had "very little" or only "basic"
knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine. However, nearly
half (46%) said they would like to receive further training in
acupuncture in order to treat their own patients in the future.

In one of the most surprising statistics, a full 79% of practitioners
reported that they would like to see acupuncture provided in the
National Health Service. For this to happen, however, the survey
concluded - as did the full report - that more rigorous clinical
trials would need to be conducted.

Report Available Online

Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and Practice is available from the
British Medical Association for £12.99 plus shipping and handling
(note: at press time, £12.99 was roughly equal to $19.59 US).
Practitioners interested in ordering a copy may visit the BMA's
website (www.bma.org.uk), or they send an e-mail to the BMA's online
bookstore (orders@bmjbookshop.com ).

Try an elimination diet.  It's most likely something you're eating
that's causing migraines.  The usual culprits are wheat, eggs, nuts,
soy, and dairy.

~Liz