Migraine Update — Tips For Easing the Nightmare

Tags

Conditions and Diseases, Gatorade, Headache, Health, Migraine, migraine advice, migraine remedies, migraine tips, Pain

A little over a year ago an idea for migraine relief was given to me by a friend at church (read about that here).  I have referred to it since then as the “Gatorade Diet,” and I have since discovered more tips for easing the trauma that most migraines bring. To just say the gist of what that post was about, it mainly suggests that some migraine sufferers might find a little relief if they drink Gatorade at the onset of a migraine.

Since I don’t tend to drink a lot of fluids, and I feel fairly certain that may be part of the problem, I also drink Gatorade whenever I do drink anything during the day and evening.  With meals, while taking meds, just whenever I get thirsty, and, of course, at the onset of migraines.  Since I don’t drink fluids that often, it’s not as if I down gallons a day.  A large can of Gatorade powder will last me awhile.

Since starting this routine a year ago, I have suffered four migraines.  Since I was having rounds of them that would trigger migraines every other day, I find that four times a year is quite an improvement!  Not only that, but the migraines I did have only brought minor pain or none at all.

The migraines I did have this past year were in the beginning couple of months after I started drinking Gatorade.  I am guessing that it may take one or two weeks of regular Gatorade drinking to start seeing some effects.  Since I was going around dehydrated most of the time, it probably took awhile to build things back up in my system.

So, here are a few tips for getting the most out of your migraine experience (eye roll):

• Take migraine meds and drink Gatorade at first suspicion of the onset of a migraine.
• Before the pain begins, right after taking your meds, put an ice pack on your head.  I’m not sure why it works for me to put it on even before the pain starts, but when I have done it, there was a marked decrease in overall migraine pain.  The flexible kind of ice packs that are used in coolers to keep things cold will work for this.  I keep two in the fridge — I can plop one on my head without having to put a towel around it first, and also I can switch to the extra ice pack when the one on my head warms up.  Again, what works for me may not for someone else, and may not always even work for me, but it can’t hurt.
• If you do not drink many liquids during the course of a day, incorporate Gatorade into your daily routine.

One blogger friend (Bob) pointed out to me that Gatorade contains a lot of salt, and mentioned an alternative that has the same things in it that Gatorade does, only minus the salt.  I will have to look back and see what the name of it is and update it to this post.  It may have been Powerade, but I’m unsure.

The problem with trying substitutes is that the salt may be what makes the Gatorade effective.  But I’m willing to give the alternative a try and see what happens.  I’ll post about that here, too.

Note: Bob has since confirmed in a comment below that it is, indeed, Powerade that he was talking about.  I will get brave and try it to see what happens.  If it works it will certainly be more healthy.  Thanks Bob!

At any rate, if you feel like trying these tips, give it a few weeks and see if you notice an improvement.  After a month you should see marked improvement if it is working for you at all.  As I’ve said in my previous post, this does not work for everybody — it depends largely on what is causing your migraines.

I hope this helps.  As for me, I am virtually migraine-free at this point, so if it turns out that drinking salty Gatorade is the only way to go, it’s just a choice I will have to make.  Migraines every day is not the way I want to live.

Update: Since I made this post, my daughter, who had insisted that Gatorade did not help her migraines, went to see a neurologist who specialized in migraines.  He told her that migraines really never go totally away, and that they are genetic.  Then he put her on a regimen of (here it comes, you’ll never guess) Gatorade!  I’m guessing from this that it’s been confirmed by at least some of the medical profession that it helps with migraines, at least in part.  That makes it even more worth a try if you suffer from these horrible, debilitating trials of the body.

Whatever you do today and in days to come to make your life and the lives of others better, I hope you receive blessings.  Have a glorious weekend, no matter what your weather is — you deserve it!

Related articles

• Here’s why I care about your migraines (ladybitsnp.wordpress.com)
• “Leading Edge” with Host Jimmy Johnson Creates Segments On Migraines (prweb.com)
• Benefits of Botox for Migraines and Tension Headaches (laser-clinique.com)
• Study finds men and women are affected differently by migraines (westernherbal.com)
• Block migraine pain with a back-of-the-head injection (today.com)
• New Migraine Treatment Provides Hope for Patients with Hemiplegic… (prweb.com)
• How To: Stop Migraine Part I: Medication (cphinheels.wordpress.com)
• Younger Migraine Sufferers More Likely to Have Depression: Study (medindia.net)

Old People Rule!

Tags

AARP, Happiness, happy, Health, Life expectancy, longer life expectancy, married, Middle age, Old age, socializing, watching television

Definition: Old People — human beings over 50.

What?!  “No!” you say, “50 is middle-aged!”  Well, if you’re pretty sure you’ll live to be 100, then I guess you’re right.  Actually, with the average death rate being around 78-81, I figure middle-age would be around 36-40.5.  Who ever thought when they were 36 that they were middle-aged?  As a person who falls into the old person category, I would much rather have been middle-aged a while longer!

But this isn’t about that, anyway.  It’s about an article that was published in the February/March issue of AARP magazine (and also can be seen at their website here) about the things that promote and prolong happiness and some that even appear to add years to a person’s life span.

And what advantage is there to reading about what makes a person happier and live longer from a magazine geared toward old people?  Because when older people and older people’s families are researched, the information is based on something that has already happened.  There is no speculation about how long a person lived after doing such-and-such, or how much happier a person was when they did such-and-such — it’s tried-and-true fact.  Old people have lived it and seen first-hand what works and what doesn’t.  Families can look back and say, “Yeah, Grandpa/Grandma/Aunt Jane lived to be 101 and here’s the way they lived…”  As younger people, it is only a guess what will work for us in the long run if we don’t have all this wealth of information from people who have been there and done that.

A few highlights from the article stated some interesting statistics and even a few surprising facts about happiness and living longer.

• Givers are happier — Several studies have shown that people who give to others tend to be happier than people who don’t.  One study showed that people who were given money and spent it on something for themselves were less happy than those who gave it to someone else.  And there are many other ways to give of oneself that don’t even involve money.
• Ignore the boob tube — The happiest people watch one hour or less of television a day.  The very goal of much of what is seen on television is designed to make us want things that we don’t already have, not to mention that it takes our time away from friends and family.
• Strengthen your network of friends and family — Getting a dose of a strong social network, including family, helps increase happiness.  Choosing the right friends makes a difference as well.  A Harvard study found that for every happy friend a person has, happiness increases 9% — for every unhappy friend, happiness decreases 7%.
• Married people live longer — Multiple studies have shown this to be the case, but married people are also happier than unmarried people.
• Churchgoers are happier — Research shows that people who live in a faith-based community have less stress and live an average of 7 years longer than those who don’t.

Those are just a few of the points the AARP article made — it’s a good read and worth looking at, no matter what your age.  I’m glad I didn’t have to wait until I was 70 to find all this stuff out.  I want to be happy now!  Lol, and I wouldn’t mind doing whatever I can to be here with my loved ones a little longer as well!