How Effective is Coenzyme Q10 for Migraine Headaches?

Ethos Ho, Bsc Pharm Candidate

What is Coenzyme Q10?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally occurring compound that’s found in high concentrations in the heart, liver, kidney, and pancreas of humans. CoQ10 is essential for the normal functioning of various processes in the body, and it stands to reason why it’s used for the treatment of so many conditions including:^1,2

• Fibromyalgia
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Migraine Headaches

If you currently struggle with migraine headaches, then you may be curious about the use of over-the-counter products to treat your symptoms. Lately, CoQ10 has been marketed heavily as a natural supplement for controlling or eliminating the symptoms of migraines.

How Safe is Coenzyme Q10?

CoQ10 is a generally well-tolerated supplement when taken orally, with no significant or dangerous side-effects reported in clinical studies. Rarely, in about 1% of cases, individuals may experience gastrointestinal side-effects including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. CoQ10 does not appear to interact with most prescription medications, although caution is advised when taking CoQ10 with certain anti-cancer, blood-pressure and blood thinning medications.¹

CoQ10 is likely safe for adults when used orally and appropriately, with safety being established in studies lasting up to 30 months of continuous use. In children, it is possibly safe in doses of 1-3 mg/kg/day or 10 mg/kg/day under medical supervision for up to 9 months. It’s also possibly safe during pregnancy at a dose of up to 100mg twice daily any time between 20 weeks gestation until term.  Currently, there is insufficient information for use in breastfeeding women, and therefore CoQ10 is not recommended during breastfeeding.¹

How Effective is Coenzyme Q10 for Migraines?

A 4-month study compared individuals taking their regular medications versus those who also took 100 mg CoQ10 daily. The study found that those taking CoQ10 had a significant reduction in headache severity and frequency of attacks per month. No adverse events were reported by any of the individuals taking CoQ10, suggesting a very safe medication.²

Another study that looked at taking CoQ10 100mg three times a day for the prevention of migraines found that it significantly reduced migraine frequency, headache-days and days-with-nausea after three months of use, suggesting that CoQ10 may be a good option for preventing migraines, not just treating them.⁴

In children, CoQ10 supplementation has only been found useful in those that have an established CoQ10 deficiency,³ where it was found that supplementation significantly reduced disability and headache frequency.^1-5

The Bottom Line

Coenzyme Q10 appears to be a good option for both treating and preventing migraines for adults in doses up to 100mg three times a day. On the other hand, only children who have a severe deficiency in CoQ10 are likely to benefit from supplements. At this time, CoQ10 is not recommended for breastfeeding mothers, and pregnant women should consult a healthcare provider before starting CoQ10. It may take up to three months of continuous use to see any benefit, but on the other hand, it appears that CoQ10 is a largely safe and well-tolerated product. 

The bottom line? CoQ10 may be a safe and natural option for controlling migraines when used together with regular medications – consult your healthcare provider if you’re curious about CoQ10.

As always, we hope you took away something valuable from this piece. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this article or others, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, or at ask@orbishealth.ca with your feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

RESOURCES

1. Natural Medicines
2. Shoeibi, A., Olfati, N., Soltani Sabi, M., Salehi, M., Mali, S., & Akbari Oryani, M. (2016). Effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 in prophylactic treatment of migraine headache: an open-label, add-on, controlled trial. Acta Neurologica Belgica, 117(1), 103-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13760-016-0697-z
3. Mauskop, A. (2012). Nonmedication, Alternative, and Complementary Treatments for Migraine. CONTINUUM: Lifelong Learning In Neurology, 18, 796-806. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/01.con.0000418643.24408.40
4. Sandor, P., Di Clemente, L., Coppola, G., Saenger, U., Fumal, A., & Magis, D. et al. (2005). Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in migraine prophylaxis: A randomized controlled trial. Neurology, 64(4), 713-715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000151975.03598.ed
5. Hershey, A., Powers, S., Vockell, A., LeCates, S., Ellinor, P., & Segers, A. et al. (2007). Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency and Response to Supplementation in Pediatric and Adolescent Migraine. Headache: The Journal Of Head And Face Pain, 47(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2007.00652.x