Migraine can negatively impact many aspects of your day-to-day living, including work, family relationships, and your social life.
Thats why learning what triggers your migraine attacks, and how to avoid those triggers, is so important, as is learning which pharmaceutical and complementary therapies help to prevent or reduce the frequency or severity of your attacks. Its also important to find professionals who can help you manage your symptoms, your mood, and the many challenges that come with having a chronic condition like migraine.
The following tools, tips, and resources can help you to live well with migraine.
What you eat and drink and when you eat and drink can play a role in managing migraine.
Most important is not to skip or miss meals.
Eating regularly for some people is really important some people have to eat every two hours, says Kathleen Digre, MD, a distinguished professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Dehydration is a common trigger of migraine attacks, so make sure you drink plenty of water or other liquids throughout the day.
Certain foods or types of food have long been identified as common migraine triggers: aged cheese, chocolate, caffeine, nuts, citrus fruits, aspartame, fatty foods, and food containing nitrates, the chemicals found in hot dogs and other processed meats.
But according to an article inMigraine AgainbyAndrew Charles, MD, the director of headache research and treatment and a professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, theres little evidence these foods trigger migraine attacks. In fact, Dr. Charles writes, a craving for a particular food might instead signal the onset of a migraine attack, rather than trigger one.
Red wine, however, may indeed be a trigger for some people, and the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG) may similarly be a trigger.
If you suspect that foods or beverages trigger your migraine attacks, its worth keeping a food diary to look for patterns and discuss it with your neurologist.
According to Dr. Digre, some doctors have prescribed a ketogenic diet to control migraine, and theres some evidence such a diet may have positive effects, as noted in anarticle published in November 2019 in theJournal of Headache and Pain.
Magnesium and vitamin B2, or riboflavin, can reduce migraine frequency, according to theAmerican Migraine Foundation, so you may want to incorporate magnesium-rich foods like dark leafy greens and legumes, and foods rich in B2 such as fish, almonds, and eggs, into your diet. Or speak to your doctor about taking supplements.
There is some evidence that obesity is linked to the transformation of episodic migraine (attacks that come and go and occur no more than 15 days per month) into chronic migraine (more than 15 headache days per month), so maintaining a healthy weight may help keep the number and severity of your headaches at bay.
RELATED: Can a Ketogenic Diet Help Prevent Migraines?
Regular exercise can reduce both the frequency and intensity of migraine, so its beneficial to get in some exercise.
You don't have to do a lot to gain benefits, says Robert G. Kaniecki, MD, the director of the UPMC Headache Center in Pittsburgh. A pattern of regular, moderately intense exercise can be valuable, but so can a simple regular walking program, he says.
Movement can exacerbate a migraine attack already in progress, though, so you should not work out once you begin to experience symptoms. Exercise-induced migraine attacks can also occur, particularly with more vigorous or strenuous sports or activities such as weight lifting, running, tennis, or swimming. These headaches are sometimes related to other factors, such as inadequate hydration or not eating properly before a workout.
Excerpt from:
Migraine: Your Everyday Guide to Living Well - Everyday Health
