A World of Hurt: Migraines in the Making
Thu, Oct 29, 2009
So last week, I started the World of Hurt mini-series about migraines, headaches, and intracranial masses. This week, I wanted to continue that series and discuss a few ways to start a migraine headache (not that you want one, so it’s more preventative) and also get into a few more types of migraines.
So what are some factors that contribute to making a migraine headache?
One that I’m familiar with, and do everything I can to prevent, is hunger. When you’re hungry, your blood sugar (aka. blood glucose) goes down. Your brain loves glucose. It’s the primary fuel source for your brain. Like your car, when it’s low on fuel, it lets you know. It may not be a warning light, but it will give you the message via a headache, or in some people with an aura that leads into a migraine. So I suggest you don’t skip breakfast in the morning, and no matter how busy you are during the day, a lunch will always help you keep going through the day.
While on the subject of eating, there are actually certain foods that are linked with migraines. Foods that contain a lot of tyramine are triggers for migraines and if you eat a lot of these or suffer from chronic, repeated migraines, it may be best to avoid these. One of the most common foods are aged cheeses like parmesan, romano, asiago, etc. (It’s also interesting to note there’s something called Cheese Syndrome where there’s excess tyramine when using a Monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressant, MAOI). Tyramine also builds up in over ripe fruit, especially avocados. You’ll also see it in eggplant, figs, grapes, oranges, pineapples, plums, prunes, and raisins. Mostly overripe and dried fruits will have built up tyramine.
Also, nitrates in foods are linked with headaches (as well as other things, like cancer). Nitrates are used as an antimicrobial preservative. You’ll see them in hot dogs, cured ham, bacon, salami, as well as some vegetables like green beans, spinach, and collard greens. Vitamin C can prevent nitrate conversion into cancerous chemicals in the body, but it is usually best to avoid nitrates all together.
There are a few special categories of migraines that I’d like to share with you. The first that I’d like to briefly get into is the menstrual migraine (MM).
There are two types of MMs: a menstrually related migraine, and a pure menstrual migraine. Women will typically experience the pure type where about one to two days before they get their period, they’ll get a migraine. The relative type doesn’t necessarily occur around the period, but does occur around the same time of the cycle, e.g. the time of ovulation. There seems to be a relation to the changes in hormone levels, research points to declining estrogen prior to the period, and the headache. The bad thing about menstrual migraines is that they tend to be longer and worse than regular migraines. Also, the frequency of the headaches will diminish around menopause, however women that experience these type of headaches will have similar headaches around the age of 65.
Treating them is a little touch and go. NSAIDs like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be given, but this doesn’t really prevent the headaches and may not work. Hormone replacement using triptans may be used to nip the headaches in the bud, and may be used with aspirin and/or caffeine. I feel that hormone replacement can tend to be dangerous, however a safer alternative may be getting phytoestrogens in your diet if estrogen levels is linked with your headaches. Phytoestrogens, like soy products, have about 20% the efficiency of pure estrogen, so instead of having no estrogen you can get some in your diet. And as opposed to hormone replacement that gives you 100% efficiency, there’s much less risk of ovarian, uterine, or breast cancer down the road from excess estrogen.
So it may be weird to think that chiropractic can help you with these types of headaches, but it is possible. Not only with some dietary changes, but there is research out there that has helped women with these symptoms and more (even if they don’t have back pain). Sacral mobilization helped with a lot of menstrual problems and secondary symptoms (like headaches) and also upper cervical adjustments help to inhibit pain felt in the head. Granted, it’s not going to help everyone, but it is an option for you.
Well, I didn’t think I had so much to say about menstrual headaches, but there we go. With over 60% of women who experience migraines having this type of migraine, I thought it was important to share. Hopefully, this shows you to keep your options open when it comes to your headache and you don’t have to suffer alone. So get off that “pain train!”
Image Credit: www.abc.net.au
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