Month: July 2007

Coping, Treatment

Therapeutic Caffeine Before a Massage

Kerrie Smyres

In a normal world, deliberately drinking caffeine before a massage is illogical. Yet it was the only way I enjoyed the massage I treated myself to yesterday.

Without much time between yoga and the massage I had scheduled yesterday, I went to Whole Foods for Kerrie-safe tuna salad. Instead of the usual kind that mom makes (which has none of my triggers), they had a fancy cranberry one with tuna, canola oil mayo, cranberries and red onion.

Halfway through, a large almond sliver reared its ugly head. Hoping it was an anomaly, a look through the remaining salad revealed tiny bits of almond throughout. That’s when I realized that Whole Foods always has two tuna salads — the kind that mom makes and a delicious-sounding-but-forbidden cranberry and almond one.

Whether or not the unknown amount of almond I had eaten would have triggered a migraine, I couldn’t risk it. Thankfully I live in Seattle and could get iced tea at the coffeehouse next door to the spa. Dressed in a robe and slippers in the serene environment, I sure felt strange with caffeinated tea in my hand.

I didn’t get a migraine. I also didn’t exactly relax during the massage. Instead I enjoyed figuring out which muscles the massage therapist was working on and why. And contemplated a career as a massage therapist for people with headache disorders.

Doctors, Mental Health, Patient Education, Resources, Treatment, Triggers

American Council for Headache Education’s New Website

Kerrie Smyres

Wondering how migraine and tension-type headache differ? Or what the common migraine treatments are? The American Council for Headache Education (aka ACHE) has a new website that will answer these questions and more.

Particularly good stuff:

All headache organization and educational sites have similar information. How it’s presented is the difference. ACHE’s articles are brief, but don’t skimp on details. The vast amount of information is narrowed to key topics, so you’re not overwhelmed. Articles aren’t bogged down with confusing jargon and are well-written.

I was shocked that ACHE links to Wikipedia’s migraine page. Wikipedia is a wonderful pop culture and travel reference, but am I’m wary of it for serious topics. The migraine page used to be full of errors and misleading information. At 1:03 pm PST on July 22, the page is quite good. Just know it is ever-changing and that being wrong doesn’t preclude someone from editing it.

ACHE’s site is primarily focused on migraine, which is the case
with a lot of headache sites (including mine). Perhaps it’s because
migraine is so prevalent and underdiagnosed. The articles are helpful even if you aren’t a migraineur. You might find — like I did — that your headaches that aren’t migraines actually are.

Triggers

My Cellphone, a Portable Headache Trigger

Kerrie Smyres

I manage my environmental triggers as well as I can. At restaurants, I double check to see if there are nuts in a dish. I stay clear of toiletries and cleaning products at the grocery store. I switch seats at movies to get away from smelly neighbors.

Then I spill tea on my cellphone. After many attempts at resuscitation, I replaced it with a pretty pink Razr from eBay. The new phone just arrived and seems to work fine. I don’t know for sure because I can’t hold it up to my face to talk on it. It reeks of perfume.

The crazy thing is that I wanted a red phone until I found out that they aren’t manufactured in red, but painted by a third party company. Wanting to avoid the potential for paint fumes, I chose a different color.

Should I have foreseen this danger? Would I have a stink-free phone if I’d gotten it in silver? Like I have enough control over the world to keep from getting a perfumed phone.

The moral of the story: It’s impossible to avoid all potential migraine or headache triggers. No matter how hard you try. Don’t beat yourself up! (Kerrie, that means you.)

Any suggestions for removing odors from plastic? I’ve already wiped it down with hydrogen peroxide. We don’t have rubbing alcohol; maybe vodka?

Coping, Meds & Supplements, Symptoms, Treatment

Migraine Remains After Migranal-Induced Nausea

Kerrie Smyres

A killer migraine knocked me down yesterday. I gave myself over to Migranal, the abortive that my headache specialist recommended last week. It reduced my head pain, but magnified the nausea tenfold. This is a common side effect. I just didn’t expect it to happen to me.

The migraine worsened in the night and was unbearable by 6 a.m. Advil, my old standby that has been useless in the last month, reduced the pain a bit. Attending my morning yoga class was an impossibility, so I turned off the alarm and slept until 10:30.

I still feel awful and am more nauseated than usual. I’ll be spending the rest of the day on the couch.

Researching Migranal for this post, I found some studies have shown it decreases nausea. Migranal is the nasal spray of dihydroergotamine (DHE). Maybe the side effect is more of an issue with the injectable form of DHE. Anyone know?