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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
If you get migraines you know how laughable it is to hear them described as "headaches." As one poet put it, "the migraine is a beast from Hell, a bone-crushing, brain-twisting, heart-rending, apocalyptic scourge--an insult to all that's holy." And that's putting it mildly. People have been trying to tame the migraine beast for thousands of years. Some early healers bored holes into their patients' skulls, the Greeks inhaled the smoke of burning coffee beans, while in ancient Egypt, doctors tied herb-stuffed clay crocodiles to migraine sufferer's heads. Fortunately, we live in more enlightened times and there are now medically sound approaches that are relatively simple and inexpensive--and they don't leave scars or involve extreme fashion statements. Your complete guide to taking charge of your migraines and getting your life back, Migraines For Dummies offers a focused, fleshed-out program that works in the real world. This friendly guide fills you in on what you need to know to: * Understand migraines and why you get them * Relieve symptoms * Pinpoint pain triggers * Sort through the various medications * Evaluate alternative remedies * Make simple migraine-busting lifestyle changes * Stop migraines from disrupting your family and work lives * Find a good doctor to help you manage the beast The authors look at the whole spectrum of the problem--from dealing with the number-one issue of pain relief, to handling the peripheral problems like absences from work skepticism from friends, and impact on family. They also explore a range of critical related issues, including: * Different types of migraines, including abdominal, ocular, hemiplegic, opthamoplegic, and women's hormonal migraines * Triggers, such as environmental allergens, stress, dietary triggers, and even exercises that can cause migraines * Over-the-counter medications, vitamins and herbal supplements * Biofeedback, meditation, massage, acupuncture, and other alternative remedies * The pros and cons of prescription remedies, including ergotamine derivatives, antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, botox and more You've tried Aunt Edna's camphor-soaked head cloths. Now explore a sensible, medically sound approach, and get on the road to full-fledged pain relief with Migraines For Dummies.
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Seitenzahl: 522
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011
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Migraines For Dummies®
by Diane Stafford and Jennifer Shoquist, MD
Migraines For Dummies®
Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-750- 4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4447, or e-mail [email protected]
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. THE INFORMATION IN THIS REFERENCE IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERT MEDICAL ADVICE OR TREATMENT; IT IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU MAKE INFORMED CHOICES. BECAUSE EACH INDIVIDUAL IS UNIQUE, A PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER MUST DIAGNOSE CONDITIONS AND SUPERVISE TREATMENTS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PROBLEM. IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS UNDER A DOCTOR OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER’S CARE AND RECEIVES ADVICE CONTRARY TO INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS REFERENCE, THE DOCTOR OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER’S ADVICE SHOULD BE FOLLOWED, AS IT IS BASED ON THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT INDIVIDUAL.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2002114816
ISBN: 978-0-7645-5485-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7
1O/RV/QS/QY/IN
About the Authors
Diane Stafford: The co-author of Migraines For Dummies, Diane Stafford knows the subject of migraines personally, having lived with headaches lifelong and having grown up in a family of migraine sufferers — sister, brother, and father. Her experiences provided helpful insight on the many challenges that migraineurs face at home, at work, and at play. In this book, she shares numerous ideas for headache management. Diane’s main reason for writing this book is the belief that it will help other migraine sufferers lead more fulfilling lives.
Despite migraines, Diane Stafford has been a high-energy writer and magazine editor for twenty-five years. She has served as editor-in-chief of Houston Health & Fitness Magazine, Dallas-Fort Worth Health & Fitness Magazine, Texas Woman Magazine, Houston Home & Garden, Dallas-Fort Worth Home & Garden, and Philanthropy in Texas. Also an entrepreneur, Stafford co-owned Health & Fitness and helped with startups of the magazine in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. She has written hundreds of articles. She now edits books for Arte Publico Press in Houston and writes books.
Stafford lives with her husband, David Garrett, in Houston, where she is a well-known writer and a community volunteer for Casa de Esperanza de los Ninos and the Emergency Aid Coalition Clothes Center.
Diane Stafford and Jennifer Shoquist (Stafford’s daughter) have also co-authored Potty Training For Dummies (Wiley Publishing), No More Panic Attacks: A 30-Day Plan for Conquering Anxiety (New Page Books), and The Encyclopedia of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (to be published by Facts on File, Inc. in 2003).
Jennifer Shoquist, MD: Evaluating and treating patients’ headaches is a staple of family practice doctors, and that has also been the case for Dr. Jennifer Shoquist, who teamed up with health writer Diane Stafford to write Migraines For Dummies — a book that ambitiously tackles every facet of migraine living, from choosing medications to understanding dietary and exercise triggers to handling people who think your headaches are “in your head.”
Jennifer’s interest in writing began when she was attending the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, while also interning at Health & Fitness Magazine in Houston, Texas. Later, she completed her medical degree at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, followed by family practice residency at Memorial Southwest Hospital.
Today, she writes books and serves as a health-issues resource for journalists. She and her husband, Robert San Luis, live in Houston with their son, Benjamin (born during the course of writing this book), and two shih-tzus, Lucy and Sophie.
Dedication
To Allen, Camilla, and Clinton, who never let migraines slow them down. To migraine sufferers everywhere, our fondest wishes that you will find excellent relief from your headache pain. And, finally, we dedicate this book to the newest member of our clan: baby Ben.
Author’s Acknowledgments
This great project came our way thanks to the efforts of our incredible literary agent — Elizabeth Frost-Knappman of New England Publishing Associates.
Also, we appreciate the hard work and talent of our wonderful Project Editor, Kathleen Dobie, our capable Acquisitions Editor, Natasha Graf, and our copy editor, Greg Pearson, all at Wiley. We also owe thanks to Dr. Stephen Silberstein, who reviewed the book for technical accuracy. And a special thanks to Houston neurologist Dr. Brian Loftus (loftusmd.com).
Thanks to our wonderful friends and family: David Nordin, Gina and Curtis Bradley, Cameron Liem, Lindsay Liem, Camilla and Richard Pierce, Britt Pierce, Allen and Christina Shirley, Austin Shirley, Xanthe Shirley, Chris Fleming, Dana Chandler, Eddi Lee, Renee Somoza, Rachel Capote, Joanne Goldstein, Dinah Anderson, Donna Pate, Jami Exner.
From Diane: Deep appreciation goes to you, David, for support, friendship, and computer rescues. Loving thanks to my dear daughter Jenny — you’ve made my life wonderful by being sweet and kind and the love of my life. How fun that you’re a terrific co-author, too! And thanks to my son-in-law, Robert, who is always supportive and kind.
From Jennifer: Thank you, Robert, for being so truly great. Thank you, two-month-old Ben, for letting me finish this book. Thank you, Mom, for being the best mom I could imagine (and for being so easy to work with)! I also want to thank Martin and Sarah Shoquist, Dr. Leticia Carlos San Luis, Dr. Tom and Gina Cartwright, Lina Carlos, Wendy Corson, Kristina Holt, Shannon, John, and Jordan Mathis, Christy Waites, Shari Belmarez, my “brother” Austin Shirley, and Sophie and Lucy. To my friends and patients, I send best wishes for migraine-pain-free days.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Kathleen A. Dobie
Acquisitions Editor: Natasha Graf
Copy Editor: Greg Pearson
Technical Reviewer: Dr. Stephen Silberstein
Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck
Editorial Assistants: Melissa Bennett, Elizabeth Rea
Cover Photos: © Bruce Ayres/Getty Images
Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com
Production
Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees
Layout and Graphics: David Batholomew, Amanda Carter, Brian Drumm, Kelly Emkow, Clint Lahnen, Kristin McMullan, Tiffany Muth, Brent Savage, Jeremy Unger
Special Art: Kathryn Born
Proofreaders: John Greenough, Angel Perez, Rob Springer, TECHBOOKS Production Services
Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services
Special Help:
Patricia Yuu Pan
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel
Suzanne Jannetta, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Contents
Title
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Conventions and Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Looking at the Big Picture: Migraines Demystified
Chapter 1: Knowing What You’re Dealing With: An Overview
Getting a Take on What Migraines Are and What They Aren’t
Tripping through the Types of Headaches
Looking at Some of the Reasons Why
Getting an Under-the-Hood Inspection and Tune Up
Handling Family and Work Issues
Exploring Options Galore
Chapter 2: Coping with the Symptoms
Taking on the Big Three: Auras, Sensory Sensitivity, and Stomach Problems
Encountering Other Migraine Signs
Using Quick Fixes as a Stopgap
Chapter 3: Knowing Your Foes
Keeping a Journal to Discover Reasons and Triggers
Understanding Inherited Migraines
Checking Your Environment for Allergens
Finding Dietary Villains
Zeroing in on Exercises that Make Your Head Hurt
Keying in on Other Migraine Triggers
Stopping Triggers in their Tracks
Part II : Getting Diagnosed
Chapter 4: Distinguishing a Migraine from Other Head Pain
Sorting Headache Types
Understanding What Makes a Migraine a Migraine
Identifying Variations on the Migraine Theme
Recoiling from Rebound Headaches
Defusing the Myths
Chapter 5: Finding a Good Migraine Doctor
Seeing Your Everyday Doc
Discovering Whether Your Physician Understands Migraines
Turning to a Headache Specialist
Preparing for the Headache Specialist
Chapter 6: Having Your Head Examined and Coming Up with a Plan
Huddling with Your Doctor
Taking the Tests
Hunkering Down to Come up with a Migraine-Busting Plan
Part III : Giving Migraines a Knockout Punch
Chapter 7: Spelling Relief without a Prescription
Counting on Over-the-Counter Medications
Sidestepping the Side Effects of Too Many OTC Drugs
Using Vitamin and Herbal Supplements
Chapter 8: Taking Care of Pain with Prescription Drugs
Looking for Relief in All the Right Places
Finding Out What to Expect and How You React
Fighting Back: Abortive Medications for Migraines Underway
Stopping Migraines Upfront: Prophylactics
Trying Newer Treatments
Choosing a Delivery Method
Calling on Superhero Medications
Getting Nausea Relief
Chapter 9: Sampling Alternative Remedies
Sampling Mind-Body Methods
Working with Behavioral Headache Bashers
Pursuing Alternative Physical Treatments
Micromanaging Your Own Treatment Program
Chapter 10: Making Medical Decisions Even When You’re Migraine-Hazy
Making Good Choices Despite the Migraine Haze
Negotiating the Emergency Room
Part IV : Committing to Lifestyle Changes
Chapter 11: Catching and Rejecting Food Triggers
Tracking Down Dietary Triggers
Pulling the Plug on Migraine Foods
Chapter 12: Getting Physical with Your Migraines
Loosening Migraine’s Grip with Movement
Avoiding Exercise that Induces Migraines
Chapter 13: Eyeballing Environmental Enemies
Investigating Your Environment
Kicking Troublemakers Out of Your Home
Checking Your Surroundings
Preparing a Personal Oasis
Chapter 14: Looking at the Link between Migraines and Sleep
Waking Up to Your Sleep Patterns
Defining and Treating Sleep Disorders
Benefiting by Changing Your Behavior
Part V : Staying Connected to the People in Your Life
Chapter 15: Living the Good Life Despite Migraines
Singing the Why-Me Migraine Blues
Feeling Free to Get Pain-Free
Deciding Whether to Go Out and About or Hunker Down at Home
Joining in the Social Whirl
Keeping It Real When Migraine-Free People Think You’re Faking It
Chapter 16: Managing Migraines at Work
Minimizing Migraine’s Impact at Work
Coping with Attitude and Agony
Staying in a Positive Self-Image Place on Migraine Days
Working with Periods of Disability
Chapter 17: Handling Your Home Life
Giving Cues to Loved Ones
Making Your Mate an Advocate
Being Realistic about Your Children’s Reactions
Handling the Negative Attitudes of Family Members
Part VI : Managing Special-Situation Migraines
Chapter 18: Spotting the Dangerous Headache
Paying Attention to First-Ever or Worst-Ever Headaches
Spotting ER-Worthy Red Flags
Getting Thee to the ER on Time
Chapter 19: Let’s Hear It for the Girls: Hormonal Migraines
Discovering Why So Many Women Are Plagued by Migraines
Combating Menstrual Migraines
Spelling Relief or Trouble: Oral Contraceptives and Migraines
Tackling Migraines While You’re Pregnant — and Afterward
Ditching the Migraines of Menopause
Chapter 20: Helping a Child with Migraines
Recognizing the Signs
Hunting Down and Disarming the Causes and Triggers
Seeking Treatment
Managing the Emotional Side Effects
Chapter 21: Holding Off the Sex Migraine
Laying Out Sex-Related Headaches
Having a Candid Chat with Your Doctor
Doing It without Getting Done In
Chapter 22: Sideswiping Migraines Caused by Stress
Mastering Techniques for Calming Your Mind
Rearranging Priorities to Scuttle Some Stressors
Chapter 23: The Senioring Effect: Aging and Migraines
Losing Migraine Pain along with Your Hair
Gaining Wisdom and Migraines
Seeing Your Doctor for Help
Looking Out for Eye Problems and Atypical Head Pain
Part VII : The Part of Tens
Chapter 24: Ten Tips for Dealing with Folks Who Don’t Get Migraines
Express Your Envy (At Least to Yourself)
Shrug Off Unhelpful Advice
Keep a Sense of Perspective
Steel Yourself for the Very Irritating
Try to Love Even the Headache-Free
Be Matter-of-Fact about Having to Miss Engagements
Warn People Up Front
Don’t Let Anyone Guilt-Trip You
Help Your Hosts Accommodate Your Triggers
Express Your Disappointment at Missing Important Events
Chapter 25: Ten Things You Can Do for the Migraine Sufferer You Love
Be On Call
Stay Cheerful
Crank Up Your Compassion
Resist the Urge to Cajole
Serve as a Social Secretary
Take Charge of the Kids
Make Necessary Work-Related Phone Calls
Call the Doc if the Headache Worsens
Be Thoughtful
Ask What You Can Do
Chapter 26: Eleven Ways NOT to Treat a Migraine
Go Off Your Program
Take Too Many Drugs
Ignore Dosage Recommendations
Believe Crazy Claims
Keep Taking a Drug that Doesn’t Work
Try to Gut it Out and Go Out
Stuff Yourself with Tons of Food
Try the Sun-and-Activity Remedy
Doctor-Hop
Foster a Sick-Person Reputation
Become an ER Junkie
Introduction
A bout 28 million Americans have migraine headaches. And, if you’re one of them, you know all too well that it’s hard to predict what a day will hold. Any morning, afternoon, or evening, you may find yourself in the throes of mind-boggling pain, not to mention nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to loud noises.
So, you’ve gotten fairly expert at composing migraine metaphors:
My head’s getting pounded by unfriendly fire.
Contortionists are busting a move in my skull.
Descriptive words just pop out, borne of disbelief that you could actually be hurting so badly.
As a matter of fact, migraines have been driving people nuts forever. Ancient “caregivers” bored holes in people’s heads to try to relieve headache pain. Egyptians tied an herb-stuffed clay crocodile to an aching head.
Yet despite a history of being guinea pigs and a yen for spicy metaphors, migraine sufferers remain optimistic. Migraines hurt and can be very disabling, so bring on the remedies!
Knowledge is a powerful weapon in any fight and, in this book, we aim to arm you with the tools you need to whip your migraines into submission.
About This Book
Serving as a reference book for people who want to transition from being hamstrung by headaches to developing high-level pain-busting savvy, Migraines For Dummies has parts that are set up as freestanding units. You can peruse each one separately, and feel no urgency about reading chapters or parts in order. After scanning the Table of Contents, zero in on those topics that interest you most, and later, you can turn back to the others.
To tame the migraine beast, you must acknowledge the formidable creature. Denying what you are dealing with does not help. Migraines For Dummies provides headache information that helps you understand what you’re up against — and a list of remedies effective enough to merit high-roller status in any migraine circle in the world.
Migraines For Dummies offers hope, with a focused, fleshed-out program that works in the real world. Headache medications have their place in the picture, but you absolutely can do more.
The quest for answers — and the pilgrimage to a better health place — is at the core of this book. Essentially, Migraines for Dummies will benefit people who want to improve their lives. If you have migraines regularly, you know how devastating they can be. Sometimes, just the thought of making plans seems pointless — what if you get a headache? Friends may think that you’re just making excuses to get out of going somewhere. Better not take a chance. So you grow afraid to venture too far from the safety of home base.
In Migraines For Dummies, we look at the whole spectrum of the problem, from dealing with the number-one issue of pain relief to handling peripheral problems: absences from work, skepticism from friends, and impact on family. The authors also investigate women’s hormonal headaches, stress- as-a-factor in headaches, children’s migraines, seniors’ head troubles, sex headaches, and sleep-habit demons.
Questions answered
The migraine mob needs health advocates. And we, the authors of Migraines For Dummies, fill that role, offering valuable tips on ways to eliminate the fisticuffs going on inside your head in the wacky world of managed health care. Migraines For Dummies hands you a gilded invitation to join a proactive group of migraine-busters. Via this book, we provide answers to the following pressing questions:
How can you know that you have migraines and not some other kind of headache?
Can your headaches be migraines if you don’t have the visual disturbances you’ve heard are the benchmark sign of a migraine?
Who’s the right doctor for diagnosing and treating your headaches?
Is there any way to get rid of a migraine once it moves in and sets up camp?
Do remedies like biofeedback or hypnosis really help the pain?
How can you find the medication that will provide full-fledged pain relief?
How can you deal with family and work issues when people really don’t understand how debilitating migraines can be?
Truly, because of its complexity, migraine-busting must be considered an extreme sport. You need a concrete headache-management plan, and you need it pronto.
Solutions offered
Check out the many things that Migraines For Dummies can do for you:
Help you take charge of your headache fate: You don’t have to be at the mercy of migraines. You can pave the way to a more headache-free existence. We show you how.
Foster a team approach: You can get your mate and children on board, fill in your work supervisor, and cope ably with all of those in your universe whose support can be invaluable during headache episodes.
Separate fact from fiction: No, migraines aren’t fantasies; they’re located in your head, all right, but they’re not “all in your head,” as some unsympathetic folks may tell you. We sort through the myths and misconceptions.
Steer your pain-shedding and migraine-handling: You’ll master the technique of warding off a headache, if possible; if not, you’ll bash it after it gets going. You’ll figure out what to do — and, just as important, what not to do.
Show you how to stay on message: We get you feeling powerful about conquering migraines and keep you on track by providing answers.
Prepare you for all scenarios: From finding out how to function during a migraine haze, to handling health insurance questions, to deciding whether to go to work or school with a headache, we address common problems that migraineurs face.
Caution given
This book contains our opinions and ideas. We intend to provide helpful information on migraines, but we don’t offer professional medical, health, or any other kind of personal services via the book.
This is a supplement, not a replacement, for medical advice from your personal healthcare provider. In no way does reading this book replace the need for an evaluation by a physician.
If you want or need personal advice or guidance, please consult a medical, health, or other competent professional — especially if you have a condition that may require medical diagnosis or attention — before adopting any of the suggestions in the book or drawing inferences from the information given.
Foolish Assumptions
Because you picked up this book, we assume a few things about you:
You think that you have migraines, know that you have migraines, or live with, and love, someone with migraines.
You’re familiar with the debilitating factor, and you’re looking for ideas that will be inspiring, instructive, and winning. You’re putting your migraine history and its frustrations behind you. Now you want to venture into the new and promising era of Migraines For Dummies. You’re saying, “Hit me with your best shot, ’cause I’ve got nowhere to go but up!”
You may have yet to find a remedy that gets rid of your head pain.
You find the entire migraine problem and its related issues (work, family, public skepticism) somewhat daunting. This idea alone, not to mention the incredible pain, may have inspired you to pick up this book.
You’re baffled, unsure of what to do and when to do it — when to take an over-the counter remedy, when to resort to a prescription drug, or whether to try alternative or complementary treatments.
We half-assume that you inherited the migraine tendency, because these headaches run in families.
If you grew up with a parent who had migraines, you’re all too familiar with how this ‘disability’ can alter family plans and dynamics (can you say Bleak House?).
Our biggest assumption is that you’re itching to discover ways to get rid of migraine pain, and we think that you can definitely find what you need in this book. We present clear and comprehensive information about all aspects of migraines, along with tips, encouragement, and reassurance.
How This Book Is Organized
This guide to understanding and handling migraines is divided into 7 parts and 26 chapters. You can read the parts randomly — without having to read what came before. If a section requires prior knowledge, we refer you to the chapter number so that you can flip to those pages and get the skinny. Here, we give you a rundown of each part and what’s in store for you.
Part I: Looking at the Big Picture: Migraines Demystified
In these chapters, we expose the headaches that perplex and vex you. You get an overview of the things you can do to get rid of them (ideally) or to cope more effectively. We guide you through the maze of reality versus rumor, and we give you a heads-up on the physiology of a headache — and tell you how your family history may have set you up for head pain (in other words, you inherited the migraine proclivity).
We look at recurring headaches that aren’t disease-based — as well as at the more ominous sort, characterized by the very important words new onset or worst-ever. (The latter can sometimes stem from anything from a stroke to a brain hemorrhage to meningitis.)
Also in Part I, we address how to avoid rebound headaches and subdue migraine-associated nausea and vomiting.
You can also take a look at potential headache instigators that can make your head hurt and use the handy headache journal to keep track of your triggers.
Part II: Getting Diagnosed
Part II investigates headaches that sometimes impersonate migraines — cluster and tension-type — and pinpoints the markers of headaches caused by disease.
To reach a conclusion on your headache type (if that’s still up in the air), you must enlist a good doctor (Chapter 6), who can evaluate and diagnose your problem or refer you to a headache specialist. You then huddle with your doctor to draw up a battle plan.
We brief you on tests that may be required to determine what’s wrong and walk you though designing a treatment plan.
Part III: Giving Migraines a Knockout Punch
Part III ushers you into the “taking care of pain” realm — over-the-counter (OTC) remedies and prescription drugs. This section features a compendium of medications and discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly of each one. We review how abortives work — the meds you take when a migraine’s in place — and how prophylactics can be used to stave off trouble.
You can check out complementary and alternative migraine remedies, such as visualization, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnotism, and more. Plus, we tell you how to handle decision-making when you’re in a migraine haze and how to negotiate the ER wisely.
Part IV: Committing to Lifestyle Changes
You probably can’t live exactly the way you used to and still manage to decrease the number and severity of your migraines — that’s the hard, cold fact of it.
The chapters in this part deal with table truths for migraineurs — the do’s and don’ts of food and beverage. We list workouts that can help migraine sufferers, and the kinds of movement that tend to spur migraines. We give you tips for checking out your environment for migraine-causing culprits and advice on examining the migraine and sleep-habit link.
Part V: Staying Connected to the People in Your Life
We bring you productive ways to deal with those who think migraine pain is “all in your head.” We tell you how to recruit friends and family for your support staff and how to make your mate a staunch ally instead of a grumbler who’s tired of hearing “Not tonight, honey — I have a headache.”
We give you tips on handling your boss and colleagues — and yourself — in the workplace.
Part VI: Managing Special-Situation Migraines
Part VI cautions you to stay vigilant for signs that big trouble is brewing inside your head. You need to know when the hammering isn’t “just a migraine” but a symptom of disease.
Knowing that hormonal swings throw up headache roadblocks for women, we discuss femme migraine details (Chapter 19). Chapter 20 focuses on children’s migraines. In the chapter on sex migraines, we separate the serious from the benign (but obnoxious). Chapter 22 examines stress-related migraines, while Chapter 23 talks about seniors and their headaches.
Part VII: The Part of Tens
Here, you get a hodgepodge of good ideas: effective ways to deal compassionately with the migraine-free around you, ways NOT to treat migraines, and terrific tips for support-folks who love migraineurs.
Conventions and Icons Used in This Book
To avoid the “he or she” rigmarole, we solved the pronoun problem by using male pronouns in even-numbered chapters and female pronouns in the odd-numbered chapters.
For Dummies books use snazzy pictures in the margins to draw your attention to specific bits of text. In this book, the pictures we use are
Tack this tidbit on your bulletin board!
Cautions you about practices and procedures you should talk to a doctor about and tells you when you should head for the emergency room.
The dry medical info that you may or may not be interested in is highlighted with this icon. You can skip it if you like.
This icon says: “Here’s a valuable morsel you may want to read several times.”
This icon alerts you to danger signs and practices to avoid.
Stories about how other migraineurs have coped have this icon beside them.
Where to Go from Here
With the intros tucked away, we usher you into the meat of the book. Look for the parts you need first, and flag others for a look later.
If your headaches haven’t been diagnosed, start with Parts I and II, which acquaint you with the different types of headaches and give you tips on what your doctor will need from you to make a firm diagnosis.
Check out Parts III, IV, and V to find out how to deal with your migraines medically, practically, and socially.
If you’re a parent, friend, mate, or employer of a migraineur, and you’re searching for ways to help and understand, start with Part VII, and then go to Parts III, IV, and V.
As you find parts that help you, flag them for rereading. This book is packed with options, and you have an excellent forecast for getting your headache-future in tow. So let’s get started!
Part I
Looking at the Big Picture: Migraines Demystified
In this part . . .
Part I pitches a tent and lights the campfire, preparing you for an upfront briefing on the Rules of Migraines. You find out quickly that even though these headaches are as common to the populace as s’mores are to summer camp, the wacky things still remain shrouded in mystery. And if you don’t understand migraine-criteria, you’re left lurking on the fringes of the circle, uncertain whether you belong.
So the job of Part I is to shed some light on migraines for cranial-headache campers, providing a rundown on migraine symptoms, the hereditary factor, and rebound caveats. Having an overview of these dastardly headaches, you stand poised and ready to sing your many merit-badge-worthy migraine-managing achievements.
Chapter 1
Knowing What You’re Dealing With: An Overview
In This Chapter
Understanding migraines and other headaches
Finding causes and triggers
Seeing a specialist
Taking on family and work issues
Looking at various treatment options
A bout 28 million Americans have migraine headaches. According to the National Headache Foundation’s report on the American Migraine Study II, about 53 percent of migraine sufferers have headache pain that causes severe impairment or forces them to retreat to bed. And, the Excedrin Headache Resource Center reports that more than 80 percent of migraineurs have at least some headache-related disability; 50 percent or more, mild or moderate disability (inability to work or do usual activities); and 30 percent, severe disability. By age 15, about 75 percent of children have had a significant headache, and 28 percent of girls 15 to 19 appear to have migraines, according to Headache and Migraine in Childhood and Adolescence edited by Vincenzo Guidetti, George Russell, Matti Sillanpaa, and Paul Winner.
Unfortunately, migraines cause children to miss school and adults to miss work. In fact, some employers grow so leery of migraine-ridden employees that they look askance at this kind of problem. To them, it translates to diminished attendance and low productivity. And, according to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine (April 1999), employers have reason for their interpretation: The study cited migraine costs of $13 billion a year for American employers due to employees’ missed work and lower productivity.
Getting a Take on What Migraines Are and What They Aren’t
Migraines are intense, recurring headaches, but they aren’t always debilitating, and they usually are manageable — if you take the time to sort out what kinds of things trigger your migraines, and what sorts of medications and lifestyle changes can make a big difference.
What migraines are
A common myth states that any bad headache, by virtue of being excruciating, must be a migraine. The truth, however, is that some migraines are mild to moderate (although many are severe, indeed). Some other types of headaches — tension, for example — can be extremely painful, too, as can headaches caused by more serious problems such as a hemorrhage (bleeding) in the brain.
The symptoms for migraines may take on many different traits in different people. The uniqueness of the symptoms, in fact, is one reason that some migraineurs (people who get migraine headaches) end up living for years without appropriate and effective medication at hand — they don’t realize that their headaches are, in fact, migraines.
For example, you may assume, based on what you’ve heard or what “everyone says,” that the headaches you get simply can’t be migraines because you don’t experience the symptoms that those old wives of “old wives’ tale” fame say make a headache a migraine. The truth, however, is that migraines have a wide variety of symptoms, and not every migraine sufferer has the classic symptoms.
Symptoms of migraine headaches include, but are not limited to:
You feel a throbbing or hammering pain on one or both sides of your head.
The pain ranges from moderate to severe to almost intolerable.
You may experience an aura (typically, a visual disturbance that lasts from a few minutes to less than an hour, or numbness and tingling of the mouth area and arms), although it’s more common that migraine sufferers don’t experience auras. Auras usually take place an hour or less before the headache.
When you have a headache, you may feel lethargic and sad.
Along with the headache, you may experience nausea, vomiting, malaise, an extreme sensitivity to light, smells, and/or sounds, and periods of no appetite.
Generally speaking, the following are some key features that characterize migraine sufferers:
You come from a family that has other migraine-prone family members — your parents, grandparents, or siblings.
Your headaches can last from several hours to two or three days.
Sleep usually helps you feel better.
Your headache frequency can be several times a week, once a month, or even less often than that. And, migraines can make their presence felt before and after the actual headache. A day or two before your headache, you may experience symptoms such as yawning, frequent urination, drowsiness, irritability, and/or euphoria. After a headache, you may experience a pain hangover — you’re tired, you don’t feel hungry, and your thinking process seems slower.
A migraine is essentially a headache and more. Because your central nervous system’s normal state of functioning is disrupted during a migraine, all your body systems are affected. As a result, you may be bothered by sounds, smells, and lights, or your scalp may feel tender, or your feet and hands may be cold.
It’s widely agreed that the symptoms of migraines can be different for each individual, so don’t assume that your headaches aren’t migraines just because you lack auras or other classic symptoms. For example, you may describe your pain as splitting, while the classic symptom is more of a throbbing headache. You may happen to have generalized head pain instead of the classic one-sided misery. Or, you may have never experienced visual disturbances, nausea, or vomiting. Most migraineurs do experience light sensitivity, but maybe you never have. So tell your doctor about your symptoms, and let her be the one to identify the kind of headaches you’re suffering from and determine what can be done to wipe out the pain.
In many people, migraines occur because they have a genetic tendency to get headaches — a body-system glitch leads to neurochemical changes that spiral, resulting in chemical shenanigans that affect blood vessels, altering blood flow to your brain and causing your head to ache. (See Chapter 3.)
What migraines aren’t
The other main types of headaches have symptoms that are different from those of migraines — but sometimes symptoms overlap, making diagnosis difficult. (See Chapter 4 for information on headaches often confused with migraines.)
Some signs that your headache isn’t a migraine:
Your head pain can best be described as a dull ache.
Your shoulder and neck muscles feel knotted-up.
You have headaches only after sex or physical exertion.
Your headaches are getting steadily worse.
Tripping through the Types of Headaches
Consider the following indicators of these common headache types:
Migraines: The key symptoms that most healthcare providers look for are a throbbing head pain that’s typically one-sided, intensity that’s moderate to severe, and a lengthy duration (migraines can range from a few hours up to several days). Activity may make you feel even worse. You may have accompanying nausea and vomiting, and/or sensitivity to light and sound. If you suffer from migraines, you usually have headaches on a regular basis.
Tension-type headaches: With this type of headache, you have a dull ache characterized by mild to moderate pain. The aching is on both sides of your head, and it comes on slowly.
If you feel pain around your neck and the back of your head, or in the forehead and temple region — and if the pain feels more like tightness than it does a throbbing or pounding — then you probably have a tension-type headache. You won’t have nausea or auras with this kind of headache. Tension-type headaches can occur very frequently (even daily) and are sometimes very painful.
Cluster headaches: This headache is characterized by sudden and severe piercing pain on one side of the head. These headaches come in clusters — appearing during several consecutive days, weeks, or months, and then disappearing, only to come back months or years later. Cluster headaches can come and go five or six times during a day. They’re usually short-lived, lasting from 30 minutes to two or three hours each time.
With a cluster headache, you may have a droopy-looking eyelid or sweating on the side that hurts, and you may find that moving around makes you feel better. Typically, cluster headaches aren’t accompanied by nausea or vomiting. Pain comes from behind one eye. The eye may tear up or become red, and the nostril on this same side may run or feel congested.
Comparing migraines with auras to ones without
A relatively small percentage (about 20 percent) of migraine sufferers have the signals or symptoms called auras (visual disturbances, speech problems, distortions of smells and sounds, numb hands, feet, and lips). Some migraineurs have auras occasionally, while others have never had a single aura during their histories of headaches. (See more on auras in Chapter 2.)
Most migraineurs don’t experience auras. So if your headaches don’t come with auras, you aren’t automatically placed in a different headache category (contrary to popular belief).
Looking at Some of the Reasons Why
If migraines run in your family, you may well have inherited a migraine tendency, which means that your gene pool set you up with a super-sensitive nervous system. Along with the hair you love and the nose you loathe, your predilection for migraines is part of your genetic material, and you can’t run away from it. (Chapter 3 has more on the genetics/migraine connection.)
A migraine tendency is a dominant trait, so you probably inherited the penchant for having these headaches from your parent who suffers from migraines.
You may have noticed that certain foods, activities, sounds, or smells seem to trigger migraines. The problem is, this expected result may not occur every single time you eat Chinese food or take an aerobics class. It usually takes a village of triggers to raise a migraine: You never know if or when they’re going to team up. (See food triggers in Chapter 11, exercise triggers in Chapter 12, environmental triggers in Chapter 13, and sleep-habit triggers in Chapter 14.)
Getting an Under-the-Hood Inspection and Tune Up
Diagnosing and treating migraines may require an investment of time, money, patience, trial-and-error, journaling (to discover triggers), and a strong working relationship with a doctor who does headache diagnosis.
Getting to the bottom of headaches can be complicated, so don’t try to go it alone. If you do, chances are you’ll flounder around for years without coming to any firm conclusions or finding painkillers that serve your needs. (See Chapter 6 on headache diagnosis.)
After you’ve been diagnosed with migraines, you can take your place as the Sultan of Scathing Headaches, starting to put remedies to work and implementing lifestyle changes. Find a positive tilt for the family and work issues associated with your headaches, and discover the best things to do when pain hits. You should also try to find ways to keep a migraine from forming.
Aspects of migraine management include: finding the right doctor and creating a treatment strategy, working to eliminate migraine triggers, handling family and work issues, and getting a heads-up on special issues, such as migraines associated with seniors, women, kids, stress, and sex. Plus, you need to familiarize yourself with red-flag headache signs that should send you scurrying to the emergency room.
Most of the time, migraines are quite manageable. Just figure out your headache triggers and rearrange certain aspects of your lifestyle, and you’ll be on the road to sending your headaches to the B-team bench, where they’ll languish and rarely take a starring role again.
Call on your top-flight patience when you start trying migraine treatments. Although you may get lucky and find that the first migraine drug your doctor recommends works perfectly for you, it’s more common to have to go through a trial-and-error period of testing medications.
Migraines are quirky. If they weren’t, doctors would be able to recommend the one super-sized honcho power-pill, and there would be no need for a book called Migraines For Dummies. But the truth is, migraine headaches come in as many varieties as there are materials in a fabric store. This variety makes them difficult — but certainly not impossible — to treat.
Handling Family and Work Issues
Getting a handle on family and work issues associated with migraines has several advantages. For one thing, you miss less work or school after you zero in on successful ways to manage your headaches. At the same time, though, the chronic nature of migraines means that you need to be prepared to deal with a headache that strikes when you’re outside the home. You must have an arsenal of techniques ready to go.
Also, the people skills involved in migraine management are extremely important because people who don’t have migraines usually have trouble understanding them or relating to the sometimes-debilitating nature of headaches.
If head pain were your one-and-only problem, you’d be looking at a very different kind of malady. But the truth is, everyone associated with a migraineur is affected in some way (or to some degree) by the long-term nature of the affliction. It’s up to you to set the tone for deft handling of your migraine’s “extended family” of issues with all the people you deal with — family, friends, co-workers.
Basically, you either establish yourself as a capable, reliable individual who just happens to have headaches from time to time, or as a disabled person who wants everyone around her to jump when she needs help and show massive amounts of sympathy when she’s down and out.
Dealing with being misunderstood
Try real hard to understand all those folks who don’t have migraines. You may wonder, “Why? What do you mean?” You may also feel indignant, “Hey, wait a minute — shouldn’t I be the one expecting understanding?”
Well, the main reason you need to walk in others’ shoes is because they definitely won’t understand you or your headache predicament. Migraines are a strange illness to an outsider, and you really can’t expect someone who hasn’t had one to understand much about them. (See Chapter 24 for tips on dealing with people who don’t get migraines.)
Most people who are migraine-free view migraine headaches in one or more of the following ways:
With skepticism: They think that you’re a hypochondriac.
With empathy: They’re sorry that you have to suffer.
With disinterest: They don’t want to hear about your migraines.
With anger: They’re mad when you have to cancel or call in sick, and your migraines inconvenience them.
With confusion: Children, for example, have trouble understanding why a parent sometimes gets sick and can’t do things for them, or why family activities have to be cancelled.
Taking these facts into consideration will help you deal with people around you in a happier, more consistent way. In return, you’ll get better treatment because those close to you will know what to expect.
Exploring Options Galore
Without a doubt, the treatment/management situation today is very promising for migraine sufferers. You have much to celebrate. You have more options than your mother or grandmother had when they were nursing a headache. These options can help make your life easier and much more enjoyable.
The following advantages represent the final word on today’s overall migraine picture:
Doctors know much more about migraines than they did 20 years ago. The introduction of triptan migraine drugs, specifically, improved the migraine-treatment picture dramatically. (See prescription drugs in Chapter 8.)
Healthcare providers take migraines seriously. They can guide migraine sufferers in eliminating lifestyle factors that can aggravate a highly sensitive nervous system. The upshot: The migraineur is able to become less dependent on medication.
The drug options for treating migraines are head and shoulders above the ones that were available a few decades ago. (Today’s medications are way more effective because some of them are migraine-specific.)
Alternative therapies abound, and some of these may serve as excellent complements to your primary migraine management plan.
Generally speaking, most people have more accepting attitudes about the severity of migraines, even though headaches remain shrouded in some degree of mystery.
Migraine sufferers have found a voice. Most realize that they do, indeed, have a right to speak up and seek help.
Suffering in silence with a migraine has gone the way of pecking on a typewriter. Migraine treatment is now so smart and savvy that it represents multi-tasking at its best. Bill Gates would be proud. And you can be headache-free.
Chapter 2
Coping with the Symptoms
In This Chapter
Handling the Big Three: auras, sensory sensitivity, and stomach problems
Spotting other migraine signs
Using quick fixes during your crusade for global answers
M igraines come in 31 original flavors, so take a number while you sort through the scads of symptoms and zillions of ideas on how to deal with your symptoms. In this chapter, we help you figure out what approaches provide migraine-relief, as well as things you can do to relieve the symptoms beyond the hammering pain. You also need to understand the causes of those cursed rebound headaches (headaches that are the result of overuse of medications), and what you can do to make sure that you never have one of those monsters again.
At any rate, while you’re shopping around for answers for your migraines — measures that will keep them at bay or at least drop-kick them after they hit — you need an arsenal of quick fixes all poised and ready to fire.
Taking on the Big Three: Auras, Sensory Sensitivity, and Stomach Problems
The Big Three — auras, sensory sensitivity, and nausea — are the most common symptoms of migraines. Because you’re reading Migraines For Dummies right now, chances are excellent that you already have some experience with this devilish trio.
Not all migraines come with auras. Moreover, not all migraines come with nausea and vomiting. These symptoms are, however, ones that many migraineurs (people who experience migraines) face.
Previewing an aura’s light show
Visual and perceptual disturbances can accompany a migraine headache, and they do about 20 percent of the time. Typically, an aura starts about an hour before a migraine headache begins. You may hear or smell things that aren’t really there. Some people experience numbness in their lips, hands, or feet, or have trouble speaking. Some theories on the causes of auras are: excitation of brain cells and decreased blood flow to the brain.
With different types of auras, you can experience
Visual anomalies such as
• White or colored squares, circles, or triangles that appear to be moving.
• Zigzag lines around a dark center, shooting stars, or flashing lights.
• Diminished field of vision (you see only half of your usual field) or blurriness.
Don’t be afraid to describe your “sightings” when you’re being evaluated by a doctor. You can be sure that neurologists and many other doctors are quite familiar with the strangeness of auras.
Perceptional, physical, and other sensory anomalies
• Distorted feelings about size. You may feel extremely small or super-sized.
• Numbness in your face, lips, mouth, and/or hands.
Dizziness or a spinning feeling.
Food cravings or loss of appetite.
Weakness, or feeling as if you’re going to faint.
Usually lasting 20 to 40 minutes, auras typically come right before a headache — almost like the ding-ding-ding of a railroad-crossing bell, warning you that something big and scary is on its way. However, auras are also unpredictable. Just because they usually come before a headache doesn’t mean that they can’t pop up during the course of a migraine, too. In addition, you can also experience an aura but never get a headache. Sometimes, an aura lasts throughout a headache — particularly when it comes to increased sensitivity to light and sound. The intensity of auras range from being a minor annoyance to being an extremely frightening, hallucinogenic-type horror. Some migraineurs even say that they would accept the headache pain if they could bypass the aura.
Temporary visual disturbances can also occur with other medical conditions, such as retinal detachment (a serious eye problem that an ophthalmologist — an eye doctor — needs to evaluate immediately). Symptoms of retinal detachment are seeing flashing lights and having a sensation of a shade or curtain coming down over the vision in one eye.
By the way, in headache stages, the prodrome is the period preceding a headache. It’s defined by warning signs such as dizziness, nausea, or aura. (For more information about headache staging, see Chapter 4.) The prodrome stage has symptoms such as decreased appetite, fluid retention, irritability, and restlessness.
The type of headache that was once referred to as a classic migraine features an aura before the headache. Oddly enough, only a small percentage of migraine sufferers (about 10 to 20 percent) experience this “classic” symptom. In contrast, a common migraine doesn’t feature an aura, yet the vast majority of migraineurs experience this aura-less migraine. Both of the terms — classic migraine and common migraine — are considered out-of-date. Now these headaches are currently referred to simply as migraine with aura and migraine without aura. Go figure.
Coping with sensitivity to light, smell, and sound
Your head is pounding, and you desperately want to get away from bright lights, bad smells, and loud noises. You feel as if this onslaught of hypersensitivity — common among migraineurs, by the way — is making your migraine pain a double- or triple-whammy. Some people report being bothered by only one or two of these, while others want to run from the entire offending trio of lights, smells, and sounds.
Lighting topics
Light sensitivity is such a common migraine symptom that it’s in the top tier of symptoms and is usually a part of a migraine. Sensitivity can range from a mild reaction to a complete aversion to any kind of light. You may even experience bright lights as blinding pain. Fortunately, the light sensitivity has a simple remedy: Simply retreat to a dark room and lie down if necessary. If a dark room isn’t an option, look for a spot with low light.
Smelling symptoms
Smells may bother you before or during a migraine. You may be ultra-sensitive to cooking odors. Sometimes you may even smell bad or pungent odors that don’t exist. Your nose may run constantly, which may lead you to mistake your migraine for a sinus headache.
Finding perfumes and cigarette smoke very obnoxious isn’t at all unusual for a migraine sufferer. Strong odors can actually make your pain worse, so try to steer clear of smells that are hard to handle. You can also try using an air purifier to neutralize problem odors or infusing a room with a pleasant and soothing smell, such as lavender.
Hearing hurts
Similar to finding smells bothersome, you may shudder when you hear noise. During a migraine, you may find that all kinds of sounds are unbearable. As is the case with staving off smells and lights, the remedy is simply a matter of getting away from the source of the problem.
Unfortunately, avoiding noise and insisting on quietness at home can throw a wet blanket on the atmosphere of your house. (For more on living with the ones you love and loathe when you have a migraine, head over to Chapter 17.) Some migraineurs use earplugs or ear protectors. But if having something on your head (protectors) accentuates the pain of your aching head, and you find earplugs annoying, these won’t be viable solutions for you.
Combating stomach problems
You have a migraine plus the unwanted bonuses of nausea and vomiting. These stomach problems sometimes result from chemicals your brain releases during a migraine. Diarrhea and other changes in bowel habits can be troublesome, too. About half of all migraineurs experience stomach problems.
Migraine sufferers who are forced to cope with nausea and vomiting, along with head pain, usually can benefit from injections or suppositories that combat stomach woes. These aids work quickly and make you sleepy — which are both welcome effects. (Chapter 8 has more information on medications for nausea and vomiting.)
The only good thing that can be said about the nausea and vomiting that often accompany migraines is that this phase sometimes signals an easing of the head pain. On the other hand, for some folks, these stomach symptoms are only forerunners of the worst pain of the headache’s entire course.
Other gastrointestinal problems you may experience at such times are: diarrhea, constipation, and stomach cramps. You may even find that your stomach has become almost paralyzed, which can cause you to have nausea and vomiting, rendering the oral medications that you take to improve the situation useless. This state of delayed emptying of the stomach is called gastroparesis. The upshot is that you need to resort to migraine medications via nasal spray, injection, or suppository.
Encountering Other Migraine Signs
Although the Big Three — auras, sensory sensitivity, and stomach problems — are the symptoms that tend to plague many migraineurs, other folks may have their own individual troublemakers. Symptoms are very erratic, and we don’t have statistics on how many people experience which symptoms, but many people do have the Big Three plus some of the symptoms in the following list at some point:
A drooping eyelid (more common in cluster headaches, but it can happen in migraines)
A pale face or a flushed or very red face or a face that’s extra sensitive
A tender scalp
Bloodshot eyes
Blurred vision
Cold hands and feet, or a feeling of being hot all over
Dizziness or a feeling of spinning
Food cravings or a total loss of appetite
Some migraine sufferers experience a personality switcharoo, showing three (or thirty) faces of Eve, and exhibiting raw and rugged personality traits. Feeling irritable and absolutely miserable, a migraineur can turn into a nasty creature who wants people out of his way, and then later wonders why he was so creepy.
If you’re the one acting like your own evil twin, move away from people temporarily. On the other hand, if a migraine sufferer you know is showing his rough side, give him plenty of space. The good news is that this awfulness will end — just as soon as the headache subsides.
Using Quick Fixes as a Stopgap
Okay, so you’re all in favor of this grand escapade we call migraine-busting. You have no problem with the idea of pulling out all the stops and nailing these wily little headache hooligans in 60 different ways.
Meanwhile, what’s a guy to do about the pounding in his skull that’s causing him grief so often and making it hard to get with the program of real life — as in, work, worship, socializing, and family?
What you need is a little parcel of quick-fix solutions to help you through the rough times while you’re working on the long-term goal of migraine-busting.
Screech! Alrighty then. Here’s the lowdown on how to relieve pain during your jaunt down the memory lane of the last of the big-time headaches. Try these lifestyle soothers:
Make sleep your new best friend. Try to get the same amount of sleep each night, and strive for regularity in the times you go to bed and get up. Most people need seven or eight hours of sleep per night, but not everyone. Typically, when you can sleep as long as you want and wake up naturally, the number of hours you clock will be the amount that your body likes. Also, you must remember that getting about the same number of hours per night on weekends is important — or you may suffer a migraine from erratic sleep.
Use relaxation techniques. Stress and anxiety can trigger headaches, so master skills that will empower you to decrease the toll that stress takes. Breathe deeply and meditate.
Massage your head. When you feel a headache coming on, try the method that works for some migraineurs. Apply light pressure to your temples, your head, and the spot you feel pain radiating from.
Do low-key forms of exercise. Slow jogging and brisk walking are good options. Pilates is excellent for stretching muscles and decreasing stress. In addition, many people get pain relief from practicing yoga. (See exercise recommendations in Chapter 12.)
Apply pressure to the right body points. Find the tight and sore spots in your neck and shoulders, and press them firmly with your fingertips for several seconds. (Acupressure is addressed in Chapter 12.)
Some dietary upgrades that may help relieve pain or ward off migraines are
Drink plenty of water. Get your water mojo going by downing eight to ten 8-ounce glasses a day. Dehydration can set the stage for a migraine.
Keep a quart (or liter) of bottled water on your desk, or somewhere handy, so you can avoid having to “guesstimate” your water intake. Drink this water during the day and then drink more water in the evening. If you’re exercising a lot and sweating profusely, or if the weather’s hot, increase the amount of water you drink, accordingly.
Don’t make the mistake of saying, “Oh, I drink lots of tea and diet soda, so I get enough liquid.” Those beverages are not water substitutes.
Set up a grazing plan. Eat a number of very small meals/healthy snacks throughout the day, and never skip meals.
Eliminate alcohol. Try decreasing and then eventually eliminating alcoholic beverages.
Stop smoking. If you’re not already participating in a smoking-cessation plan, find a hospital outpatient program that will help you achieve this critical health goal — or you can work with your doctor on a stop-smoking plan.
Purify your diet: Eat fruits, vegetables, and other natural foods, and avoid foods with preservatives and MSG (monosodium glutamate). (See food triggers in Chapter 11.)
When you use any kind of migraine medication (over-the-counter or prescription), make sure that you don’t take it more than two days a week. If this medication schedule leaves you in pain, talk to your doctor and get advice on what to do. Avoid the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach to self-medicating. This tactic takes the “listen to your body” adage to a place you don’t want to go.
Keep your optimism at a fever pitch while you’re on your migraine-busting mission. You definitely can find your way toward a higher plateau, where you can live more peacefully and less painfully. Migraineurs do it all the time.
