More migraine options

Glenn Reynolds insta-blogged yesterday about this gadget, that uses a magnetic pulse to stave off a budding migraine.

There’s also this, which I found out about through my friend Dave Harney, who publishes Rochester Healthy Living: an FDA-approved device you wear on your front teeth at night to reduce jaw clenching. The company claims in trials, 82 percent of the device users had a 77% average reduction in “migraine events.”

Here’s the manufacturer’s website.

Here are some interesting facts about the link between headache and jaw clenching (one caveat: these aren’t sourced . . .):

* [The j]aw clenching muscles of migraine sufferers are 70% larger in volume and generate significantly higher bite forces that control subjects . . .

*Tension-type headache patients contract their temporalis muscles (clench their jaw) during sleep, on average, 14 times more intensely that asymptomatic controls.

*Simple minimal voluntary jaw-clenching (of less than 30% of maximum effort) for 30 minutes (with two rest periods) still results in a headache for 63% of migraine sufferers. Jaw clenching during sleep can frequently exceed voluntary maximum.

I haven’t tried the device, but I plan to. Ever since I learned about it I’ve made a conscious effort to relax my jaw and that seems to be helping me avoid full-blown migraines. I really think there’s something to this one.

Migraines are hell

And the monkey on my back that I can’t seem to shake.

Any ideas for alt treatments that you have, please share! I’ve run out of ideas. What I’ve tried: chiropractic, various nutritional supplements, progesterone cream, drinking more water, warming my hands & feet during the pre-headache stage, avoiding triggers. Nothing seems to help consistently. Anyone have any other ideas?