Last year I started getting headaches about
5 out of every 7 days and wondered if I'd ever have bit of relief again. (You can check my posting history. It was a year ago exactly that I was on this message board in desperation.) Well, my migraines are not cured completely, but I have better control this year with only slight headaches once every two weeks or so. Much more manageable these days. I've learned some things I'll share here.
I live in Baltimore, one of the medical centers of the the world. Last month I picked up a magazine, "Baltimore Best Doctors" which has the best peer chosen doctors listed in each specialty, including Headache-neurologists specifically. I was SO happy to read that they distinguished between normal neurologist and neurologists specializing in headache! I had a list of the 4 or so top rated headache specialists in my area which I was not aware of.
One of the docs at the top of the list is a doctor who wrote the book, "Heal you Headache", the 1, 2, 3, program. I recently checked it out from my local library and read right through it.
I really loved his approach and it totally aligned with what I'd been finding in my own experience with constant chronic stubborn headaches.
Simply put, he believes most doctors get it wrong because many/most headache prescribed medicines actually fuel the headache cycle by causing the rebound effect. His approach eliminates those. Secondly he understands the key of dietary triggers and lists what they are and how to eliminate them, and thirdly he teaches you how to stay better below your migraine or headache threshold naturally, and lists the meds which don't cause the rebound effect which may be used to help. I'd slowly been creating my own regimen in the last year trial and error and was happy to see his approach was similar to mine.
I realize that too much sleep pushes me above my threshold. Anything more than 8 hours is bad for me. Interestingly, too little sleep seems to reduce my headache risk, not raise it, though I know all people are different.
Secondly I know the foods that I CANNOT touch now. MSG is a biggie, along with many other foods. I eat the same things every week and I have very little variation and my headaches are now reduced significantly.
Normal routine seems to help. I notice more headaches on the weekends, which I assume is due to abnormal eating times, abnormal activity, and abnormal amounts of sleep.
I recommend reading this book if you have not. It was very eye
opening for me and I thought about
the many people from this message board who suffer with difficult to treat headache situations.
Post Edited (CharmCityLady) : 5/28/2014 8:22:07 PM (GMT-6)