Hello,
I am new to the My Migraine Connection website. I have suffered with migraines since I was 11 (I am now 31). For years I tried non-drug approaches such as biofeedback etc. I strongly believed in these as I am Ph.D. level psychologist. But the pain had been so bad for so many years that finally in 2005 I began trying medications ...Relpax, Imitrex, Midrin, Nortryptaline, beta-blockers, Demoral (for severe accute h/a), Toradol (non-narcotic Rx pain reliever), etc. While some of these medications eased the pain and nausea they don't prevent the headaches.
The follwing is not intended as treatment for a migraine. If you are having a migraine and need medication, I say take it. I sure do, Relpax usually works best for me. I just wanted to share the following information since I noticed that these dietary changes have helped me. Maybe they can help you too.
In 2006, I began changing my diet drastically. No cheese, no yogurt, no ice cream, no overly processed foods, no diet soda. Especially no MSG or artificial sweeteners. This doesn't mean you can never eat these foods again, just eat them on rare occasions. You don't have to go organic raw food vegan either, I sure didn't. Just be sure to read food labels carefully, almost every canned soup has MSG, most flavored potato chips have cheese powder and MSG in them, almost all salad dressings have MSG and cheese is in almost every processed meal like Lean Cuisine as filler. Watch out for Whey Powder, Isolated Whey protien, or cultured whey.
Lastly, excercise, multivitamins and even sex may help. I suffer from chronic severe migraines. This means I have more than 15 migraine days a month. I began taking a GNC brand women's multivitamin last summer and for the first time in nearly 20 years I went two weeks without a migraine. I also excercise everyday and I believe that helps.
The following websites have information diet and MSG
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
http://www.msgmyth.com/hidename.htm
http://www.memorialcityneurology.com/migrainetreatment.shtml#diagnosis
http://www.houstonheadacheclinic.com/nutrition.html
