Re: Migraine headaches
I read a book a few years back called Victory over Migraine. I cant remember the authors name but it did point me in the right direction. <br /><br />What you are about to read are my own words and interpretations. Gleaned from years of observation, deduction and personal experience. Its quite a while since Ive explained this to anybody so my memory is a bit rusty on some of the names, please forgive me. Also I am not a doctor, nor did I study medicine, these are just opinions and observations.<br /><br />The genetic link with migraines is open to discussion. However, my father suffered from them and I do too, with a similar pattern. The first memory of a migraine that I have is 1976, during a final year exam in high school. The exam the previous day was one that I was very concerned about. Later youll see the link.<br /><br />The overt trigger for migraines can be as wide and varied as the symptoms. Chocolate, onions, certain types of alcoholic beverage, certain odours, stress and relief of stress, many food additives including MSG, the list goes on. For every trigger Ive named Im sure that other people could add 10 more. The point here is not the list the triggers but to get to the root cause, the substance that sets it all up. <br /><br />I think it would also be prudent to mention that there are also many different symptoms of migraine. These fall into 3 basic categories, classic, common and cluster. <br /><br />Classic migraines are the ones that have all the fancy fruit with them. The vision disturbances, the auras, tingling fingers (or toes); and then the terrible pain in the head. Also be aware that some classic migraines can have the associated symptoms and NOT the head pain. They are still just as disturbing. <br /><br />Common migraines are the ones that start with very subtle symptoms then quickly develop the head pain. Some of the symptoms I get are dry skin on the forehead, very slight diarrhoea, loss of appetite. Other people may or may not get some of these or different ones.<br /><br />Cluster migraines are less common but still worth mentioning. They are the headaches that are milder but come in quick succession and can last for days.<br /><br />From my reading of the book it appears that the migraines are set up by the ingestion of sugar. That horrible white poison we so freely add to everything. And dont be fooled into thinking raw sugar is any better! Its just white sugar with molasses added for the colour! The situation is set up quite quickly and because we consume so much sugar. I refer to the refined sugars, sucrose and glucose, not fructose, which is the sugar found naturally in fruit. When the body absorbs sugar the blood sugar levels rise (quite rapidly) and this sets in motion a sequence of chemical releases by the body (Namely the liver and a couple of the glands located in the neck area). When the sugar level rises the one of the glands releases adrenaline (other chemicals will be released too but adrenaline is the one we are interested in). One of the effects of adrenaline is to constrict the capillaries. The net effect of this is to increase the speed of which the blood is flowing through these capillaries, which increased the amount of oxygen available to the body cells, and the brain. Because the body wishes to stay in balance another gland releases an agent to moderate the effects of the adrenaline. This is where the problems start to occur. If a person is susceptible to migraine the mechanism that controls the release of this particular chemical is in some way interfered with, and too much is released. What that does is to dilate (expand) the capillaries. If they are over-dilated then the amount of blood flow and thus oxygen available is reduced, particularly to the brain. We are now ready for the migraine. All it needs is one of the other triggers to push it over the edge. With me one of those triggers is the stress/relief of stress scenarios. The stress causes more adrenaline to be released, enabling the brain to function better and the body to be ready for the flight/fight response. When the stress comes off and the dilating chemical is released, bang, migraine. <br /><br />I have recently found that packaged fruit juice, apple or orange, if I drink them at night will cause me to wake up with a low level headache that lasts for a couple of hours. I have also found that anti-inflammatories, if used quick enough help reduce the pain of migraine. Im still investigating the reason on that. <br /><br />I hope this helps some people. In the past when I have mentioned it to people and they look at their sugar intake many see a link. <br /><br />Chris
<br /><br />My wife always asks if it my time of the month again!
