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Resource for the latest info on migraine headaches?

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Migraine Headache
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Posted 8/6/2008 7:29 AM (GMT -7)
Hello.  I am a long time migraine sufferer and recent poster.  Although I have had migraines literally since I can remember (I am mid 40-s now) it has been a while since I have looked into any of the research as to current thinking regarding causes, treatments, etc.

Is there a good resource (book, cd, web-site) that anyone can recommend dealing with current and up to date thinking regarding migraines (current thinking regarding causes, treatments, symptoms, etc.)?

Thanks

Posted 8/6/2008 2:28 PM (GMT -7)
Hi. I usually post over on the UC forum, but I've been getting headaches almost every day lately. I just read a good book called "Heal Your Headaches: The 1-2-3 Program." It was written by a professor/doctor at the John Hopkins School of Medicine. I thought it was good at explaining current thoughts on causes and treatments. The book gives a detailed "1-2-3" approach to "healing your headaches." A big portion of it is eliminating foods from your diet completely, so I'm being hesitant to try it b/c I really like some of the foods he says to eliminate. He also talks about preventive medicines.
Posted 8/6/2008 3:05 PM (GMT -7)

Thank you, I will take a look at this book.  However, I am not big on the "What you eat theories" relating to migraine.  I never had one migraine during what I call my migraine free era of ~ 12 years and I ate and drank almost everything there was that has ever been listed on the things to avoid list.

Thank you very much for the suggestion though as I will check out that book.

Posted 8/6/2008 4:43 PM (GMT -7)
You're welcome. Yeah, I'm pretty much not big on those theories either. However, I think this guy might be on to something....in the book, the author says food can affect you sometimes and not others because food is just one of several triggers (others being barometric pressure, stress or the let down after a stressful event subsides, hormones, sleep - not enough or too much). He focuses on avoiding certain foods (and caffeine) because it's the easiest to control and also on avoiding the "quick fixes" that can cause rebound headaches. Your trigger level changes from day-to-day, so some days a trigger food might not affect you, but other days it would because your level of other triggers is already almost at the level where you'd get a migraine, according to the author. He also says your threshold for these triggers can change over the years.

That's basically the book in a nutshell (probably more than you wanted to know!). I hope others will chime in with other suggestions.
Posted 8/7/2008 5:27 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks again.  I will definitely check that book out.  I am intrigued as to what he calls the quick fixes that result in rebound headache.  Imetrex (sp?) was one for me.  I tried all three forms, pill, inhaler, & shot.  Essentially when I took this, if it even worked at all, the net result was that it would only serve to delay my headache for several hours at most.  The resulting rebound headache was usually one of the more severe ones I get.

Either way I have become interested in re-educating myself as to the nature of migraines in terms of recent findings so I appreciate the recommendation.  Any others?

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