Holy cow, batman.

[kimberkit]

Today, we took a look at how massage can help migraine sufferers. Christ, I had some vague clue about how migraines suck, but I never realized how LONG the list of possible triggers alone were, or how careful migraine sufferers have to be to avoid the entire list.

Foodwise alone, the list of triggers is staggering. No foods that have remotely even seen any chemical processing (especially no cured or smoked foods, no sandwich meats and no bacon), no wine (sulfites, yeast, sugar), no chocolate, no high fat, no high sugar, no dairy, no cheese, no nuts that haven't been heated to get rid of any possible agedness first... it seems like you essentially have to shop and cook wholly organic to really be safe. That isn't the worst fate in the world, but the other triggers seem more tricky to avoid.

It's raining out. That means that there is a pressure change, and somewhere out in my fair city, not only are millions of arthritis sufferers wincing, but it's set off a nice wave of migraines.

I guess there are upsides; rain washes away most scents, so you're safe for a day or two after it rains, as long as you're not trapped on a subway/bus with someone with strong perfume or nail polish or hairspray or who happens to be wearing a dry-cleaned suit (uses chemicals). My lobby smells like ammonia in the mornings, though, and I have to wonder: how many people can't live in my building because it means that every morning is a new migraine? Is it more horrible to be a smoker and have migraines, because the smoke scent will embed itself in your brain with aversion during the migraine?

Meanwhile, if strobing/moving lights are a trigger, that makes it seem like night driving is out, going near reflective and shiny buildings at noon is really out, and I have to wonder about flash photography and ever getting your photo taken.

I guess I'm just shocked at the list because, I suppose, I never thought of migraines as being such an all-encompassing disorder.

David just called to say that he wasn't coming to swim with me because of a migraine. (No surprises there, having just written this; rain plus stress of having to be at work equals migraine.) I never realized how much discipline you really have to have to avoid migraines; making time for meditation, massage, stress relief, and avoiding triggers takes a kind of focused discipline I know that I would struggle with.

Comments

[pallasathene82.livejournal.com]

Or in the case of a lot of people, you just suffer through them or take the expensive pills. Luckily for my mom, hers were hormonal so she stopped having them during menopause.

Like everything else (gall bladder stones included) there is a large gap between what doctors say you should do and what you can reasonably get away with. It's more knowing your own body and your own limits.

Many things can trigger a depressive episode, as well. Doesn't mean I live in constant fear of having a depressive attack. Like everything, this too shall pass.

[kimberkit.livejournal.com]

Heh. I live in fear of one, sometimes... but it's good that you know your body =) I also like the bun-bun icon.

[drlynch.livejournal.com]

as was sort of said above, most people are not triggered by all of those things and figure out what is to be avoided.

my sister, for instance, would refer to today in nyc as "bad light"--which is probably part of weather things that are triggers for her.

[cosmicbabe.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm lucky that I don't seem to have any food triggers (other than red wine, which I don't like anyway, and a few other types of alcohol, which don't matter since I quit drinking almost 4 years ago). My migraine attacks are definitely hormonally-related; I started getting them at puberty (first migraine hit the same month as the first period), I never had a migraine whilst pregnant (and rarely while breast-feeding), and they cluster in the few days just before and just after my period starts.

Weather gets me badly; my cousin & I noticed barometric links to our migraines when we realized we were getting them on the same days (when we hadn't been spending time together, so non-weather triggers wouldn't explain it) and there was usually a weather change at the time.

Almost all synthetic perfumes can trigger my migraines, so I scent-test anything I buy (shampoo, laundry soap, etc). A few natural scents are surprisingly bad triggers, though -- most notably musk and rose oil. Cigarette smoke doesn't cause me any problem at all; I was having migraines for years before I started smoking, and I suspect if the smoke had caused me problems, I would have stopped smoking pretty damned quickly. (I also have never noticed a reduction in migraine frequency during times I've quit smoking.)

Light and sound don't trigger migraines for me, but do significantly increase my misery when I have a migraine -- although, strangely, music without heavy bass never bothers me for some reason.

The absolute worst part about migraines besides the pain is the disorientation. My brain slows down and doesn't work right; even small decisions become difficult, and I have problems even thinking coherently. I feel a half-step out of sync with the world; it's kinda like all the bad parts of being drunk without any of the fun stuff.

[kimberkit.livejournal.com]

That guy from Law& Order in that icon is super cute there :) Man, I can't wait til I get to learn even more in my arsenal to deal with migraines; it'll be super if I can reduce the frequency in someone's life, since they sound absolutely vile.

[cosmicbabe.livejournal.com]

If you come up with any unusual treatments, be sure to let me know! I'll try anything.

I've tried acupuncture -- didn't help the migraines, but it sure was relaxing. I've tried homeopathy remedies -- tasted bad & didn't do a thing. I've tried every oddball thing out there that you can imagine, including putting magnets on my forehead (my mother insisted, she is just a whack-job but it made her happy for me to try it), mushroom tea, and inversion boots. Okay, I haven't tried yoga...but that's next on my list. *grin*

[cosmicbabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, and forgot to mention that migraine disease is far worse than "just" getting debilitating headaches. Migraine sufferers are at least 35% more at risk for stroke, and there's increasing evidence of greater risk for aneurysms, also.