Fasting Into A Migraine

For those who struggle with vascular headaches, you have to be careful where you go and what you do as well as how you keep up your body because triggers are everywhere. Hunger is a powerful trigger and for many individuals skipping a meal won’t be a big deal or make a ripple in their life. Yet for the migraine victim if hunger is their trigger, skipping a meal can be a horrible mistake since it could bring on a migraine; once a migraine starts, there is little that can be done to stop it. Migraines are a vascular and neurological condition that has no cure, only treating the symptoms will bring some relief.

How It Starts
Migraine headaches develop in the brain, a migraine is formed when a migraine trigger is encountered. Once a trigger has been encountered the body begins to react chemically. The blood vessels in the brain begin to expand and cause a throbbing/pounding sensation to occur. This throbbing / pounding sensation continues until the blood vessels reach their full expansion or migraine relief is implemented. A damaging chemical is released into the brain sometime throughout the blood vessel expansion. This chemical begins to attack the brains arteries, thus releasing a whole slew of miserable migraine symptoms like nausea, vomiting constipation, blurred vision and cognitive difficulties. These symptoms will not stop until the blood vessels which started the process go back to their original size and viscosity.

Symptoms Discussed Above
Symptoms of a migraine headache can vary from moderate to intense and can affect people differently. The goal is to lessen the migraine outbreaks, intensity of the migraines and migraine duration this is possible through migraine preventative measures. Listed below are the more common symptoms associated with and described by migraine headache sufferers.

• Diarrhea
• An intense throbbing, pounding feeling typically located on one side of the forehead
• Paleness
• Pain can also generate in the back of the head
• Pain can formulate right above one eye
• Nausea
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• The pain is often described as unilateral meaning the pain is typically felt or experienced on one side of the head.
• Vomiting
• Coldness in the hands and feet

Is Surgery Really The Answer?
There is reason to believe that by the removing of muscles or nerves in certain areas that are considered trigger sites could be helpful in relieving migraines. Trigger sites are said to exist where sensory nerves are stimulated by a certain muscle, due to the stimulation caused by the muscle a series of painful symptoms begin to develop thus creating a migraine. Migraine surgery such as this one is not often considered as a migraine headache treatment plan unless no other form of migraine treatment is providing the needed relief to improve quality of life. Now, surgery may not be for everyone and so for those who don’t like the idea of a doctor poking around in your head, here are some migraine trigger which you can try to avoid:

 Hormones – For women who experience migraines once a month around the time of their menstrual may be aware of menstrual migraines and how they can affect functionality. Some women during their monthly cycle lose estrogen and the loss of estrogen sets off a chemical imbalance and the result is a migraine.
 Sleep – One’s sleep habits have much to do with migraines, whether it be: sleep deprivation, too much sleep or broken up sleep they are all connected to headaches. Studies have shown that when sleep habits are improved migraine headaches are less current and have shorter duration.
 Fasting – Caution should always be had when headache prone individuals take to fasting. A lack of nutrients to the body can reduce blood sugar levels setting off a series of stress-related hormones.
 Foods – Certain foods can set the stage for a migraine to appear allowing the venue for a four act production that gets worse and worse until someone takes pity and closes the curtain. Refraining from alcohol, caffeinated beverages, chocolate and even aged cheese can help reduce the chances of a migraine reappearing in hopes of receiving a standing ovation. Fish and other seafood have even been described as migraine triggering foods as they tend to resonate in the nostrils.

Tags: blurred vision, dizziness, head pain, lightheadedness, migraine symptoms, nausea, vomiting