Is Your Medication Giving You Migraines?

When you feel that throbbing pain on one side of your face, the first thing you do is reach for your migraine medication, certainly not natural migraine relief products. After all, you think that migraines medication will get rid of your migraine faster than anything else and you certainly don’t want to waste a day cowering in pain. But if you’re experiencing migraine headaches more often or your migraines are getting steadily worse, your pain relief pills could be to blame.

Taking too many pain medications too often – as little as three times a week or 10 times a month – can put your migraines in a rebound cycle. Your body becomes accustomed to the pain medication being in your system, so when it wears off, you start to get another headache – prompting you to take more medication. Any painkiller can cause rebound headaches, though doctors think that drugs containing caffeine, aspirin and acetaminophen, and ergotamines and triptans carry the most risk.

Migraines on the rebound!

How can you tell if you’re suffering from rebound headaches? Most patients with rebound migraines experience low-grade headaches almost continuously. Many wake up with their head already hurting. Some find that their headaches get worse within a few hours of taking medication.

If you’re experiencing frequent migraines while taking pain medication, your best option is to go cold turkey – stop taking painkillers, and you will break the rebound cycle. Of course, giving up pain medication makes many patients nervous. Migraines are excruciating, and facing them without medication can seem like a terrifying prospect.

However, some all-natural remedies can provide relief without creating the rebound cycle caused by over-the-counter and prescription medications. Lipigesic-M, a migraine pain reliever, uses a unique sublingual delivery method to send its medicinal ingredients into the bloodstream quickly for fast relief. The individually packaged dosages contain migraine-fighting ingredients, including feverfew and ginger. Best of all, none of the ingredients are associated with rebound headaches, so you can relieve your migraine pain without worrying about making your headaches worse.

For more information, visit www.lipigesic.com.

Most Common Migraine Food Triggers

Following an earlier post on how oranges could be a trigger to your migraines, I’ve been asked about other triggers. Here is a list of some of the most common foods, beverages, and additives associated with migraine headaches:

Aged cheese and other tyramine-containing foods: Tyramine is a substance found naturally in some foods. It is formed from the breakdown of protein as foods age. Generally, the longer a high-protein food ages, the greater the tyramine content. The amount of tyramine in cheeses differs greatly due to the variations in processing, fermenting, aging, degradation, or even bacterial contamination. For people who take monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor medications to treat their headaches, it is especially important to avoid all foods containing tyramine, including aged cheeses, red wine, alcoholic beverages, and some processed meats, as these foods can trigger severe hypertension.

Alcohol: Blood flow to your brain increases when you drink alcohol. Some scientists blame the headache on impurities in alcohol or by-products produced as your body metabolizes alcohol. Red wine, beer, whiskey, and champagne are the most commonly identified headache triggers.

Food additives: Food preservatives (or additives) contained in certain foods can trigger headaches. The additives, nitrates and nitrites, dilate blood vessels, causing headaches in some people.

Cold foods: Cold foods can cause headaches in some people. It’s more likely to occur if you are over-heated from exercise or hot temperatures. Pain, which is felt in the forehead, peaks 25 to 60 seconds and lasts from several seconds to one or two minutes. More than 90% of migraine sufferers report sensitivity to ice cream and cold substances.

Do Other Foods Trigger Headaches and Migraines? These foods have been identified as headache and migraine triggers by some sufferers.

Peanuts, peanut butter, other nuts and seeds
Pizza
Potato chip products
Chicken livers and other organ meats
Smoked or dried fish
Sourdough bread, fresh baked yeast goods (donuts, cakes, homemade breads, and rolls)
Bread, crackers, and desserts containing cheese
Certain fresh fruits including ripe bananas, citrus fruits, papaya, red plums, raspberries, kiwi, pineapple
Dried fruits (figs, raisins, dates)
Soups made from meat extracts or bouillon (not homemade broth)
Cultured dairy products, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt
Caffeine found in chocolate and cocoa; beverages such as coffee, tea and colas; also found in certain medications
Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners

What Cheeses Have High Tyramine Levels? The following types of cheeses have been reported to be high in tyramine:

Blue cheeses
Brie
Cheddar
Stilton
Feta
Gorgonzola
Mozzarella
Muenster
Parmesan
Swiss
Processed cheese

Other foods high in tyramine are: aged, canned, cured or processed meats, certain beans (fava, broad, garbanzo, lima, pinto), onions, olives, pickles, avocados, raisins, canned soups, and nuts.

What Food Products Contain Additives?

Hot dogs
Ham
Sausage
Bacon
Luncheon meats and deli-style meats
Pepperoni
Other cured or processed meats
Some heart medications
MSG (monosodium glutamate). MSG is a food additive/flavor enhancer found in soy sauce, meat tenderizer, Oriental foods, and a variety of packaged foods.

What Are the Symptoms of Food Additive-Induced (Migraine) Headaches? Most symptoms begin within 20-25 minutes after consuming these products.

They include:

+ Pressure in the chest
+ Tightening and pressure in the face
+ Burning sensation in the chest, neck, or shoulders
+ Facial flushing
+ Dizziness
+ Headache pain across the front or sides of the head
+ Abdominal discomfort

Reviewed by Department of Neurology, Department of Pediatric Neurology, The Cleveland Clinic.

There are other triggers like wheat which I’ve covered in earlier posts. In addition to these, if there are any other types of food that cause migraines which haven’t been listed, please do share and write it in the comment box below.

PS Avoiding these food triggers is the first step to getting control over your migraines, step two is to detox (see store page for tried and tested detox products). I’ll write about the steps three and four in the next post.