I came across this board while looking for migraine info but this may help those with CH.  My finance had a continuous migraine for 6 weeks.  I thought I was going to lose her as she was giving up on life and I was afraid she might have a stroke as well.   To be brief, she started taking a teaspoon of baking soda first thing in the morning about 16 days ago after 3 days she started getting relief.    The intensity and frequency are lessening.  We have our fingers crossed as she has not had a migraine in 5 days  her last migraine was a few hours.  Now when she eats a food not on her diet she gets a head ache but not a migraine. (She is on a histamine intolerant, gluten free diet.)    Now she is up and running.   So far so good.     She is into her 3rd week of using the bicarb and now she is backing off  the dosage.    If this continues to work  it will safe her sanity and our money.   If there is an interest I will post more.   Good luck to all of you the board.  I understand how you hurt at times.   There is more to tell but I am being brief as this is off topic for the board.

Has she tried omeprazole? I'm assuming the bicarbonate was for stomach acid problems, not for treatment of migraines.

Hmmm...it's all news to me. I thought you took bicarb for stomach acid. Shows what I know. Glad she's found some relief.

impediment wrote on Nov 16^th, 2010 at 3:12pm:

   Maybe pickled beets would cure her. She can have mine.

              Potter

She might as well have eaten pickled beets. She was feeling confident and ate mushroom soup. Now she has a head ache but it is not a migraine so ...

Yes Potter,  milk and mushrooms are both triggers.   She said her body is wrecked but no migraine.  So,  it both bad and good news.  I have been looking to see if others have used bicarbs for migraines and found  it's an Amish folk remedy.  I talked with a woman who had migraines all her life then took sodium bicarb for apx. 3 weeks before her migraines disappeared and now she just takes the bicarb when her body tells her too.   I knew nothing at all about migraines until a month ago.  Then I researched the defective TRESK gene and what the ramifications were.  From what I understand someone with a migraine has acidosis of the brain and a localized potassium build up at the brain stem.   Potassium and sodium bicarb play off each other in order to cool the brain.   I am not 100 percent sure I have this right but it sure seems that the bicarbs have abated the migraine.  Still,  I can't be sure for another few days.   If she goes a week without a migraine it will be a win.  She has taken every medication available over the last 50 years and nothing has worked.   The morphine patches became intolerable as the withdrawals were unbearable for her.  So I had to do something.   I am keeping my fingers crossed.

thanks for the suggestion.   She does need more tests.  Two weeks ago she had an MRI of her brain.   She has a doctor that cares but the Doc is not getting the job done.   I think she needs her hormone levels checked as well.   The good news is she has gone another day migraine free.    At least she is having a break from the pain.  Hopefully it lasts.   She will be completely of the sodium bicarb by Friday.

Have you checked the Meegrainers forums.  Maybe they would have more answers for you.

                              Potter