Back in my early days of episodic migraine I didn’t give much thought to the root cause of migraine attacks. It wasn’t until I had chronic migraine that I started to wonder what the heck was causing my once full life to get smaller and smaller. I wanted to know what was wrong with my body so I could fix it. What was my root cause of migraine?
Can MSG cause migraines and headaches? Yes and no. It's controversial but I think once you understand more about this food additive you can answer this question for yourself. Some of you might be on the fence about it as whether or not you have MSG as a migraine trigger while others emphatically notice a strong MSG headache connection. My goal is to help you understand what MSG is and explain the contradictory messages on the internet as well as your own doctor's office.
For as long as I can remember, I have considered myself a headachy person. At some point the headaches progressed to migraine. Fortunately, for most of my life I had infrequent episodic migraine (EM). An attack would start, I’d treat it with ibuprofen and I was better in an hour. I sought treatment when I began losing a few days per month to terrible attacks that didn’t respond to over-the-counter (OTC) remedies. Over time, my frequency of attacks increased and I “chronified” while under the care of my well-intentioned primary care physicians.
A few months ago, I had to admit to myself that I probably have sleep apnea headache. I cringe each time I think about it as I really don’t want to do a sleep study and worst of all, I don’t want to deal with a CPAP machine. In know, I know. There are other options but all I can envision is the sexiness of it all. So, thank you for listening to my pathetic confession. Yes, I’m a writer for Migraine Strong and I’ve always known that the answer to the question, can sleep apnea cause headaches and migraine. I have responded to hundreds of social media threads about…
The Bucket Theory is talked about frequently in our private Facebook group. We use it to explain exactly how things on the migraine triggers list can go about triggering migraine attacks. The theory developed out of a desire to explain the complications involved in identifying personal triggers on the migraine triggers list. Especially the triggers that might trigger us one week and not the next. Sound familiar?
There is so much I wish I knew about minimizing migraine when my frequency of attacks was ramping up a few years ago. I would have avoided chonifying and been so much healthier had this blog site been available to me just a few years ago. I know you don’t feel lucky to ONLY have episodic migraine, but count your lucky stars that you haven’t “chronified.” Social media, has changed the way people educate and help themselves today. You have so many more resources to help you get better. I assume you have episodic migraine that is worsening and you are here trying to figure out what to do to…
Photo Credit: Eileen Zollinger Light and sound sensitivity are two of the most consistent problems I have with migraine (read Part 1 here). And not just during an attack but between attacks as well. I have found I need to have some tools in my toolkit to be able to enjoy certain events such as baseball games, movies and especially concerts. For The Love Of Music I love music. It feeds my soul in so many ways. One of my biggest regrets is that I don’t play an instrument (I know it’s not too late). I sing in my car with the best of them. There is nothing like your…
With the weekend coming up, wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a glass of wine without migraine? Imagine enjoying a glass of red or white wine while enjoying a mom’s night out without suffering from wine sensitivities? How about drinking a cold beer with a few co-workers at a happy hour without any side effects? Sounds too good to be true? Thanks to PureWine, it doesn’t have to be! Migraine Strong is a PureWine affiliate. We were given a free Wands to try. Our opinions are honest and our own. Alcohol Alcohol is a well recognized migraine trigger. According to American Migraine Foundation, alcohol can trigger a migraine…
A turtle named Dorian Staying migraine attack free while fighting off stress and a hurricane is tough. A fellow Floridian posted a funny meme while Florida waited for news about hurricane Dorian. Something to the effect of waiting on hurricanes was like being stalked by a turtle. We all felt like we were being stalked by a turtle that would likely be a very serious threat to life and property in the coming days. However, this stress is very different than the colossal stress I have had over the past few months. The stress is real Just to name a few stressful things I have dealt with – we decided…
The migraine brain is said to be hyper responsive to its surrounding environment. We respond with migraine attacks to things that people without migraine wouldn’t react to at all. The Bucket Theory was developed as a way to explain how difficult to control triggers (like hormones, stress and weather) fill up a portion of our bucket each day. While these triggers are hard to manage, the ones that we have some control over are the ones that we eat and drink each day. ** While Migraine Strong writes about the latest in migraine treatments, this is not medical advice. We are patient educators and all information you read should be…
