Untitled
4 days ago
Not a great start to the new year/new decade. Have had a migraine since yesterday, and today it’s much worse. The snowy weather isn’t helping at all. I will see my migraine doc on Tuesday.
People who have done this
|
|
|
|
||||
How to get my migraine headaches under control
It made me
Capable, Serene
 "I haven't had to take my prescription medicine in over a year now!"
How I did it: The main thing for me was paying attention to artificial sugars - aspartame is a death sentence. I was getting migraines constantly until I realized this. It's in everything nowadays, even gum. I didn't get my migraines totally under control until I cut out dairy completely, even reading labels to see if there is any in breads and such. I don't think dairy gives me migraines, but I think it makes me more susceptible. Because it isn't a direct cause and it is in everything, it was really hard to pinpoint. I'm already lactose intolerant, so I never ate much anyway. When I'm avoiding dairy, I don't have to be so concerned with getting a full night's sleep, getting stressed out, having a glass of red wine, or other things I know can sometimes give me migraines. Also, learning some breathing/meditation techniques has helped me lesson stress, curbing the drastic up and downs that gave me migraines. Moreover, just being true to my own needs, learning to say no when I need to say no, not taking on more than I can handle, (as much as possible anyway) helps with the stress.
Also helpful, I had a neurologist tell me to take melatonin (I can only handle 1mg or I'm out for about 24 hours) every night before bed. I think has helped me tremendously because it helps you relax while you sleep, and I had TMJ from grinding my teeth beforehand. My dentist had given me a mouth guard, but that just gave me something to bite on and didn't help. The neurologist also said to take 300mg vitamin B daily (which I haven't done since I gave up dairy, but it seemed to be helpful beforehand). Lessons & tips: If a doctor tells you that there is nothing lifestyle related you can do to lessen your migraines, that prevention is not worthwhile, and that you should just take meds, as I had a doctor tell me, find another doctor. I studied health promotion in school and have worked at hospitals with doctors and nurses on healthy lifestyle programs, and sometimes it is amazing what doctors do and do not know. They are often trained to treat, not to prevent and asking them about prevention and healthy lifestyles is often as good as asking someone in the general public. This is not always the case, a lot of doctors have a wealth of information and fully deserve their title as "experts" but certainly not all. Also, everybody's triggers and bodies are different. Just because it works for one person does not mean it works the same way. You have to learn your own body and find your own specific way to deal.
Resources: Healthy Eating for Life for Women by the PCRM (This is the book that convinced me to try giving up dairy, and I haven't had to had to take my prescription meds since.)
5 people found this helpful
|
|||||||
More "How I Did It" stories
It made me
healthier
How I did it: I looked at several different aspects of my life and tried my best to improve them. I tried to minimize the amount of harmful substances I was ingesting, as well as the amount of physical and emotional stress I was dealing with. I went off birth control. I cut back on processed foods and caffeine, and I eliminated MSG and artificial sweeteners entirely. I started stretching before bed to minimize tension in my neck an… Read how I did it…
It made me
Amazed and Happy
How I did it: There are possibly some neurological causes for migraines, but I suspect that in most people it is psychological/lifestyle related.Fortunately due to the massive redunancy in the human brain, we have the opportunity to reprogram ourselves, even in the face of neurological defects.In a sudden agonising day of inspiration and cross eyedness, I realised that my headaches were casued by the two halves of by brain going into a deadlock.As we a… Read how I did it…
It made me
Painless
How I did it: I got the advice from my physician that I should try not to multitask and take autogenic training classes. And not wait till the pain gets really bad to take aspirin (you may need another medication) but when I get the feeling that a migraine attack is approching. Read how I did it…
People doing this are also doing these things:
Entries
shoemaker is OVERWHELMED
BEEN
1 month ago
1. eating healthy (down 10 pounds);
2. doing yoga;
3. sleeping;
AND
now I have a terrible WHOPPER…
shoemaker is OVERWHELMED
Dissapointment
1 month ago
I thought the combination of -
1. a much healthier diet, ZERO caffeine, Zero junk-food, weekday vegan (only one peice of meat and one piece of fish each weekend), ALMOST ZERO added sugar; and -
2. weekley Yoga class; and -
3. more regular sleep habits;
would greatly reduce the migraines.
No such luck (yet)...
Tension Headaches
7 months ago
Since finals week, I’ve had persistent headaches. I know they aren’t migraines because the pain is bilateral. When I have migraines, the pain is only on the left side of my head.
I think a lot of it has to do with neck tension and, since I grind my teeth in my sleep, tension in my jaw.
Completing final papers was quite a stressful situation, which was followed by a lot of car trips, a move, and now a job hunt. I need to find a way to deal with stress more effectively.
wendylynn is
progress
8 months ago
I have recently reduced my headaches by getting adequate nutrition. I used a software program to record what I eat, and tell me if I was getting enough of all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Too much Vitamin A was triggering headaches, as was too little potassium, water, and folate. Balancing my omega 3’s helped too.
Triggers
9 months ago
After removing preservatives and artificial sweeteners from my diet, I’ve narrowed down my triggers to a few possibilities:
- Grinding my teeth in my sleep
- Tension in my neck muscles
- Skipping meals
- An allergy to pollen
- Chocolate or soy
I’ve also noticed that caffeine can really help me, so I usually take my Maxalt with a can of soda now.
Radical changes.
9 months ago
I’m currently taking Maxalt, which is great, but makes me unbelievably drowsy. The side effects are just about as debilitating as having an actual migraine, so due to the frequency with which I’m getting headaches, it isn’t enough.
I’ve been doing research on so-called migraine diets, and have decided to change how I eat. First of all, I finally got off my school’s meal plan, which means I can start cooking for myself.
I’m cutting out trigger foods that I consume the most frequently. These include (unfortunately!):
- Alcohol
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Bacon
- Soy beans
- Sourdough bread
- Soy sauce/miso/teriyaki sauce
In addition, I’m being very picky about what I cook with. Today while buying spices, I noticed that McCormick’s includes a preservative with their ginger. While it may not be a trigger, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life Googling every obscure chemical name to find out if it’s okay to consume. I’m just going to get something without preservatives.
The good news is that there are several foods thought to help with migraines, which I’m going to up my consumption of:
- Cream cheese
- Peppermint
- Fish
- Turkey
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Black-eyed peas
- Calcium-rich foods (dairy, spinach, broccoli)
I’m really hoping that making positive changes to my diet will be more helpful than just drugging myself to sleep.
Common triggers:
9 months ago
- Cheese
- Chocolate
- Citrus fruits
- Hot dogs
- MSG
- Aspartame
- Fatty foods
- Ice cream
- Caffeine withdrawal
- Alcoholic drinks, especially red wine and beer
Bloody life-ruining nuisances.
10 months ago
Migraines are genetic, my mother gets them as well. To treat them I take two or three paracetamol, or two or three ibuprofen, and the drug sumatriptan. Sometimes it doesn’t work, case in point: have had current migraine for four days now.
I don’t have much to get stressed about, having a crappy one-day-a-week job and a non-existant social life due to depression. Maybe that is the cause of my stress, though. I mostly get muscular migraines, seeing as I have back problems and ever-present knots in my neck and shoulder muscles. I eat junk food on an almost daily basis, which can’t help, either.
→ See all 75 entries
Ask for advice: Get help from people who've accomplished this goal
 |
Emily asks,
“Do you take any prescription drugs for migraine treatment? What are they, and have they been helpful?”
— 9 months ago |
|
 |
shoemaker asks,
“Conventional medicine doesn't seem to be doing it - has anyone had success with alternative medicine?”
— 3 years ago |
|
