One of my symptoms of the Lyme disease infection I’ve had for 12 years is migraines. I’ll never forget my first migraine from Lyme. I was in traditional medical treatment, taking antibiotics, and had just started a new, powerful antibiotic. My grandmother was dying of lung cancer and I had plans to go see her and essentially, say goodbye. I began feeling the tell tale signs of a migraine but I didn’t know it then, as I’d never had one before. By the time I got home from that visit, I was leaned over in the car, holding my head, and crying as my husband drove us home.
At the time, I had no idea how to take care of it. I just remember laying in bed, holding my head, trying not to cry, because, as you likely know, crying only makes it worse. I woke up the next day with a dull headache and so began the decades long experience with migraines and the migraine cycle. I’ve learned how to handle the migraines better since then. I have a routine with migraine relief now. And in this article I’m going to talk about my first line of defense: peppermint essential oil.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. An essential oil can treat migraines?
Here’s what I want to make clear before we go any further. I am no doctor of medicine, I am no expert in oils, I’m only telling you what has worked for me and maybe, just maybe, it can work for you, too. And maybe it won’t. So please take my story and understand that it may be how I handle migraines and headaches but it may not necessarily work for you. And that’s okay. We all have our own journey and have to learn how to handle our migraines in our own ways.
So now that we got that out of the way, let me tell you how I use peppermint oil, the brand I use, and a bit about peppermint oil.
Brand I use: Plant Therapy.
I have used oils from two of the big MLM companies and a couple other smaller companies and have landed on Plant Therapy as my go-to oil brand. I feel confident in the quality and I have no problem using their oils on my skin (the ones that are skin safe). If you want to use oils internally, which I just don’t feel comfortable doing at this time, I recommend YoungLiving’s Vitality line, which they say is safe to use internally.
Peppermint Overview:
Peppermint oil is believed to help with muscle aches, joint pain, headaches, seasonal allergies, skin support, and more. You can read tons more about peppermint oil and it’s benefits, history etc on Dr. Axe’s website.
How I Use Peppermint Oil:
I have used specialized migraine and headache blends from more than one oil company before realizing plain peppermint oil works best for me and my migraines/headaches. There are other blends though so if peppermint oil doesn’t do it for you, you could try a headache blend and see if that works for you, instead.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT rub your eyes with peppermint oil on your fingers. It will burn!
I personally take the peppermint oil straight from the bottle but if you have sensitive skin you may prefer to dilute it with a carrier oil before putting it on your skin. Please note, peppermint oil can feel really cold, almost like a stinging feeling, for some. I’ve found that, for me, it’s not a problem, nor does it sting or hurt, it’s just a refreshing tingling sensation.
I use one drop per temple and then rub the rest across the middle of my forehead. IF the migraine is bad enough, I’ll do a drop and rub it in the back of each side of my neck, as well.
Peppermint alone doesn’t typically remove the fullness of a migraine. However, if I have a headache, if I catch it at the beginning, it will. What peppermint oil does do for my migraines is make them manageable, so that I’m not in a horrible migraine state, unable to do anything else but lay in bed and cry.
Some other things that work for me with migraine:
Cold therapy
Sunglasses
Dark, quiet room
Sleeping
In Closing:
Peppermint Oil is a tool of my migraine arsenal and isn’t typically the only tool I use. It is an important tool for my migraines and work to help ease the pain. And as anyone who suffers with chronic migraines knows, we usually don’t have one solution that works to remove all the pain.
I prefer peppermint oil from Plant Therapy. I am not an affiliate of Plant Therapy, I don’t make money telling you about them. I just love their products and am offering that company as a possibility for you.
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