there are very few studies of supplements for headaches but there are 2 or 3 things that do have pretty good evidence for migraine prevention: vitamin b2 (riboflavin): this works ok for headache prevention but you have to take 200 mg twice a day for it to work. there was a clinical trial in 1996 that showed this was better than placebo at migraine prevention. butterbur root extract (also called petadolex plant name is petasites hybridus): there was a nice study in 2004 that showed this was effective for migraine prevention. the dose is 50 mg 3 times a day (or 150 mg/day). this occasionally causes an upset stomach but i have not had other complaints of side effects from patients. co enzyme q10: this had a nice study done in 2004 showing it was effective for headache prevention. unfortunately they used a form not on the market. i've suggested using 100 mg 2 or 3 times a day to patients. this medication is kind of expensive so not very many of my patients have tried it. feverfew: this had a recent study done in 2011 showing that when combined with ginger it helped treat mild headaches and helped prevent more serious headaches. combinations of feverfew and ginger are available in stores. be sure to follow the dose on the label.
are herbal supplements helpful for relieving headaches?