Migraine

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Comment by vienn01 on December 30, 2009 at 1:34am

There are many factors that trigger migraine. It may be by a range of stimuli like stress, weather, hormonal changes in women, alcohol, fragrances, and even light glare leading to attacks. Physical activity makes migraine pain worse, and likewise it may result the sufferer to keep away from physical activities.

One common way to approach migraine headache is by preventing the attacks. Though hormonal changes and weather can’t be controlled, food and medications can be managed. Certain chemicals in food and drink, such as caffeine, and monosodium set off a migraine.

Article: Migraine Is Not A Headache!

Comment by David on October 16, 2009 at 1:48am

I am 56 and started having migraines when i was about 26 or 27. All these years all the doctors that I went to could or would only prescribe medications that would mask the pain. None took the time to try and find out what caused or triggered the attacks. Finally last year while having an attack i was searching the internet and came across this site http://www.neurologychannel.com/migraine/naturalmedicine.shtml#elimination, and used the diet to finally determine that three foods were triggering my attacks. These were peanuts, chocolate and commercially produced orange juice not fresh squeezed. I have tried ALL the triptan varieties over the years but i felt worse on some or the didn't work. I have been pain free for almost one year!

Comment by Sylvia Ann Strawbridge on September 29, 2009 at 6:38am

Mindjet, I took topamax for several months and it didn't help me and left me without a memory!! I hope it helps you, but if you start seeing these negative side effects, talk to your doctor.

Comment by Mindjet on September 29, 2009 at 1:40am

Does anyone know what the most efficacious dosage range of Topamax is to work as a prophylactic for migraines?

Comment by Lisa on September 11, 2009 at 2:35pm

I wanted to share a webcast with all of you The Emotional Pain of Migraines: Coping with Frustration and Guilt - featuring migraine expert Dr. Barbaranne Branca, clinical neuropsychologist who offers advice on how to deal with negative emotions and how to get needed support from family and friends. Let me know if you check it out :)

Surprising? - 1 in 4 households suffer from migraines (28 million people!!)

Comment by Singh on July 31, 2009 at 4:20pm

I am currently looking for non-medication techniques for coping and relieving my migraine. I have just been referred to www.themigrainerelief.com and was wondering if anyone else had tried this?

It seems good, but anyone?

Thanks

Comment by Ellen S on June 10, 2009 at 3:27pm

I see some FABULOUS conversations going on here at the Migraine Wall. I really hate that they may be missed!

To make it easier for others to find and follow these questions and answers, please remember to add them to the Discussion Forum so they will be searchable to others. You can do this by going to the Discussion Forum box located above my comment here on the Wall, or by going directly to this link to view active discussions or to post a new one.

To post a new discussion on this forum, go to the upper right hand corner inside the forum, to the button that says Add New Discussion. Simply click and begin!

If you would like to introduce yourself or place a general comment about the group, the Wall is the perfect place, or go to this thread within the Migraine Forum.

Thank you for being a part of WEGO Health and its Migraine Health Activists!

Comment by Natasha on June 9, 2009 at 9:40pm

I've been trying to figure out for a very long time whether I suffer for regular headaches or migranes? How would I find out t he difference? I've been to my general doctor and neurologist, who said everything in my brain seems fine.
But I want to know FOR SURE if it's headaches I suffer from or migranes...my grandma suffers from severe migranes and I'm wondering if I too have them.
I feel like sometimes I get these headaches/ migranes several times a day. How do you test for headaches, and especially, how do you test for migranes? Are there any specific tests to know if you suffer for them? And for people that have suffured from migranes on here...what are the best treatment options &/or prescriptions? I'd love to hear from all of you! Thanks!!!

Comment by Alex Tuggle L.Ac. on May 4, 2009 at 6:41pm

I'm sorry that you have had a difficult time and some of things I mentioned did not work for you.

I was merely recommending a need to assess dietary triggers such as food sensitivities, sugar, and alcohol because in my practice, many people who have suffered from migraines for years had no idea they had a gluten sensitivity or that the red wine they were drinking every night (which contains sulfites) could be contributing to their migraines.

You are right that not every person has the same exact food sensitivities (if any at all). However, you cannot really know if you have a sensitivity to something that you are eating until you remove it from your diet. This is referred to as an "Elimination Diet" and is the only way I know of, of actually figuring out what is causing you a problem if any. If you remove all of the foods I mentioned from your diet that I mentioned (gluten containing grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol, corn, soy, food preservatives) and nothing changes with your migraine, that still does not mean that you don't have a sensitivity to one of these food items. It just means that your migraines may due to something else.

But yes, you are correct. Everyone has different triggers (if any at all). I just mentioned the "Usual suspects" which are the most common food allergens. Same as with Birth Control pills. However, I will renounce my statement that Birth control pills raise Copper levels due to their effects on estrogen.

Copper Toxicity is much more widespread than allopathic medicine would have you believe, although not all Copper toxicity can be diagnosed as Wilson's disease. There is a lot of dysfunction that can be created by unbound Copper (Copper not bound by Ceruloplasmin and Metallothioneine) in the body.

What type of lab tests were done to diagnose Copper toxicity? Copper toxicity can be hard to diagnose because it gets stored away, first in the liver, then the brain, then the nerves, skin, muscles and the rest of the Soft tissues.

I recommend a Hair Analysis test to evaluate all of the minerals in the Soft tissues. Copper levels may not be raised, however because it does not come out into the hair so easily. However, by reading the levels of all of the minerals in your hair chart (Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Selenium, Chromium, Phosphorous) as well as the presence of "any" Heavy metals (Lead, Mercury, Copper, Cadmium, Aluminum, Nickel, Arsenic) we can check for ratio imbalances between the minerals and accurately assess metabolic trends and adrenal or thyroid dysfunctions that can pin point a Copper toxicity issue, if indeed there is one.

Any of these Heavy Metals may also be causing migraines and are therefore very important to remove from the body. However, chelation therapy alone is usually never enough, and can in fact be dangerous if using a very strong and non-discriminatory chelating agent.

Mercury and Cadmium displaces Zinc in the actual tissues of the body, such as in the artery walls. Lead displaces Calcium in the bones. Chelating agents are unable to remove heavy metals which are being used in the structure of the body.

By addressing nutritional deficiencies and balancing your metabolic rate, you can improve Adrenal function which are the true causes of most any Heavy Metal toxicity condition. If the Adrenal glands were strong enough, and there was an adequate supply of nutrients, and the nervous system was not revved up all the time by a "fight or flight" stress reaction, than the body could be able to remove the Heavy metals from the body all by itself. Without the need for chelating agents, which only remove toxins and metals from the bloodstream and interstitial spaces. It cannot go and get the metals out of the cell structures.

Copper toxicity is usually hidden because it is one of the last Heavy Metals to come out of the tissues where it is being stored. It may take up to 3 years of a Nutritional Balancing program before any Copper is revealed on a Hair analysis test. But once the excess Copper is eliminated from the body, Migraines do go away.

Please visit this article by Larry Wilson who is an expert in this field, who has studied and worked with Dr. Paul Eck, who single handedly pioneered the use of Hair analysis to create Nutritional Balancing Supplement programs to balance body chemistry and eliminate Heavy Metals such as Copper from the body.

http://drlwilson.com/Articles/copper%20history.htm

Comment by cherishdestiny on May 4, 2009 at 12:50am

Foods only need to be avoided if you're sensitive or if anything is an actual trigger. Not everyone has any food/beverage sensitivities or triggers. The same can be said about hormones and birth control pills - not every woman finds either to be a trigger and just to make it even more confusing not every woman who reacts to birth control pills reacts the same way to the same list of birth control pills. Sorry, I've just been through a long list of neurologists who've been quite insistent that EVERYONE had the same list of food, drink and hormonal triggers and nothing I could do would convince them otherwise...

The only reason for a toxic level of copper that I'm aware of is Wilson's Disease. That's not diet caused, it's a genetic thing that can in part be diet controlled once discovered and there are a LOT more foods that contain copper. Also, many the conditions you listed as "caused" by copper toxicity are ones that may be mistaken for Wilson's Disease when Wilson's Disease has reached the point of causing neurological damage and/or symptoms of psychosis but they're not directly caused by copper toxicity. Though you are right, many minerals - including copper - are best consumed in careful balances with other minerals. The copper thing is kind of a sore point too. I have seizures, migraines and a mood disorder and I had one neurologist test me for Wilson's Disease FOUR times because he was so sure I had it because of the trio of conditions and as a result the repeated negative results had to be because the lab got it wrong every time...

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