Migraine

I have been dealing with mixed CDH and migraines for about 10 yrs and while they are much better after a year of working with my fairly new PCP on preventive meds, life certainly isn't perfect. I do keep a diary, but triggers have been a puzzle for me. The best I can do is a pattern around my menstrual cycle, but that is so irregular that it can't explain the rest of the month and I couldn't predict them to pretreat. And I don't really know why I would get a headache that can last off and on for up to 2 weeks and vary in intensity from being gone for a day to being migraine quality the next then mild for 1 day, severe in the morning, gone for the day, back at night, etc (ie, no seeming ryhme or reason to the pattern) In general, I would say I have and average of 17 HA days per month. probably 2 days I use Imitrex, 7-10 days I use Fioricet and the rest I can get by with advil and/or excedrin. (I know those are all days of risk of MOH, but what about the 10 days of HA free in a row? I just can't explain them when my HA cycle suddenly "breaks") Plus I usually have a couple random HA days here and there.

So, while my detailed diary has only been shared with this PCP for the last year or so, it has no info of possible food connections except wine, which really isn't fair, since I don't document when I have a glass of wine but I don't get a headache. I only document the bad days or make general observations (ie, I've been quite nauseated lately in general, so I just make a line about that or I might make a line about general family/life stress going on. I keep my diary in Excel so it's easy to write and print out).

I have spent the past 3 hours reading most of the posts back to May or so and learned a ton of answers to some of my questions. But one I have is kind of similar to one talked about with the NAET? process. But the red plums and tyramine question also sparked it so I'll ask. I know I have lots of food allergies from allergy testing as a child and back in college, but I've been eating those foods all along with no "allergic reaction" as I told the allergist back in college. He told me then that similar to the migraine triggers, that they could be stackable asthma triggers, even though my biggest problem was exercise induced asthma. Since moving to VA I've had more problems with allergies and asthma in the past 15 yrs but just use the PCP for care. However I recently broached this subject with an allergist I was taking my kids to and got a similar answer.

So the question is - I know allergies and migraine triggers are different in and of themselves. BUT.... In looking at the tyramine containing foods and the usual HA triggers - citrus, meat, potatoes, milk, tomato - were all straight off the list of foods for me to avoid since I tested strongly allergic. Coincidence? I have not tried any food eliminations diets though I have printed it off several times since joining this board. LOL, just like I never gave up my diet cokes when accupuncturist recommended that. Man, just 1-2 a day, and I don't drink coffee. I don't know what I'd do w/o my DC to start my work day! It's the flavor and the bubbles! Maybe this time - I'm supposed to go back to PCP in a few weeks. I'm in the middle of a HA cycle and was ready for Imitrex tonight but amazingly my brain calmed itself down w/ nothing. Had already taken my "cocktail" earlier and it worked. yahoo

2nd question - do you guys who keep detailed diaries keep them for headache free days too? And how detailed are you? Every morsel of food? I can barely remember last night, let alone everything I eat. As it is, I only keep up every 2-3 days and fudge some things like time of meds. My diary already fills up a page so I guess I'd need a separate food diary page. Sigh...

Also - If I wake up with headaches (I use a nightguard and my neck and shoulders are tight and stiff days after a massage, so we're thinking nighttime tension, TMJ, release of pent up anxiety, etc may be more likely the cause of morning HA but who knows?) would a dinnertime meal be the most likely candidate? I know with the stackable thing and delayed reaction it could have been from days before but think generalities here.

OK, that's all for now. I'm falling asleep so I can't think. Sorry for the long post, but I'm at that desparate stage of being annoyed with the HAs and I got emotional in front of new church group today so got to find some answers. No more embarassing moments! I need the fun me back!

Diane

Okay.

Question one. Triggering an allergy and triggering a migraine are completely separate events. If you have a list of allergens you've tested positive for, and they match a list of items that you migraine trigger off of, then yep, that would be coincidence. Considering that just about any substance a person can ingest has the potential to be an allergen for someone, and considering that just about any substance a person can ingest has the potential to be a migraine trigger for someone, then it stands to reason that there could be some overlap. But...the processes are different, so it's just coincidence when that overlap happens.

Question two. No, I don't keep an overly detailed migraine diary, and I don't keep it for headache-free days. What I do is keep a general "ick log". I use the month at a glance calendar in my day planner for the ick stuff, and I'll list anything that happens ickwise. I also color-code it. Fibro is orange, migraine yellow, and so on. When there is a migraine, or a fibro flare, or what have you, I think carefully about what might have triggered me, and I list it, along with whatever treatment I used for the event. If I forgot my meds one day, that goes on there, too. I find that having all my ick collected on one sheet makes it easier to look for patterns. I do think that sometimes if one gets too nit-picky with the details, looking for patterns, then it just gets all the more hard to see the forest for the trees. You can go overboard and just end up confusing yourself further. Sometimes a little less is more.

Question three. I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. I'm kind of thinking you're asking if it's possible to wake up with a migraine after encountering a trigger during dinner the night before? The short answer to that is yep. It can take hours sometimes between the trigger and the onset of the migraine itself. If that's not what you were asking, then that might not be much of an answer.

Hope that helps.

Diane,
I just read your post and I have to agree with most everything Droolie said in his post. You can drive yourself crazy if you try to keep a diary of everything that you eat every day. But it's a good idea at first to keep a food diary for about a month to see what is triggering you. I did and when I did the food elimination diet, and gave up the foods that were triggering me, my migraines were reduced. I have other triggers which are smells, mainly fragrances, and sometimes weather, but foods are also a big trigger for me.

I used to drink 1 or 2 Dr. Peppers a day and eat junk food and sweets. Had to give those all up. Cheese is a big trigger for me. Had to give it up. I know it's hard, but giving up the foods that DO trigger migraines for you, will reduce your migraines. Some people don't have them, but some do. You'll find this migraine business is a crazy one. It doesn't always make sense.

I also had no food allergies before I got migraines. Now it's hard for me to understand how I can have all these food triggers but they ARE different from food allergies. I looked into the NAET program but after much investigation, decided not to pursue it. Mainly because I didn't have food allergies. I was mainly hoping it would reduce my fragrance trigger. I may look into again sometime in the further but for now I am working with Dr.Krusz here in Dallas, Tx.

I hope this helps some and hope you can get some clarity on your triggers. It takes time. I know it did for me. You'll get there. Don't get discouraged. Just take it one step at a time and keep coming back to this forum for great advice and support. There is always plenty of that!
Pam

Thanks guys, that does help. If I brave up and decide to do the whole food elimination thing (I'm actually pretty picky but cheese and crackers, PBJ, right now plums while they are cheap!, and my diet cokes are a huge part of my daily diet. I even tried Coke One or whatever it's called and it just tasted syrupy sweet-ick) I'll know I don't have to keep every morsel written down. Actually I did write down all my food for a nutritionist years ago (before kids and before headaches) but I my guess is that was only for a week or 2. I'll just elimination first. That's probably easier than documentation.

I guess it's just like I tell folks at work, you can get an allergy to something any time in your life after being exposed to it over and over. So why shouldn't something start to be a trigger after years of exposure (ie, my beloved Diet Coke) Hmmm, and maybe the formula changed back when I was pregnant and the whole migraine/headache drama started. Or those other 2 staples, cheese and chocolate! LOL! Such simple foods and to think that I might have to give it up....

And I'll keep my rather simple "detailed diary" (actually modeled after the one I found on the NHF website before I stumbled onto this one). It was my PCP's idea to keep it on Excel and after I balked at first, now I really like it. I gave up the paper one (and I am terrible with anything other than the free Hallmark calendars anyways - just call me stuck in the 80's Sally) after about a month of keeping both. I also color code it with med changes, migraines needing Imitrex, random notes, period start days, and days w/ pain greater than 4 (this changes as HA improve - was >5 for a while), even though I only have a B/W printer, but that's what they make crayons or markers for, right?

Actually, I keep 2. One that I kept first was a "hormones and Headaches" with the months on the side and 31 days across the top. That way I have a year at a glance so I can show him the whole pattern. I can color code it too, just have to stick to 1 color. That was the first "diary" I kept, with a few written notes in a journal. Then I moved to this one and the NHF diary, then this one and Excel. This one is in Excel but could be in word too. I use code letters, H=headache/migraine, N=nausea/vomitting, I=Imitrex, P=period, etc I really was keeping this for myself and my OB/GYN at first to show her how messed up I was with cycles every 2 weeks and screaming migraines to go with them. That was before I had really started with this PCP when I was kind of inbetween PCP's. But it's nice to have the overall picture.

Anyways, thanks for the reality check on the food diary. Now I'm also looking into chiropractic again for my neck after another "neck migraine" today at work. New guy. And just found out my massage therapist is moving to a busy downtown college area - that will put her 20-25 minutes away if they don't have their own parking. LOL and I CAN'T parallel park! Ugghhh.... I really hope she is getting a good deal. She is great but not sure she can't be replaced.... The chiro she keeps recommending I see has plenty of parking, 4 massage therapists and they are almost $20 cheaper according to his website..... hmmmmm....

Diane, whose head is screwed on crooked (which will work just fine for Halloween!)