Near the beginning of my chronic migraine story I attempted a migraine elimination diet unsuccessfully.  I was given a list of foods at the Houston Headache Clinic to avoid.  I stuck with the diet for about three months without any change in the frequency or severity of my migraines.   This diet can be pretty restrictive, and when there weren't any visible results
it was quite maddening.  I don't really know why I felt it was worth trying again, but I am certainly glad now that I did.  Why is my elimination plan working now when it didn't before?  This is a great question.  I thought it was worth evaluating further.

The reason dietary triggers aren't fully recognized by all sufferers is complicated. Sometimes food triggers have an almost immediate impact on migraine and sometimes they take up to days before an impact is felt.  This leads people to believe that a particular food is not a trigger because it is hard to see a direct correlation between the two events.  It may be that the food was a trigger but the individuals overall "migraine threshold" was not reached with the ingestion of that dietary item. Most migrainuers will tell you that migraine triggers are cumulative, stackable, or add up. As I encounter migraine triggers, at some point a so-called "migraine threshold" is reached and the great migraine is set in motion. Where exactly my "migraine trigger threshold" sits, is still a great mystery, but I have a sense of when it is about to be reached these days and work to lower it.  The years I spent in a chronic state of migraine made it difficult to tell specifically what was a trigger and what wasn't.  It seemed everything was a trigger at that time in my life.  How do you figure out your triggers?  Another really good question.  I eliminated as many of the known controllable migraine triggers as I possibly could.  It sounds extreme to many, but the result of being migraine-free is worth the dietary sacrifices I make.

Here is a list of somewhat unavoidable triggers:
1. barometric pressure changes
2. hormonal changes
3. strong odors
4. bright lights
5. aerobic exercise
7. sex
8. dehydration
9. sleep deprivation
10. stress

And here is a list of avoidable triggers (triggers dependent on the consumption of them):
1. food
2. beverages
3. drugs
4. tobacco (kind of a drug)

Diet is just a piece of the migraine pie.  There are a bunch of other ingredients needed to create the perfect recipe for
migraine.  If I look back at the differences between my two attempts at elimination diets there are some differences between the two:

1. My job stress was decreased during my successful attempt.
2.  A number of the medications I was taking for migraine prevention (Topamax, Depakote, Pristiq, and Seroquel) were no
longer part of my regimen during the successful attempt.
3. I was no longer sleep deprived (as a result of the preventive medications) during the successful attempt.
4. I quit taking hormonal contraception in order to reduce another (stackable) trigger during the successful attempt.
5. I quit taking my triptans (due to their rebound potential) during my successful attempt.
6. I eliminated caffeine completely...I had been told to limit it to 8 oz. a day in my first attempt.

My point here is that an elimination diet is not a cure, but just a part of my migraine plan in an effort to reduce many of the
stackable or cumulative avoidable triggers that are present in my life.  I believe as a result of keeping all my triggers to a minimum I have my life back.  I know I am still migraine sensitive because at times I am still affected by the unavoidable triggers.  During those times, I live a little more carefully.  For example, I hydrate well and get to bed on time.  And now, if I need to take an aspirin, naproxen, or ibuprofen...they actually work as intended.

We can still hope and work towards a "migraine cure", but I am so grateful I am currently able to manage my migraines successfully.  It is my wish others achieve this same success in managing theirs.

I know it sounds ridiculous.  In my desperate atttempt to recreate one of my favorite dips and snack options...I invented Beetmus.  One of the things I miss as a result of my migraine elimination diet is hummus.  Hummus is fun because you can eat it with blue corn chips, or snack on it with fresh veggies, or pita chips, or bagel chips...you get my rant.  It is a healthy and versatile dip that is yummy.  Beetmus is  a slightly sweetier and well a less migrainey version of this dip.  The consistency is pretty spot on but it lacks the nuttiness due to the lack of tahini and is much sweeter due to the beets.

Ingredients:
3 small yellow beets (you can use red, they are just messier and the dip will be purple instead of "hummus-looking")
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
pinch of cardamom
1/2 tsp. of salt
a clove of garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. 
Wrap the beets in foil and bake until soft--about 45 minutes. 
Let the beets cool then unwrap and peel under cool water.

In a food processor combine the beets, ricotta cheese, cardamom, salt, garlic, and oil.  Blend until smooth.

Add a little pepper to taste.  Scoop into a bowl and eat with organic blue chips, carrots, celery, or gluten-free bagel chips from Glutino...they are delicious.

Migraine is not a headache.  I know that sounds weird, so let me explain.  Saying a migraine is a headache would be like saying Chixenpox is an "itch", or saying getting hit in the shin is a "bruise", or saying bronchitis is a "cough", or saying the stomach flu is a "vomit".  I may be getting a little carried away with my analogies, but hopefully I made my point.

Headache is a symptom associated with migraines.  It is how most of us with migraine suffer.  The classic migraine presents with one-sided head pain that is pulsating in nature accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and sound.  However, not all migrainuers present the same way.  Unfortunately, headaches aren't our only problem.  Some people present with cyclical vomiting.  Some people go blind.  Some people have abdominal migraines with intense abdominal pain and nausea.  Some people have stroke-like symptoms.  We are all made just a little differently, and so we all present a little differently, which makes us a difficult group to diagnose, treat, and understand.

You are probably wondering if it isn't a headache what is it? It is a neurologic/neurovascular disorder.  One thought is that there is an increased excitability of the cerebral cortex that coincides with abnormal control of pain neurons in a specific part of the brainstem.  They believe the malfunction begins in the brain and spreads to blood vessels.   There is some uncertainty as to whether the neuronal mechanisms or blood vessels play a greater role.  There is also some evidence that altered levels of nuerotransmitters may be involved in the migraine process. 

To complicate migraines and their treatment more, migraine also comes with a slew of comorbidities (the presence of other conditions) that include cardiocerebral, vascular, psychiatric, metabolic, and neurologic pathologies.  Much more research is needed in this field so that we migrainuers can be adequately be cared for.  June is migraine awareness month and  this migrainuer has spent many a day trying to figure out my own body enough to be able to manage my own migraines.  I know that every individual is different with different comorbidities and management strategies.  After successfully managing mine for a little over a year I created my site in an attempt to help others that may benefit from my strategy and migraine plan or anything else I can provide to a fellow sufferer.  I am not naïve enough to believe that my plan will help everyone, but only hope it will help someone...although it would be wonderful if it could help everyone:)!

If you feel inclined to support further research and support for migraines here are some great migraine organizations:

1.  Donations to the Migraine Research Foundation can be made to help the continued search for a better understanding and treatment for migraines.

2.  Donations can also be made to the American Headache and Migraine Association which is an organization which attempts to help empower patients, families and friends through education, support, advocacy, and research.

Let's do whatever we can to end the suffering as a result of this illness!

My husband and I love a good Thai curry meal.  However, most Thai curries are made in coconut milk and contain onion.  So, for quite sometime now I have been attempting to come up with a migraine friendly curry dish that tastes amazing and also has an appealing texture (this has been a little tricky).  See, in my attempts to replace the Coconut milk I learned that not all alternatives yield a creamy texture and some end up looking like a curdled mess.  I will say that despite the weirdness in appearance and texture of my experiments, every batch was devoured on the evening it was created...that is how good the flavor of the seasoning combination is!  I am happy to say that I finally was able to overcome the curdling mess and create a recipe that was appealing in both flavor and appearance.  So, here is how I prepared the final experiment in Thai Curry dishes...

Seasoning Combination Ingredients:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin
a pinch of cloves
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne (you can increase to 1/2 tsp. if you want to up the heat...remember I have children so I stick to 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
**you will combine all of the above ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

The rest of the Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup of sliced shallots (onions are a trigger but shallots are not)
1 cup of cut and cleaned green beans
5 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger  (1/8 tsp. ground ginger powder is what I ended up using for my last recipe)
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (I used 1 jalapeno due to my "kid factor")
3 Tbsp olive oil for coating the pan
10 oz. of whole milk set out to warm at beginning of preparation (most curries are made with coconut milk and I avoid all things coconut as part of my migraine plan)
15 torn fresh basil leaves
Your favorite rice cooked and ready to soak up the delish flavor (I used jasmine, but brown or white will work just fine).

1.  As I start to prepare this meal, the first thing I do is get the milk poured and set out so that it is not cold when I add it in, but room temperature.

2.  Then I begin cooking the rice, so that it is ready about the same time the curry is ready.

3. I combine the seasoning mixture to set aside.

4. I chop and prep. the chicken, shallots, green beans, garlic, ginger (if fresh), jalapeno, and basil.

5.  Now that everything is prepped, I get out my wok and heat the oil over medium-high heat.  I let the oil get hot and then add the shallots and jalapeños and toss them to coat in the oil. 

6.  I add in the green beans and chicken and toss in the seasoning mixture.

7.  I stir to coat the seasoning and then add in the garlic and ginger.  Once the seasoning is well distributed, I turn the heat down to medium and cover to cook for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked completely through.

8.  When the chicken is completely cooked I remove the pan from the heat and pour in the milk.  When the milk is stirred in, I add in the basil.

9.  I serve the mixture over my rice and eat!

My seven year old son will get seconds of this dish he loves it so much:)  If you have kids, make sure you seed your jalapenos and keep the cayenne at around 1/4 tsp.  My seven year old says it's a little spicy, but like previously reported, he goes back for seconds.  Even better than children liking this dish is that I can enjoy it without worries of an impending migraine.