Feverfew

I received some Feverfew in a trade, and have it potted up. What is feverfew used for and is it invasive is let loose out of the pot??

Thanks,

One thing it is used for is Migraine Headaches.
It has very pretty blooms. It can be grown in ground, doesn't send off tubers. It reseeds ifself. Seedlings can be pulled out, where unwanted.

A couple of caveats on herbal remedies:
Be sure you have correctly identified the herb to be used.
Start w/very small amount of any remedy to be ingested, to test for sensitivity.
Some remedies are cumulative, as is the case for feverfew for migraine headaches; may take up to 6 months to see effects.
You many already be familiar with these, but may be helpful for those who are new at using herbal remedies.

does anyone know if this actually works as a treatment for migraines?
it's on my list of things i want, because i have severe migraines and none of the prescription medications have worked for me thus far
i'd love to know if it actually works, before i find a place for it in my very crowded yard :)
Kim

miss_kitty: I do know that you can buy feverfew in capsule form from GNC or any of the health food type stores.

yeah, but i would get more satisfaction out of growing it myself!
hrm.. though, i suppose i could buy a bottle, to see if it works, and if it does, then i could grow it..
there's an idea
thanks, Debby :)

Miss_kitty, my dad is a pain specialist at UCLA, professor and head of the UCLA Pain Clinic, and he treats patients with severe/chronic migraines. I suffer from migraines and he gave me some samples once of a migraine treatment containing feverfew which is sprayed under the tongue and then swallowed. For me it worked better than Tylenol or Advil but not as well as a migraine medication. He said it worked for a few of his patients but only as well as it did for me--it never completely got rid of the migraine. It's definitely worth a try, though, especially if nothing else works for you.

Just wondering, has your doctor put you on any "seizure medications"? Many seizure meds are used now for people with chronic migraines, and successfully keep the migraines at bay or at least under control. If that's something you haven't tried yet you could ask your doctor about it. And something that has helped me tremendously is staying on a regular sleeping schedule. I'm prone to being a night owl but if I stay up late for a few nights I'm certain to have a doozy of a migraine!

Claire

This message was edited Jun 14, 2004 2:39 PM

no, claire.. no seizure medications
as a matter of fact, my current doctor has convinced himself (and tried to convince me) that i'm making up my migraines, they're not really happening.. i'm mimicking symptoms to try to get attention
lol
even though every other doctor i've ever been to says i've got migraines, has prescribed various migraine medications, etc.. one of which actually sort of worked.. sometimes
zomeg.... it helped a little bit, but not enough to really matter...
thanks to LouisianaSweetPea, i now have a feverfew plant!
so as soon as i figure out what method would be best for taking this stuff, i'm going to give it a shot .. the next time i have a migraine, that is
(because i really do have them! i dont make that stuff up.. i dont really think i COULD make myself go blind!)
thanks for the info :)

Kim

Why are there so many doctors who think their patients are making up their symptoms!! It baffles me. They're probably the ones who don't really enjoy being doctors (ie figuring out the problem, making a correct diagnosis, and then finding a treatment that works.) Well, that doctor needs to know how obvious it is that he doesn't like to "work" for his money. I guess he prefers the patients who can be diagnosed and treated in under 20 min so that he can see as many patients as possible in a day. Sorry, I'll stop. I'm assuming things that aren't very nice. But doctors like that just drive me nuts because I've been to 3 or 4 myself.

Anyway, good luck with the feverfew. But I would recommend buying a bottle of it first. The amount of "stuff" you would need from the plant might be a lot more than one plant can give you. I say "stuff" because I'm not sure which part of the plant is used. I know there is at least one herbal website that has specific recipes for herbal remedies and then there's also a book that my herbalist friends referred to as their "Bible". Your local library would probably have books on herbal remedies... Again, good luck! I hope you find something that works.

Claire

What I've heard about feverfew is that you want to chew 1-4 raw leaves per day as a preventative. It can cause mouth irritation, so some people put the leaves into sandwiches or wrap them up in bread. It's a preventative and not a remedy in herbal form.

If you buy the tablets, make sure you look for tablets that list the percentage of active ingredient, because the strength can vary widely from plant to plant, so you want a source that will give you a reliable strength.

I've grown double feverfew, which after a few generations of self-seeding has become single feverfew. It's a pleasant and sturdy plant, rather like mini daisies. It doesn't get very wide so it might be easy to find space for it. :) And I bet it would be fine in a container.

I haven't personally used feverfew to prevent migraines, but I'm on another herbal preventative which works very well for me: Gastrodia elata. (I get that from a TCM herbalist, but I can use Armillariella mellea, sold as "Tian ma mi huan su", as a substitute.) I have a cousin who used feverfew and B vitamins, and she says they cut her incidence down very well; she used feverfew in capsule form.

Good luck with the migraines and with your doctor!

Yes, be careful miss_kitty. I vaguely remember reading a cautionary statement about the cumulative effects of feverfew (especially if you are diabetic).

Have you tried Imitrex? I use the nasal-spray form. Nothing works 100% of the time, but this is the best I've found so far. NOT a narcotic, but sumatriptan (serotonin -- the brain chemical that gets out of whack and can cause migraines).

I would venture to say that most doctors have not experienced migraine headaches. I went through almost 30 years of all kinds of tests, X-rays, CAT scans, MRI's, etc., ordered by doctors who didn't have a clue (and obviously never had headaches either).

My physician had joined their office as an associate and was the first to mention Imitrex. I started keeping notes and found the "trigger" -- the monthly hormone flux brings them on Big Time.

When I asked for a pain-reliever to have on-hand for the times when the Imitrex didn't work, she mentioned over-the-counter Tylenol (that's like swallowing M&M's). I looked her in the eye and asked if SHE had ever experienced migraines or been around someone who had for any length of time. She admitted that she had not and proceeded to prescribe a more suitable medication.

I'd have to tell those doctors who think it is "all in your head" where to get off. Just because they might act with an authorative manner does not mean they know what they are talking about.

Hope you find some relief!

i've tried imitrex
.. and various other migraine medications, even some prescribed medications that werent FOR migraines, but might have helped.. with no go
the only thing i've tried that helped at ALL was Zomeg (i think that's what it is... tis a little orangey flavoured pill that you put on your tongue and let it dissolve)
and that really didnt help much at all, either
i dont get migraines very often, thank goodness...
i used to get them all the time, but as i'm getting older, i'm not getting them but 2-3 times a month (still too often for me!)
but when i DO get one, it's almots always a really BAD one

when i'm back in louisiana (since i'm in indiana.. at a friend's house, right now)
i will start trying a few feverfew leaves a day...
i would start now, but my plants are in louisiana

thanks for all the info, and suggestions! :)

Oh honey, I hope you find some relief. I wouldn't wish these headaches on my worst enemy. I find that, as I get older, the migraines are not as frequent nor as intense as when I was younger, and I know that is because as we age, our horomone levels change. Still, when the Big Ones come, it's just 'hold and roll' untill they pass.

I'm glad they're getting less frequent, at least... though ugh that they're big when they hit. :(

One thing that really helps for me is hydrating bigtime if I get any precursors (I'm lucky enough that I almost always get a good deal of visual aura, and no nausea, so I have warning and can do stuff about it.) Water is okay, and even better are electrolyte replacements like gatorade or similar. In a pinch I'll mix salt and sugar and lick it; if it tastes good I need it! And then drink lots and lots of water. That will sometimes stave off an oncoming migraine even if I'm seeing sparklies. Caffeine helps me, too, if I drink it during onset (and extra water).

I'm have to take the gastrodia, too; if I forget to take it, the migraines come back in a few days. I got sick a few years ago, and that changed the migraines from being something that happened occasionally to something that happened all the time, until I found that stuff. I've had a few this year, but they're paltry compared to the Summer Of Migraines.

It seems like they're so personal that you just have to find out what works and stick with it... good luck with the feverfew! Let me know if you want more information on my preventative, but it's probably harder for you to get than feverfew so I'm hoping that works.

It is also used for menstrual cramps.

Does anyone know which feverfew would be the one to use for migraines? I have extra tanacetum niveum and tanacetum parthenium (sp?) that I would like to find a home for. (One tan. niv. and 2 tan. parth.)

Chrysanthemum parthenium is the original, classic herbal Feverfew. It can be invasive as it reseeds with ease. I started using it for my son's mysterious fevers that coincided with my cycles, but it does little for my headaches which I treat, unfortunately with Imitrex and Vicodin. I do like the flowers for insect bites. Bees do not like it, so I am careful where I plant it.

Make sure you plant it in full sun (or at least a lot of sun) cause it can get fungus diseases on the leaves very easily if planted in mostly shade.

Besides being good for migrains...feverfew is just very nice to have in the garden. I love the way it comes up gangbusters in the spring and spreads (by seed not rhysome, so it is easy to control).

I have often collected the seed and scattered them around my garden just because it is such a pretty little daisy like flower that seems to last forever. Other plants looks nice alongside feverfew which seems always in bloom.

I read that you have to be careful taking feverfew if you are taking other blood thinners too. That includes aspirin. I wish all of you good luck with whatever works for you. Keep trying to find what works- DON'T continue to go to a doctor that thinks you are making it up. Migraines are physiological! Tell that doctor to go jump in the lake. I find that when I exercise regularly (ha ha) I don't get them as much.And by the way, my feverfew grows all over in the shade under my giant fir tree.

There is a website that is really good - run by migraine sufferers -I think it is called MAGNUM. It helped me a lot , especially to realize that the headaches are a real physiological disorder. Hope it helps.

Feverfew is a great cut flower, especially with roses. Lasts a long time in water.

Michelle