Finding a treatment for your migraines can be incredibly difficult. Common prescription options, like dihydroergotamines, work for some patients, but not for all. Often, these medications help reduce the severity or frequency of migraines to some degree, but patients are still left with some symptoms to manage by other means. One solution some people are turning to for these residual symptoms is kratom capsules. Here's a closer look at kratom capsules and how they may work as a migraine remedy.

What is kratom?

Kratom is a plant or herb that hails from Asia. It has been used for medicinal purposes in Asia for many years but is just recently becoming popular in the United States. Kratom contains substances that interact with your opiate receptors to provide pain relief. You can buy kratom in many health food stores and from herbal healers. It usually comes in capsule form. 

How can kratom help treat migraines?

Kratom can help treat migraines because of the multi-faceted way it interacts with your body and its processes. Its most notable benefit is pain relief, of course. But kratom can also help ease feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. For many patients, stress, anxiety, and depression exist in an unfortunate cycle with migraines. They contribute to migraines, and the migraines also make these other symptoms worse! Kratom helps break this cycle by easing all of these migraine symptoms and contributors at once.

How much kratom should you take?

Check with your doctor or an herbal medicine expert for exact dosing recommendation. In general, though, it is best to start with a low dose, see how that affects you, and then slowly increase the dose if you think you need more. Kratom is often sold in 1 gram capsules. Start by taking 1 gram, and work your way up from there. At too high of a dose, kratom can cause unpleasant side effects like nausea and vomiting. So never take more than the lowest effective dose.

When should you take kratom?

Kratom tends to work best if you take it when you first feel a migraine coming on. For some patients, it stops the migraine in its tracks. For others, it just reduces the severity of the migraine throughout the entire migraine progression.

Kratom is a natural herb, but it is one you want to take carefully. If you are thinking about using kratom capsules for migraines, check with a local doctor to ensure it won't interact negatively with any other meds you are taking. Then, start with a low dose, and see how you feel. The relief can be magnificent if you do it right.