Natural Remedies?
My friend’s boyfriend is having severe muscle tension (mostly in his shoulders) and tension migraines. He is also vomiting and is sensitive to light. They are going to the doctor soon but we want to help relieve the pain he is in before that. Does anyone know of some natural remedies we can use, or perhaps some OTC cures? We need something affordable, something we can run to the local supermarket and get. He is already taking Excederin and soaking in hot water and Epsom salt, but we need something to ease his stomach and muscles more. Any help is greatly appreciated 
Answer by Rich S
Natural remedies are always iffy because there’s no guarantee of the quality of the product you’re using, many remedies (despite heavy-duty marketing) flat out don’t work, and they tend to be needlessly expensive.
First of all, I would get him off the Excedrine as it contains caffeine. Caffeine can cause mild to moderate muscle tension and nausea, so get rid of it. A good OTC medicine for muscle pain is tylenol or naproxen (Aleve).
Regarding the nausea and muscle tension, there’s an OTC drug that can treat both of those symptoms. It’s called Dimenhydrinate, and is also called “Dramamine.” It’s for motion sickness, and it so happens that it has muscle relaxing properties. A very similar drug is Diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl and most OTC sleeping pills).
Combining a pain reliever like tylenol with an anti-emetic (which means anti-nauseant) like Benadryl or Dramamine, and your friend should find at least some relief. As far as the photosensitity, that’s best looked at by a doctor.
Please keep in mind that Dramamine and Benadryl will most definitely cause some drowsiness. If it becomes a problem, you can try Meclizine (aka “Dramamine 2″ or “Bonine”). It causes less drowsiness, but also relaxes the muscles less.
I’d be willing to bet that the hot bath, some Dramamine, and some tylenol would provide great relief. This would be a good night-time remedy. During the day, you could do the same but substitute Dramamine with Dramamine 2 (or Bonine) to combat drowsiness.
Did you know that Tylenol PM contains both the tylenol and the diphenhydramine? That might save him some money!
In any case, he should really stop taking the Excedrine. It makes me nauseous and gives me the shakes.