Headache Treatment and Prevention Information

Several people have emailed or called me lately asking for more detailed information on preventing and treating headaches so I decided to do a post on all that I have learned so far. A lot will be repetitious to those of you I've already shared this with, but I've come across some new information.

Headache Triggers~

Hormones ~ 1) Menses (period), 2) Ovulation, 3) Hormone replacement therapy, 4) Oral contraceptives.

Diet ~ 5) Alcohol (especially beer and red wine. Hopefully this isn't even an issue though), 6)Chocolate, 7) Aged cheeses (cheddar, gruyere, brie camembert), 8) Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - common in Chinese food, 9) Artificial sweeteners, 10) Caffeine, 11) Nuts, 12) Nitrates and nitrites (found in hot dogs, bologna, and other processed meats), 13) Citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, lemons and their juices).

Changes ~ 14) Weather, 15) Season, 16) Travel (crossing a time zone), 17) Altitude, 18) Schedule changes, 19) Sleeping patterns (too little, too much, or changes in usual pattern), 20) Dieting, 21) Skipping meals, 22) Diet (food allergies or sensitivities).

Sensory Stimuli ~ 23) Strong lights, 24) Flickering lights, 25) Strong Odors.

Stress ~ 26) Let-down periods (vacations, weekends, after a major event), 27) Times of intense activity, 28) Loss (death, separation, divorce), 29) Relationship difficulties, 30) Job stress, loss, or change, 31) Crisis.

It is extremely important to pay close attention to your diet for headache prevention. The reasons for this are quite detailed, but I'll just highlight a few of the most important ones. Our food is deplete of nutrients because of modern farming and processing practices which contribute to the depletion of nutrients from the soil. As a result, it is absolutely vital that everyone take a good multivitamin, omega 3, 6, and 9 supplement, and probiotics. Of course, make sure that you are eating balanced meals. (FYI~ Did you know that when you stop eating meat, or carbs, or wheat etc. for an extended period of time due to fad dieting, that your body will actually stop making the enzymes required in digesting those foods? So, if and when you start eating them again, they will make you feel sick.) Frequent small meals are always better than two or three larger ones. Snack in between meals on protein rich foods such as nuts or seeds. Josh and I were somehow not getting enough protein in our diet, so we really had to pay close attention to that one. You can figure out how much protein you need by dividing your weight in pounds by 2, and multiplying times 0.8, which equals how many grams of protein you need everyday. To further help you figure out how much protein you're getting from your food, go to www.calorieking.com/. It has charts that specify how much protein (and other nutrients) is in any given food.

You also need to make sure that your water intake is sufficient. A lot of headaches are caused from simple dehydration. Our bodies are made up of 90% water, and it needs to be replenished frequently. Everybody needs half their body weight in ounces of water every day.

For headache prevention, take 200 - 400 mg's of Riboflavin (vitamin B2) in the morning with breakfast for three weeks. If that doesn't work after three weeks of consistently taking it try 200 - 400 mg's of magnesium with breakfast and plenty of water. If you get diarrhea you are taking too much. Cut back slowly until you no longer have that problem. If that doesn't help after consistently taking it for three weeks take Fever Few tincture and following the labeling instructions for dosage.

In addition, stress is one of the main causes of headaches, and our naturopath recommended one date night a week; alone, with your spouse, or a good friend if you're single. Just get out and relax. It helps me to relax just knowing that I have a day or a night off to look forward to.

Regular chiropractic care has been key in the reduction of frequency of headaches for both Josh and I, and it has actually almost made Josh's headaches stop altogether. Some things that the chiropractor recommends that have proven helpful are as follows: Biofreeze and an ice pack for muscle tension in the neck and back (15 minutes on, 15 minutes off as needed). Cold is almost always better than heat. If you wake up with headaches, your pillow is probably to blame (if grinding your teeth at night has been ruled out). It's important to make sure that your spine is completely straight from your tailbone to the base of your neck in all positions while lying down. I'm a smaller person so I require a smaller pillow and the chiropractor has recommended that I use a standard pillow with a small towel rolled up and placed inside the pillowcase where my neck rests. Just make sure that it doesn't exceed 4 inches in diameter. Avoid sleeping on your stomach. Minimize sitting for prolonged periods of time. Take frequent breaks and stretch slowly. Avoid standing with all your weight on one foot. Avoid reading on your back with your neck stretched forward. Avoid one sided sports; always practice with both hands. Avoid carrying bags on one shoulder. Avoid cradling the phone between your shoulder and ear. Avoid watching T.V. (no justification possible. *These are the chiropractor's words exactly as they are printed on the sheet she gave me. :) ) Avoid repetitive activities with your arms in front or overhead. Avoid poor posture during any activity. Set your mirrors in your car so that you can only see out of them with proper posture.

All these things are life in a nutshell and it really is a wonder that everybody doesn't always have a headache. But the one thing that is very often neglected in the prevention of headaches is probably the single most important thing you can do: PRAY. God is truly in the business of answering the prayers of His children and I've noticed that when I start to get too busy I begin to do things in my own strength and my relationship with the Lord is put on the back burner almost before I even know what is happening. All the headache triggers seem to have a snowball effect when this happens and before I know it, I'm in bed, incapable of doing anything besides praying.

I do hope that this is helpful. Please let me know if any of these things do or do not work for any of you. It is an area of great interest to me, and I'm eager to learn all there is to know. So if there is anything else that you all know of that I haven't mentioned here, please feel free to share.