Migraine Headaches

[calendula]

So, just a little update on the migraines...

I have tried to reduce my carb intake...somewhat unsuccesfully. We really enjoy making our own bread, tortillas, pitas, etc..., so this has been very difficult for me. I did, however, order "Nourishing Traditions" on Amazon. Someone on this forum suggested it in a past thread (maybe Wifezilla?), so I thought I would give the soaking/fermenting stuff a try.

I have been successful at eliminating a lot of preservatives/dyes from my diet though. I was already avoiding artificial sweeteners and MSG (major bummer when I found out that Johnsonville brats had MSG in them ). Sulfur and sulfites all went, so now I check labels for: sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, potassium bisulfate, and potassium metabisulfate. Apparently, these preservatives are used not only in foods, but also to remove chlorine from water, in cosmetics, and to clean equipment that process foods. Also, I am avoiding tartrazine (FD + C Yellow Number 5) and other dyes, sodium benzoate, benzoic acid, phosphoric acid (tooth decaying ingredient in colas), and nitrites/nitrates.

Finding foods without these additives in them has been challenging to say the least. But, I try my best. I haven't had a migraine since, but I'm not sure yet if it's cutting back on the preservatives or not, since I would normally go for long periods without getting one anyway. I have noticed, however, that I feel much better on days that I am careful about what I eat.

 

[freemotion]

I can't believe I missed this thread! What was I doing on 4-12?

Learning to soak/ferment your grains will help your body in many ways. Start with organic grains, too.

Veg oils, if not cold-pressed, are extracted with horrible chemicals like hexane. Another thing to avoid.

Avoiding all those things in your foods will help you in SO many other ways besides migraines. You will be forced to eat whole foods and make pretty much everything from scratch. You will feel so much better in so many ways, and you will be giving a great gift to your family.

Do you know that you don't get your calcium from dairy unless it is raw? You'll learn about traditional bone broths in Nourishing Traditions. A great source of calcium if you can't get raw dairy products. Some people (I'm one) have a variation in a gene or genes that prevent you from absorbing/utilizing certain nutrients efficiently...or at all. If you have genetically determined problems with calcium, you will do better by taking a good calcium complex supplement along with the dietary sources of calcium. Try to find one that has multiple types of calcium in it, as your body may have a preference for one type over another. For example, most people do not utilize calcium carbonate well, yet it is the most common food additive when calcium is loudly proclaimed on a label for a processed food and is the only source of calcium in all the cheaper calcium supplements.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and an ice pack applied to the occiput (back of head where the neck meet it) can help immensely with some migraines.

 

[Farmfresh]

I used to have chronic migraine and it was tied (somewhat) to my Celiac. The Celiac disease has caused me to not absorb minerals properly.

I have always had low blood pressure and I used to migraine and occasionally even have minor black outs. My doctor suspected low blood sodium levels were causing the tiny capillaries in my head to collapse, thus bringing on migraines. He prescribed an INCREASE in my salt intake.

It worked! Now I very, very seldom migraine and I used to have them 5 to 6 times a week!! I have to be sure and consume extra salt in the hot months when you lose salt via sweat. I get this done with soups for lunch, and sunflower seed snacks.

There can be lots of factors. Everyone is different.

 

[Lesa]

I really suffered with these headaches when I was young. The Dr's put me on all kinds of pills,etc. None of which helped much. At some point, in my adulthood I finally figured out I have allergies. When I feel a headache coming on, I immediately take benedryl. It almost always works. I think my sinus's were always involved- the Dr's just never thought of that! You might give it a try....

 

[FarmerDenise]

At first sign of a migraine, the aura, I take an advil and drink as much coca cola as I can stand. I keep it around for just that purpose. I have to hide it, so someone (stepson) doesn't drink my last one. It has to be coca cola, not a substitute brand. I get an icepack, I have a soft one, put it on my neck, lie down in a dark room and close my eyes. Most of the time, I don't even get the headache anymore. It all goes away after about 1/2 hour. Sometimes I still get the headache, but it doesn't get as bad and I can still function. I used to get migraines so bad, that I would often be out of commission for the day. And I used to throw up.

One of the things that can trigger migraines is garlic. When the doctor told me that, I said I can give up chocolate and red wine, but no way am I giving up garlic.

My DD tried that a few times, we found that chugging a coke gave her an upset stomach, so we started buying Starbucks Double Shots and she would stash them in her medicine cabinet. Seemed to help a little in the short term, but she felt that the migraine was just on hold and poised to come back.

I cannot chug any type of soda, the bubbles hurt my stomach. I dilute the coke with about equal parts water. I usually manage only 1/2 a can. I might sip the rest after it sat a while and many of the bubbles have dissipated.
I got a migraine coming on a few days ago and was able to get rid of it with just drinking the 1/2 can of dilutedcoke and lying down for abut 1/2 hour. I didn't even need the advil. That was a first for me.

I find that I am more likely to get a migraine on days I don't drink enough unsweetened fluids.

 

[calendula]

Veg oils, if not cold-pressed, are extracted with horrible chemicals like hexane. Another thing to avoid.

So olive oil should be ok, right? I think that's cold pressed. I don't know a lot about how most veg. oils are made, but we've been trying to avoid them anyway because it seems like a lot of them are made using genetically modified crops.

I have always had low blood pressure and I used to migraine and occasionally even have minor black outs.

I have low blood pressure too. In fact, once I went in for a check up and after the nurse had taken my blood pressure she asked, "Wow, are you alive? Is it normally that low?" It's always been low, and I get light-headed easily, especially in heat. Never thought about my salt intake before. I don't try to avoid salt really, but I also don't make it a point to be sure I'm getting enough either.

 

[Farmfresh]

It does make sense really ... I mean people with HIGH blood pressure have to avoid salt, right?

A way to check is by eating a salty food next time you feel a headache coming on.

 

[bucknercrestfarm]

I have cronic migraines and i do every thing natural now. to help keep them at bay a drink kombucha tea its a fermented tea with a culture that looks like a mushroom but the benifits from drinking kombucha is amazing google it you can get a culture with starter brew from kefirlady.com or check your local craigslist. if i get a migrane i find two things that help vinger and hydrotherapy. take a hot wet rag wring it out and pour vinger on in not a lot and white vinger dose just fine wring it out agin lay down and take a few deep breaths with the rag covering your face. breathe in as much as you can stand then fold rag and place across your eyes besure you got all liquid out of rag dont want vinger in your eyes. lay there till you fall asleep or tag gets cold. place in micro wave for a few sec then repeat. next take a hot shower as hot as you can handle sit down let the water fall on back and neck and scalp dont plug the tub just take a shower sitting . when your done take a cold towel wrap around body go 2 bed

 

[calendula]

Thanks for the suggestions, never heard that vinegar one before, I'll have to remember to try it.

I have heard a lot of people talking about that kombucha stuff on this forum. I had never heard of it til I started coming to this site. I will have to learn more about it I guess.