jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (02/05/86)
First, not all bad headaches, or even headaches on one side of
the head, are really migraines. There can be many causes for headaches so
it is important to distinguish what type you have so that you can treat it
appropriately.
True migraines are frequently food-related and migraine sufferers are
well-advised to keep a record of what they had to eat and when (sad to say,
chocolate is often a culprit). I had terrible migraines which I have been
able to control since discovering that they were triggered by not eating for
several hours then eating something high in sugar (cookies, chocolate, orange
juice) on an empty stomach.
There are several types of medication one can take for migraines. One
that I tried was an ergotamine compound which was taken sublingually. The
problem with ergot-related compounds is that some people quickly develop a
tolerance for them and that's what happened to me. For some people, bio-feedback
techniques have helped.
Women tend to get more headaches of all types than men. (This might be
because women suppress more in an effort to conform to societal expectations)
Some women who have menstrual-related headaches may be getting them from
taking birth control pills and should discuss this with their doctors.
--
jcpatilla
..{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!aplcen!osiris!jcp
"Not faint canaries but ambrosia.."
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