Migraine

I just got home from getting treated for a migraine in ER and was wondering about something the doctor there told me to try. She said to try Riboflavin at 400mg daily for 1 month and then if that didn't work to try Coenzyme Q10 at 150mg daily uping it to 3 times a day if needed. She says that these vitamins can help prevent migraines from getting worse and eventually stopping them from comming on. Looking them up online the Riboflavin is vitamin B2 and Coenzyme Q10 is "a naturally occurring substance and essential element of the mitochondrial electron transport chain"

Here are a couple of links to pages about these;
http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2003/Oc...9-oct-critical-1.asp
http://www.headacheupdates.com...rall-good-health.htm
http://www.cellhealthmakeover....10-coenzyme-q10.html

Has anyone ever heard of these 2 options? I don't know if they really work or not or how safe they are but I am going to talk to my doctor about them and see what he thinks. If you have heard of this or tried it could you tell me a bit more about them please?

Many of us have tried one, the other, or both of these supplements. I've got to say, though, that one month likely isn't going to be a long enough trial to see if it's making a difference. While you might notice some kind of change after a month, it usually takes a minimum of three months to establish a therapeutic, steady dose. Three to six months is considered a fair trial range.

Okay. Onward to the supplements themselves.

Vitamin B2 is riboflavin. Since it's a B vitamin, it's water-soluble. The nice thing about that is that you can't really overdo it. Your system will flush out the excess. 400mg is the usual dose for migraine prevention that I've always seen, and my neuro doc started me on back when I took it. B vitamins work together, and I've heard if you're taking one part of a B-complex, then you should take the others, too. I accomplished this by taking a B-complex supplement along with the B2.

Coenzyme Q10 is one thing I haven't ever tried, but I know that some of the others of us have. I know Teri has taken it in the past, and still might be. I don't know much about it, myself, but I can link to this article on CoQ10.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you talk to your doctor before adding either of these. Even though they're supplements, they still should be treated as medications. There are potential side effects and contraindications you'd need to discuss with your doctor before starting them.

Droolie is quite right. One month is not long enough to know if either of these is going to work.

It's now recommended that the daily dose of CoQ10 for Migraine prevention be 300mg daily. It does not need to be started slowly and tapered up. In fact, multiple doses makes it significantly more expensive. It also needs to be gelcap form because powdering it to make tablets or capsules makes it less effective.

One more thing the ER doctor didn't mention -- but Droolie did -- is that you shouldn't start either of these without checking with your regular doctor.

I still take CoQ10 and it does help me. I started seeing results at about 8 weeks, but in the study, it usually took 9 - 12 weeks.

My doc wants me to start B2 too. I couldn't find it at Target though, guess I will have to go to a specialty vitamin store. I wanted it more for energy, however. But if it helps the migraines, so be it!

I had to get mine at a health food store, too. The part I hated about all that was that all I could ever find was a standard 100mg capsule. Considering that the usual dose for migraine prevention is 400mg, that meant I had to gobble four caps a day, on top of everything else. Considering that the capsules are fairly small, it would stand to reason that they could produce a 200mg capsule, at least, that wouldn't be any bigger than say, the magnesium capsules I take. But they don't. *shrug*

quote:

Originally posted by Leeloo:
My doc wants me to start B2 too. I couldn't find it at Target though, guess I will have to go to a specialty vitamin store. I wanted it more for energy, however. But if it helps the migraines, so be it!

I bought my B2 from Iherb.com. I got the link from Terry's list of what she takes. Maybe someone more talented then me can post the link here? and Coq10. I have been on it for about four months and I do think it helps!

lisa

Ask and ye shall receive! ...

Here's the link to iherb.com. Clicky clicky!

quote:

Originally posted by lisa ebk:
I bought my B2 from Iherb.com. I got the link from Terry's list of what she takes. Maybe someone more talented then me can post the link here? and Coq10. I have been on it for about four months and I do think it helps!

lisa

Thanks for the link! I'm going to see what I can get for the money! Not a bad price on one of the bottles of Ribo for only $10.

Certainly! You are most welcome!