Nutrition for Migraines; Giveaway

Did you know that March is the National Nutrition Month?  This is a good time to try to identify any food triggers you have and eat healthier.  There are many foods that can potentially trigger Migraines and it’s important to identify your food triggers. 

I went on a Migraine food trigger elimination diet a few years ago and can’t speak high enough about it.  I don’t think I would have found half the triggers I did without going on it.  By knowing what our food triggers are and eliminating these food triggers, can help reduce the frequency of our Migraines.

My elimination diet cut my Migraines down by at least half while I was on it.  The elimination diet also forced me to eat healthier which is something I still need to be cognizant of doing.

Last year, I ended up using the MyMigraineTriggers^TM app, developed by the makers of Excedrin^® to track my Migraines and try to identify additional triggers.  I also added foods I suspected to the section ‘Did you consume any of the following?’ of the app which will gather my data into reports and charts that I can easily share with my doctor.  I actually just added another food to this app yesterday to track!

I will be having a few giveaways this year and my first giveaway is around items that can help us with getting our nutrition.  Here are the items I will be giving away this month:

The Veggie-Peel – what I found fascinating about this peeler is that it has a chamber that will hold peels as it is used.  Since my last medication change, I’ve had horrible munchies so I’ve been trying to eat more vegetables.  I can shave carrots with this peeler and all of the shavings are held in this chamber until I am done!

Avo Saver – this gadget will help reduce a cut avocado’s exposure to air which will greatly slow the oxidization process so the avocado half will last longer.

Dressing Emulsifier – One of the food triggers I found while on my elimination diet was soy.  If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients that go into salad dressings in the store, it is extremely difficult to find a dressing that does not contain soy.  Even most of the ‘olive oil’ dressings will have soy!  The Emulstir will help mix up and store delicious salad dressings.  You would fill it with oil (a non-trigger oil!), vinegar (also a non-trigger vinegar!) and whatever spices/herbs you want.  The squeeze handle makes it easy to blend.

Emson Two Tier Microwave Steamer Food Cooker – Steamed vegetables will retain more vitamins and nutrients than other means of cooking veggies.  This gadget allows you to cook/steam two dishes at once!

There will be two winners for this ‘nutritional’ giveaway!  By entering a comment on this post or emailing me directly at migrainepuppet at gmail dot com, you will be entered into a drawing to receive one of two great giveaways which include the Veggie-Peel, Avo Saver, Dressing Emulsifier and Emson Two Tier Microwave Steamer Food Cooker described above.  The winners will be announced in April.

Registered dietitian Kerri Gans offered some valuable information about potential Migraine food triggers:

• There are many foods and drinks that can trigger Migraines and it’s important for folks to determine which foods are potential Migraine triggers for them.  By tracking our triggers, we can avoid them which can minimize our Migraine attacks.

• Tyramine is a common trigger that is found naturally in some foods like aged cheese and red wine.  It’s formed from the breakdown of protein as foods age.  A good rule of thumb is that the longer a high-protein food ages, the higher the tyramine content.

• Alcohol increases blood flow to the brain which can trigger Migraines and headaches.

• There are other potential common Migraine triggers which include artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame) chocolate, citrus fruits, coffee or tea, tannins (like red-skinned apples or pears) caffeinated soda, foods that contain MSG and nuts.

• Foods rich in magnesium, such as kale and broccoli, support healthy brain function.  Try swapping kale for romaine in your salad to increase your magnesium intake.

I wish you the best of luck if you enter this giveaway – it’s easy - either add a comment to this post or email me.

Excedrin^® Migraine is the #1 neurologist recommended over-the counter brand for Migraine relief. It offers convenient and effective relief for Migraines and was the first non-prescription medicine approved by the FDA to treat all the symptoms of a Migraine.


Disclosure: I am a paid Excedrin^® Migraine blog ambassador. Compensation has been provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin^® Migraine; my journey for a Migraine-free experience is my own.

One Bite

There are times when we become so overwhelmed with everything that is going on in our lives that we don't know where to turn or what to do next.  This definitely does not help us cope with our Migraines.  That was me last year.

Although I had always preached it and even used it in the past as a general question to my team at work, I needed a friend to remind me of what I had to do to get through a period in my life when too many big things were going on at the same time. 

"How do you eat an elephant?"  That question said enough for me to take that much needed step back to look at the bigger picture of everything so I could start moving forward again.

If you had to eat an elephant, it would immediately seem so overwhelming to see this big obstacle(s) in front of you where so many thoughts and stresses would be running through you and it would seem like an impossible task for you to handle which definitely does not help anyone, but especially you and your Migraines.  My elephant was too big of an object for me to see around which made it difficult to move forward.  An elephant doesn't help when trying to regain some semblance of control over your Migraines.

The best way to eat an elephant is "one bite at a time". You need to break everything down into smaller, more manageable pieces or make them more bite sized. It's much less stressful this way and although stress is not a trigger, it can help exasperate your Migraine triggers or increase an existing Migraine - neither of which any of us need. 

My friend's little reminder helped me to refocus my elephant; to put my many obstacles back into perspective and then manageable pieces where I was able to start progressing again.

One bite at a time. Don't try to swallow too much at one time; break it up.

Volleyball Grew Wings

I've been trying to get out  a little more this year by doing some of the things I enjoy. It haven't been able to play much this season, but I have managed to get out a few times.

Volleyball can be a tough sport for Migraineurs especially if it is indoors or even outdoors and the lights or sun are right above for us to enjoy every time we look up - which is almost every play. I've been trying to track volleyball and its effects on my Migraines. So far, the two don't seem to be getting along very well even though I wear a hat and try to take other preventative measures when I do play.

The last time I did get out was a little different; a new experience. As I was playing, sometimes the ball grew wings and had the effect of looking like it was being jet propelled to the other side of the court. OK, not quite the wings that 'normal' people would envision, but the aura kind that were on either side of the ball and trailed away as the ball kept flying.

Is it bad to say that I thought it was really cool looking?  Of course it wasn't so neat afterwards, but this is where I still get kind of confused or maybe perturbed is a better word of how I feel.

Will I ever be able to play the sports I have always enjoyed doing?  I know I should probably stop something's, but the stubborn side of me doesn't want to give Migraine another win.

I am tired of Migraine taking all of these bits and pieces of normalcy. I need to get away from the humdrum of Migraineur living. I need to get out, be with my friends and enjoy the little things life has to offer while getting a little bit of exercise.

What have you found that you can do where the beast will not follow you?  Have you been able to keep the Migraine away during and/or after an activity that it usually shows up for?  What are your secrets?  Are you stubborn too, where you don't want Migraine to take another part of your life away?

Still Trying Biofeedback for Migraines

After everything I went through with the first person I saw for biofeedback, I don’t think many people would have blamed me if I never went back again to try to learn these techniques.

I last left off where my biofeedback person blew up at me three times during my last visit and I honestly didn’t intentionally push his buttons, but I also had had enough and finally called him on things he was saying.

He would claim he could cure Migraines. I let him know there was no cure for Migraines; that it is a genetic neurological disease with triggers that can start a Migraine occurrence. Next he was upset that I had a higher Migraine earlier in the day and he would rather I come into his office with a raging Migraine so he could cure me. He also really lost his cool as he accused me of understating my Migraine intensity levels and got very serious as he was telling me that maybe my wires were really crossed and that I probably could pass a lie detector test.

As far as understating my Migraines, I feel I am consistent for me from one Migraine to another as far as I record them. I also told him that I don’t understand how someone could drive to his office with an intense Migraine going on and how I’ve seen many people claim to have a level 10 Migraine while playing around on the internet. It’s downright dangerous to drive with a rampant Migraine! He was also very serious when he agreed that I might be an anomaly and that maybe my wires really were crossed because I would warm while in sympathetic (fight) mode.

I really didn’t want to give up on biofeedback because of this one incompetent therapist. It took me a while, but I had finally found somebody else to try. It was difficult to find her as every place I called said that they either no longer did biofeedback or that they had too long of a waiting list. One of these former biofeedbackist, gave me the name of someone who was trying to return to practice after a long hiatus due to a bad injury she sustained.

I had talked to this therapist on the phone a few times and she really seemed like she was going to be good. Since she was out of practice for a while, we also negotiated a rate that was about a third of what she said she normally charged.

Do you believe in “it’s a small world”?

As we were talking during our first session, she asked questions around my first experience with biofeedback. It started off simply and she thought this therapist did not do a lot of things correctly. Although the two of them were over thirty miles apart and in opposite directions from my house, it turns out she taught him how to do biofeedback, she certified him and they used to travel together to different conventions! You can only imagine how I felt after hearing that bombshell!

I started getting very uncomfortable with her as she was making comments about him. In one way I was relieved that he was the problem with our sessions, but I also felt funny about things she said. It made me question the confidentiality of our sessions. She went on to say that she knew he was having financial and personal issues and had hoped he was getting better. She continued that he had really been very promising in the field when he started and she continued to commiserate about him.

Personally, I felt if she would say these things about my prior therapist to me and about an old friend of hers at that, I wasn’t sure what kind of confidentiality I could expect; not that I wasn’t going to say anything that mattered, but I was going to be very guarded from that point on. I just wanted to learn biofeedback techniques, is that too much to ask?

She said she was a Migraineur too and had just gone through a very painful accident and was trying to get back on her professional feet. During some of our sessions, she would use very outdated terms and gave me some type of a headache test that had about seventy-five questions on it. She was going to tell me the type of headaches I experience.

It didn’t go very well as when I got to a question I told her I didn’t experience those symptoms, but I knew it was going to be linked to TMJ which I have. She got a little combative and insisted on how I know I have TMJ as she now suffers from severe TMJ due to her accident. Again, I swear I didn’t do anything to provoke this engagement.

She really was a nice lady; just out of practice for too long. I felt bad as she even bought updated software to use for our sessions and often commented on how she was either practicing on herself or a friend before I got there. I almost feel like an elitist when I found she bumbled around too much for my comfort and even literally crossed her sensor wires during some tests.

These sessions were supposed to continue after my first round of Botox. I never made another appointment with her as I felt I was not going to get my monies worth out of her either.

I will tell you about my third therapist next time, but during the first session with biofeedback therapist number three, I let her know straight up that she was my last chance. If she could not help me learn biofeedback techniques, I was not going to pursue it any longer even though I felt there could be some value after learning it. I was also very candid about Migraines not having a cure and intentionally put her through the ringer a little bit with my questioning. How do you think these sessions faired?

I really don’t think biofeedback should be as stressful as I had experienced. Have you had unreasonable or unusual biofeedback sessions? My last double session with therapist three is tomorrow…

New Year, New Hopes

I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder if it's easier for us to manage head pain than when we have pain someplace else.  Since the end of last year, I've had a few other pain areas and I find myself where I would rather have the headache of a Migraine than these other discomforts.

(Stop, they're knees!)

I was so glad that last year finally made it into the history books and was looking forward to a new beginning that only the New Year could bring forth.  Last year was a very tough year with Migraines and the health of everyone in my family. We each had our own medical experiences, we met our insurance deductibles in January and our max out of pocket expenses were met during the summer.

Last year ended with a bang when I found I needed to have a root canal right after Christmas and the New Year has started off with its own lumps and bumps.

The good news for last year is that I tried Botox for my chronic Migraines and I am still hopeful that it is helping.   My doctor would like to see me wean off all of my other preventatives which would be great if I can do that as the side effects of Botox are nothing like the side effects of my other medications.

Although I don't think my second round of Botox worked as well as my first and third treatments, my doctor said that sometimes you can get an ineffective batch from the pharmacy.  Botox gives me more mental clarity than I get from my other preventatives. Does your doctor have the same goal if you are using Botox?

One week into this year and things already seem a little reminiscent of last January.  My son has already had to go to the orthopedic doctor due to a football injury to his knee. Can you believe that it happened during a flag football game?  The picture above is an xray of my son's knees. You can see how much bigger the one knee is as compared to his boney looking knee. My husband still finds himself with various new issues cropping up since his ordeal last summer and has already needed some emergency care for himself.

And now as my mouth and head conditions have started to settle down in my crazy life, I find myself in the middle of yet another health issue.  Probably the worst part is that I needed to go doctor hunting. I hate looking for a new doctor, but I was between doctors and wasn't really pursuing a new one since I had been trying to get my Migraines under control. I'll also use the poor excuse that I was just too busy with other things, but I know we still need to take care of our whole selves.

I have to say that the doctor I was able to obtain is awesome and very pleasant to work with.  After the exam, he was even able to make an appointment for me to have two tests done in another location on that same day and to see another specialist for this coming week.  It is so nice to have good doctors where I didn't need to look for these other doctors myself.

I am still hopeful that it will be nothing too serious. I've read that some of my symptoms are actually good signs plus denial is the only way I know I can deal with the situation.  Heck, that's still how I deal with my Migraines most of the time! I'll find out more in a few days and can't wait to get some relief from the increasing pain.

In many ways I find it so much easier to handle head pain than other areas even though it can make it more difficult to think and even talk clearly. Any pain can distract us from our task at hand, but I think we have already come up with our own coping skills with our Migraines since we've had years of practice.

Do you find it easier to deal with the pains in your head or with pains that you have elsewhere?

Migraine Specialist’s Lights Brutal

In the month of December, I went to my doctor’s office once a week. These visits gave me the time to think about what really aggravates me about the office and to sort things through. The first three visits were not with my regular doctor, but the last one was with him.

I had wrong expectations around my doctor’s office from the beginning. I was under the impression that his office was like dying and going to Migraineur heaven. I heard the office lighting was very soothing, there was little noise and no smell triggers to set us off. Well, two out of three …, no I can’t even say it. The lighting in my specialist’s office is horrible!

I remember the first time I approached his office for a visit. The door has the sign pictured above – “Please Do Not wear Perfume or Cologne on the day of your appointment. Scents can trigger headaches in some patients.”

My first thought was - Wow, it really must be as great of an ‘office’ as I have heard; the long commute should be worth it not only because I was finally going to a true Migraine specialist, but they seem to take care of the whole you here.

Well, the office does not have anyone wearing perfumes and it is relatively very quiet, but that’s where it stopped. It’s worth repeating, the lighting in my specialist’s office is horrible!

The waiting room is full of exposed CFLs! There is not a darker area anywhere to be found. The examination rooms are probably bright enough to lead Santa’s sleigh on the foggiest Christmas Eve on record! I can definitely understand needing that type of light when performing procedures, giving oodles of shots and things like that, but for talking or before and after those procedures, I can’t think of a single reason why my Migraine specialist’s office needs to trigger a Migraine for me every visit.

I am embarrassed to say this, but I have taken comfort by sitting in the hall and only going into the waiting room at the last minute. However, I have found that there are scents in the hallway, but the lights in the rooms are much worse than the occasional passersby who have a bad scent.

I had mentioned this ironic discrepancy to some of the nurses throughout various visits, but they always gave excuses or said that’s the way my doctor wants his office. By the time I saw my specialist, I was already seeing spots and lines and wanted to get out of his office as quickly as possible. I would go through some of the things on my list and be glad to get out of the illumination nightmare as quickly as possible.

There was too much going on in my life during my summer visits with one of those visits being the worst visit I’ve ever had with a doctor (not because of him). Before this last visit with him, I realized I needed to go into his office with several different communication plans so I would definitely talk with him and only him about the lighting.

I found the plan that was appropriate for that visit. He defused me in a kind of lousy way, but at least I brought it up to him and will again during the next visit.

His first quick remark was that the lighting sucks. Then his off the cuff sarcastic comment was basically around funding. Really? I’m funding my visits to him every time I go there plus taking a day off of work. My two hour trip has easily turned into a three hour trip both ways plus parking is not cheap in this city either. My doctor is very good and works very hard, but I also get charged for every little thing I request.

His next statement was that they may be moving their offices to a different location in the hospital. If or when that happens, the lighting will be taken care of and be much better. But what about now?

I will talk more about the lighting during my next visit. I am half contemplating bringing in boxes of incandescent bulbs for the waiting room too. Honestly, I don’t get the hypocrisy between these Migraine triggers.

How is the lighting in your Migraine Specialist’s office? Is it dreamy like it should be or nightmarish like my doctor’s office lighting? How would you handle this ludicrous situation if it were your doctor?