Migraine

I don’t remember exactly when I developed my first headache; it started during childhood. But I was about 25 when my headache officially got confirmed by a Neurologist as Migraine.

I used to read a lot of science including medical stuffs/headache related and hence I knew that it was migraine. But I never consulted a doc for treating my headache till I visited that Neurologist. After that I did see some. During childhood, nobody cared to take me to a doc when I had headache.

So, what is migraine? It is the most popular headache in this world. The rich, poor, doctors, teachers, students, musicians, athletes, …..all types of people from all over the world are put up with it. About 30 million people in the U.S suffer from it (no idea whether such a statistics available for my country) with women being affected three times more than men.

I read somewhere it is a neurological disease. And don’t agree to that. It is not a disease but a defect. There are lots of theories behind it but no one knows what exactly is the cause and cure, since there are so many causes and so far no cure available.

But it is good that day by day new and new research is happening and we get some results. If the research is carried out by some pharmaceutical company, they come out with some new drug….If it is sponsored by some other body, the result might show the color of that body. And if it is carried out by some genuine body out of humanitarian grounds, well, it might come out with some facts behind it.

My mom was the first migraineur I happened to see. I spent a lot of time in my life trying to observe, study, and understand this headache….not from a medical point of view. I had taken Allopathic and Homoeopathic medicines.

Some doctors gave me false assurance that migraine can be cured and thus I took lots of medicine for it. Under that neurologist, I took so many drugs for about six months continuously and then it went up to one year. And finally I realized that I wasted all that money and time. But during that treatment period, there weren’t much migraine attacks since my doc’s approach was preventing migraine.

What is migraine again?

Migraine is classified under vascular headache. And it has a lot to do with the dilation and constriction of blood vessels in our head. When these vessels enlarges (usually till to a point where it can not stretch any longer) beyond normality, we get migraine.

Migraine can be broadly classified into two, viz,

Migraine with Aura : Sufferers gets a visual indication like blurred/double vision, golden flies etc before an episode.

Migraine without Aura : Most common. No visual indication. I belong to this group

There are some other variations of migraine. But I don’t know anybody suffering from that (I personally know at least 7 people with migraine). Though I have read about Basilar Type Migraine which can even be fatal, never heard about somebody died of migraine.

Migraine is mostly one sided headache, not always. Sometimes it starts from the eyes/temple and spreads back. Migraine gives a pulsating/throbbing headache and nausea. Gets aggravated by physical movement/activity, light (especially florescent) and sound – photophobia and phonophobia. Some times we might feel vertigo. I prefer to crash out in a dark room. Sometimes sitting position gives a better feeling than lying down. May be coz of less flow of blood to head. In general migraine has a family history/hereditary.

What causes all this? Why all people are not facing this problem? Why only some?

It is due to chemical imbalance in our brain/body.

There are some chemicals in our body that help communication between nerves. These chemicals are known as Neurotransmitters. It is said that, the imbalance of neurotransmitters is the cause of migraine.

I read somewhere that in some people, the number of neurotransmitter receptors is more and hence it creates another type of imbalance in such people which is the cause for migraine in them.

The most important neurotransmitters of the Central Nervous System (CNS) in connection with migraine are Serotonin and Norepinephrine. These chemicals have a role in controlling the size of the blood vessels, apart from other functions.

So, migraineurs need more of these chemicals. For that the best option is eating well than popping a pill. That is why at least some doctors think in this direction at least in the U.S. and west. Some even came out with patented nutritional supplements for this purpose. I think it won’t become popular till some pharma giant starts producing it.

If it is these neurotransmitters that cause all these problems, why some get migraine when they eat particular food?

There are lots of things which can cause a chemical imbalance in our body. Number one is food allergy. Then toxic waste within our body, internal inflammation, poor absorption of nutrients, poor metabolism, food/chemicals that can deplete the level of these neurotransmitters etc etc…..

So, a bad/not so healthy stomach is one of the reasons, stress is another big reason which produces stress hormones and there by causing an imbalance. Physical exertion including too much sex (in male), mental exertion and stress, and lots of similar stuffs can cause a chemical imbalance.

Hormonal change during menstrual period is another reason for migraine in females.

We need to provide enough nutrients so that brain can produce enough of these chemicals, by eating properly and wisely. This means avoiding those foods which can trigger a migraine and including those foods which can help in the production of these chemicals.


Main Trigger Factors

Food allergy and sensitivity towards certain food and chemicals
Dehydration
Irregular eating time/ missing a meal
Change in sleep-wake cycle
Too much sleep and lack of sleep
Loud sound
Too much exposure to sun
Inhalation of some chemicals and smells (like paint), which are serotonin depleting and vaso-constrictive.
Bowl problems
Hormone change
Cold or Sinusitis
Change in blood sugar level
Malnutrition (especially magnesium deficiency)
Change in atmospheric pressure / stormy weather condition
Anxiety/stress/physical excretion/too much sex

Prevention

Avoid food that already gave you enough migraine (need to observe – keep a food diary)
Eat balanced food with enough nutrients/ take supplement
Exercise regularly but moderately
Practice yoga/meditation or some breathing technique to control stress (and there by stress hormones). - I have personally benefited by this
It is said that cold water shower/head bath helps (not when there is a headache, but otherwise)

There are lots of drugs available. That is beyond the scope of this blog.

Food to avoid

Have an eye on what you eat. If you noticed that a particular food gave you migraine many times, avoid it. Or better note down the food you suspect and talk to your doc.

Here are some proven trigger foods, in many people.

Red Wine
Monosodium Glutamate or MSG
Cheese
Chocolate
Nuts – especially peanut
Over ripened fruits
Tobacco
Fermented food
Alcoholic drinks (beer included)
Very strong coffee

There is a very loooooooooooooooooong list that can scare and we might think ‘ oh, then what will I eat?’ . No need to panic. Just avoid the ones that already gave migraine, coz, most of the time, it depends on person to person.

Eating a few peanuts never gives me a migraine, for example. And eating lot if it gave migraine many times. Sometimes food had indirect effect. That is, we might get indigestion, the food waste gets fermented and thus releases toxins.


Food to include

An Apple keeps ……. Yes, fresh apple is good for you, including pineapple
A couple of almonds per day
Banana, carrot
Beef, Pork, Chicken, lamb, liver – eat fresh
Watermelon, cucumber
Oats, dates, barley, corn
Milk - if you are not allergic
Pears, sweet potato, spinach
Broccoli and cabbage, Lettuce
Brown rice
Fresh lobster and mackerel

This also is a long list.

There are some food supplement available in many countries like U.S. (not in India) which are targeted for migraineurs. It mainly contains:

Vit-C, Niacin, Vit-B6, Magnesium, Folic Acid, Calcium, Copper and some ‘proprietary blend’

My personal experience

When I was under migraine specific drugs like ergotamine, things became worst after every attack. Migraine became more and more strong. And my present doc straightaway asked me to stop that, who understands migraine well because he too used to get it.

What helped me to control my migraine is regular exercise, drinking adequate water, avoiding some specific trigger foods, and then a wonderful breathing technique called ‘Sudarshan Kriya’.

If I break rules, sometimes I get a migraine. But now, things are under better control.

Conclusion

Migraine is a vascular headache, meaning, a headache caused by the enlargement of blood vessels in our head. This happens because of the imbalance of neurotransmitters like Serotonin and Norepinephrine.

And finally the disclaimer part, I just shared some of my experience, thoughts and what I read about migraine. This is not an authentic/medical article on migraine.

It is always better to consult your doc than treating all by yourself !!!