Migraines strike again!

[untonuggan]

I know what the culprit was this time.

(1) Beautiful fall day, bright even with sunglasses (read: sunny).
(2) Running out of protein far from home and getting a turkey sandwich (read: nitrates).
(3) Resisting chocolate chip ice cream but having a five bites of a chocolate/vanilla bomba (read: chocolate counts even if you didn't order it yourself)
(4) Stress (enough said)
(5) Still in need of protein, I consumed a handful of hazelnuts (read: tyramine)

Combine to make your very own migraine!

Things to bear in mind for the future: carry snacks with me!

Also, does anyone know if there is a current migraine/headache community on Dreamwidth? I'm sure there are lots of folks who could share pointers/sympathy.

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

I think there might be a comm but I don't know what it is called. However, if you are looking for pointers and/or sympathy, I've been dealing with increasingly debilitating migraines for over a decade (as in - a friend with migraines mentioned sleeping in her walk-in closet to avoid light and I decided she was utterly brilliant). I've been doing some alternative stuff with medication available as back-up, and in the last year, I have managed to get to the point where I haven't experienced a single full-blown one.

[daedala]

This post may have useful information, though there doesn't seem to be a dw migraine community per se yet.

[untonuggan]

If only my walk-in closet didn't have a window!

I've been meaning to take up yoga and meditation more regularly again. (Why I haven't is...complex.)

What sort of alternative things have you been doing? Mine have been getting increasingly frequent, and I'm mainly trying to avoid food triggers (and being murdered by the sun so much I'm thinking of dealing with SAD and moving to somewhere where it rains all the time).

[untonuggan]

Thanks! *debates starting a comm*

[jumpuphigh]

The first thing I tried was an herbal mixture for headaches. This has worked surprisingly well as long as I take it the moment I notice symptoms starting. It decreased my medication needs to only a few times a year. However, those few times a year were really, really bad. ETA: Wanted to mention that my first neurologist was completely ok with me taking this. (Although I wasn't looking for permission. I was just giving her information that I was taking it and would be continuing to do so.)/ETA

I added acupuncture. If you haven't tried it, and you can find a good practitioner, I highly recommend it. I wasn't seeing her for migraines but after going to an appointment while having a migraine and having two needles in the back of my skull totally stop the migraine, I always had her do those two points. Unfortunately (or fortunately since it led me to try other things which worked better), my nerve oversensitivity from the MS made me have to stop getting treatment. Acupuncture shouldn't be painful and it never used to be but it was excruciating.

I see a chiropractor. I love her. I've loved all my chiros. However, treatment often triggers a migraine. I don't know why.

The thing that I started using for my migraines this spring is called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). It's a procedure where you tap on acupuncture points. In March, I went from "oh this is going to be a doozy of a migraine" to "huh, all gone" in less than 30 minutes of tapping. Since then, I haven't had a single doozy although I have had a few starts which I was able to handle with a few minutes of EFT. I can get you more information if you are interested.