Taming the Dragon: Chonic Headaches and Migraines

So many people I know (myself included) are plagued by migraines or by chronic debilitating headaches. I have found that in many cases once the detective work has been done effectively, we can eradicate the causes of these inner fire breathing dragons that hold so many of us hostage.

Quick Definitions:
A migraine is NOT just a really bad headache. Migraines involve a whole host of other systems and symptoms that can range from visual disturbances such as the illusion of flickering lights or auras, to severe light induced nausea, to hemi-facial (“half the face”) pain, numbness or nerve dysfunction. Often pain is actually less of an issue than the other symptoms which can drive some sufferers into dark silent rooms for days. Most people who are susceptible will experience their first migraine right around puberty.

Chronic daily headaches (CDH) are defined by their frequency (15 or more days out of each month for more than 3 months) and the primacy of blinding pain as the key symptom. Another type of chronic headache is tension-induced which typically hurts on both sides of the head and evolves from tension of the muscular structures of the head, neck and/or shoulders. A perfect example would be the headaches often caused by temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ).

Common causes include medication misuse or overuse; allergies and toxic exposures; stress; sleep issues; caffeine withdrawal or overindulgence; illness; infection; skipping meals; chronic dehydration; and obesity. Often there is a hormonal component that comes into play (especially for women). Testing is an important part of the detective work to get to the root cause. Get really clear on what your symptoms are, when they occur, and consider using a food journal to track what you eat in relationship to the occurrences.

My Own Story:
As a teen I began noticing that I had worsening headaches every time I ate conventionally raised beef. In college I tried vegetarianism and the headaches disappeared. In my 20s I opted to try a hamburger with a couple of glasses of cabernet right after a week of high stress, little sleep after recovering from food poisoning while traveling. Needless to say, I gave myself my first migraine and ended up in a foreign hospital for five days while a multitude of tests were run to be sure I wasn’t having a brain hemorrhage. My symptoms: flickering visual aura in my right eye, extreme light sensitivity, nausea, numbness and tingling on the right side of my face, and a strange “far away” feeling headache. Once I determined it was linked to conventionally grown beef and then learned how to manage my stress, I have only experienced a couple of migraines since without any medications.

3 Things to Try Right Now:
1 - ALWAYS start with a big glass of water. We are a chronically dehydrated culture. See what 16 ounces of cool water (not iced) does before diving into medications.
2 - Test for food allergies. Typical foods that drive the headache/migraine response include all those on my list above: red wines, aged cheeses, chocolate, caffeine, and cured meats as well as preservatives, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and hormone residues.
3 - Breathe. We often forget to simply breathe. Take time to just focus on the breath for a few minutes each day. If you don’t have any other stress-reduction technique, at least incorporate this one! You can do it anywhere!