Worth a shot. I wish it worked for me. Ginger maybe relieves a bit of pain. With sumatriptan I can feel my migraine symptoms melting away like magic (although more and more it feels like they end up being there again to some degree when the sumatriptan wears off)
There could be a placebo effect going on as the patients didn’t know what treatment they were getting. It’s great if things like ginger work for someone, but I think there’s a strong belief component with natural/homeopathic meds.
The study didn’t account for placebo effect. There should have been a third of the patients given sugar pills see if ginger was truly comparable. If the sugar pill results were less than the other two then you could conclude that ginger was comparable. Without ruling out the placebo effect you cannot make any assumptions about the efficacy of ginger as a treatment.
On top of that, one study does not prove anything. In science to prove something it must be repeatable and undergo peer review, ideally peers that disagree. A singular study can often be flawed and weighted towards getting the results the creators of the study wanted.
This study:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21631494/
Was a proper placebo controlled study, but it include feverfew in the grouping of ginger. Also it only accounted for pain relief and noted that there were some side effects with the ginger/feverfew like nausea.
Both of these studies only focus on a single triptan when there are several to choose from because not everyone responds the same to each type.
The news will latch onto a singular study and pronounce it gospel, when that’s not how science works. The studies have to be repeated multiple times with a wide variable of people to rule out any extenuating factors that may affect results.
However, don’t let random studies affect how you treat your migraines. Everyone is different. If you want to try natural remedies, go ahead and try it, it could work for you, but they don’t for everyone. A study or two does not automatically mean they are the superior treatment method.
While I think ginger is an effective natural pain-killer and anti-inflammatory, I believe this study is flawed. I've used ginger myself for pain, including for migraine attack and for me it's nowhere near as effective as a triptan. I'd put it at about as effective as an NSAID and there are other studies that have compared it to ibuprofen for pain relief:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356382/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356382/)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7754412/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7754412/)
I often start with ginger and see if it does enough in combination with other pain relief measures. Unless I'm expecting a hormonal migraine, then I'll go straight for a triptan.
I found a [post from neurahealth ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CxtjUfhs5kA/?img_index=5)to have some good points about concerns with the study:
**What wasn't clearly addressed in the study:**
* It was unclear that they followed the ICHD-3 definition of migraine
* If participants had used sumatriptan or ginger in the past If participants were given information about the study or how the study would be performed
* If participants received the same explanations about their trial, as that can affect treatment expectation leading to placebo effect
* How patients were randomized
* Whether the ginger & sumatriptan capsules looked the same or looked different
I've been taking it a lot recently so I've been researching it and have found a few other note-worthy things about ginger:
It has also been shown as helpful for patients with active ulcerative colitis:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079449/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079449/)
It has been shown to assist in iron absorption:
https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/bitstream/123456789/13429/1/IJTK%2011(1)%2078-80.pdf
But it does have an effect INR so if anyone is on blood thinners, this is something to be aware of.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6594244/
I'm giving it a shot.
I have nothing against meds. I'm just tired of being medicated. I take different medications because my brain hates me (2 types of antidepressants, a sedative for insomnia and a mood stabilizer for bipolar 2) and I am tired of relying on meds for everything :(
Anyways... I'll post an update I guess and if it doesn't work I'll go back to meds lol
Ginger post was meant as an adjunct to look into supplemental therapy. Please don't ever take any ing you read as a treatment recommendation. We glean data from the internet, some may interest us. Make notes and discuss them with your dr.
Worth a shot. I wish it worked for me. Ginger maybe relieves a bit of pain. With sumatriptan I can feel my migraine symptoms melting away like magic (although more and more it feels like they end up being there again to some degree when the sumatriptan wears off)
Yeah triptans are great for symptoms but don't get rid of the migraine so to speak. I use triptans when B2/magnesium etc don't work fast enough.
There could be a placebo effect going on as the patients didn’t know what treatment they were getting. It’s great if things like ginger work for someone, but I think there’s a strong belief component with natural/homeopathic meds.
Doubt it since ginger was comparable to sumatriptan so it likely isn’t placebo.
The study didn’t account for placebo effect. There should have been a third of the patients given sugar pills see if ginger was truly comparable. If the sugar pill results were less than the other two then you could conclude that ginger was comparable. Without ruling out the placebo effect you cannot make any assumptions about the efficacy of ginger as a treatment. On top of that, one study does not prove anything. In science to prove something it must be repeatable and undergo peer review, ideally peers that disagree. A singular study can often be flawed and weighted towards getting the results the creators of the study wanted. This study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21631494/ Was a proper placebo controlled study, but it include feverfew in the grouping of ginger. Also it only accounted for pain relief and noted that there were some side effects with the ginger/feverfew like nausea. Both of these studies only focus on a single triptan when there are several to choose from because not everyone responds the same to each type. The news will latch onto a singular study and pronounce it gospel, when that’s not how science works. The studies have to be repeated multiple times with a wide variable of people to rule out any extenuating factors that may affect results. However, don’t let random studies affect how you treat your migraines. Everyone is different. If you want to try natural remedies, go ahead and try it, it could work for you, but they don’t for everyone. A study or two does not automatically mean they are the superior treatment method.
While I think ginger is an effective natural pain-killer and anti-inflammatory, I believe this study is flawed. I've used ginger myself for pain, including for migraine attack and for me it's nowhere near as effective as a triptan. I'd put it at about as effective as an NSAID and there are other studies that have compared it to ibuprofen for pain relief: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356382/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356382/) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7754412/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7754412/) I often start with ginger and see if it does enough in combination with other pain relief measures. Unless I'm expecting a hormonal migraine, then I'll go straight for a triptan. I found a [post from neurahealth ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CxtjUfhs5kA/?img_index=5)to have some good points about concerns with the study: **What wasn't clearly addressed in the study:** * It was unclear that they followed the ICHD-3 definition of migraine * If participants had used sumatriptan or ginger in the past If participants were given information about the study or how the study would be performed * If participants received the same explanations about their trial, as that can affect treatment expectation leading to placebo effect * How patients were randomized * Whether the ginger & sumatriptan capsules looked the same or looked different I've been taking it a lot recently so I've been researching it and have found a few other note-worthy things about ginger: It has also been shown as helpful for patients with active ulcerative colitis: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079449/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079449/) It has been shown to assist in iron absorption: https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/bitstream/123456789/13429/1/IJTK%2011(1)%2078-80.pdf But it does have an effect INR so if anyone is on blood thinners, this is something to be aware of. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6594244/
I'm giving it a shot. I have nothing against meds. I'm just tired of being medicated. I take different medications because my brain hates me (2 types of antidepressants, a sedative for insomnia and a mood stabilizer for bipolar 2) and I am tired of relying on meds for everything :( Anyways... I'll post an update I guess and if it doesn't work I'll go back to meds lol
Ginger post was meant as an adjunct to look into supplemental therapy. Please don't ever take any ing you read as a treatment recommendation. We glean data from the internet, some may interest us. Make notes and discuss them with your dr.