4 Tips For Preventing Your Chronic Migraine Headaches
If you suffer from migraine headaches, you may wonder if there is anything you can do to help prevent them or lessen their severity. If so, consider using one or all of the following four tips to help keep your chronic migraines at bay.
Keep A Food Diary To Identify Triggers Of Your Migraines
For example, if you use aspartame, this artificial sweetener has been linked with triggering migraines, sometimes increasing their frequency by 50 percent. Especially if you use large amounts of the sweetener in your diet, it could be contributing to your increase in headaches each month.
Once you think you have identified a trigger, eliminate it from your dietary intake for a week. Make sure you only experiment with one food at a time so you can more precisely decide whether or not it is a trigger. If you find relief, you have found a trigger. If you see no relief at all, there could be another trigger, and you can experiment with other suspects.
Get The Same Amount Of Sleep Every Night
When you suffer from chronic migraines, your sleep pattern could be a contributing factor to their frequency. They could be caused by getting too little sleep, too much or varying amounts each night. To combat the effects, strive to get the same amount of sleep every night, preferably at the same times.
To determine your existing sleep schedule, document the times you go to bed and get up for a week. This will give you a clear picture of the amount of sleep you get overall, as well as each night.
Once you have this information, look at areas in your schedule where you cannot change the time, such as having to get up to go to work. Then, count backwards eight or nine hours to determine the time you go to bed.
Try the new sleep schedule for a week to see if there is any improvement in the frequency and intensity of your migraines. If you see very little improvement, try sleeping an hour later one week, then an hour less the next to tweak the amount of sleep required by your body.
Consider Going To A Chiropractor
One possible cause of migraines is a misalignment of your spine and head and the pressure this could cause that could be contributing to your headaches. If you suspect that this could be a factor, you may want to consider going to a chiropractor to have a few adjustments.
In one trial study, 22 percent of those who received a chiropractic adjustment found that they had 90 percent fewer migraines than without the therapy. The longer the patients went to see the chiropractor, the less frequent their migraines became.
If you decide to visit a chiropractor, write down as many details as possible before your appointment. Document the intensity and frequency of your headaches, as well as any associated symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting or muscle tightness.
Also, let them know if you have any spinal issues, especially in your neck. If you do have any issues, the chiropractor may send you for x-rays or an MRI to get a clearer picture of any anatomy that could be contributing to your migraines. It also helps them adjust your treatment so it does not aggravate any existing conditions, if necessary.
Using the above tips could help prevent some of your migraine headache attacks. If you decide to try having adjustments, you may want to speak with both your medical doctor and a chiropractor so they can coordinate your care to help bring you the maximum amount of relief.