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Holy cow, batman.
Jun. 4th, 2007 05:06 pmToday, 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.
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.
