Drug-free help for headaches: natural remedies can take away the pain - includes list of resources - Healthy by Choice

Vegetarian Times, Feb, 1996 by Susanne Althoff

FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, Lisa Toulouse of Las Vegas bad migraine headaches so painful that an attack would force her to retreat to a dark, silent spot until it passed. Sometimes, she recalls, "I would be driving and an attack would hit me. All I could do was pull off the road and he down in the car." The migraines began when Toulouse was 7, occurring sometimes once or twice a month and some times lasting more than 24 hours. Toulouse, now 38, tried several drugs prescribed for migraine sufferers, but they didn't rid her of the pain and came with too many side effects, such as stomach upset and tremors.

Toulouse yearned for drug-free relief and began reading everything she could find on the subject. She learned to keep a detailed record of what factors were present right before her attacks; based on this headache diary, she gave up certain foods that appeared to be migraine triggers. She also started taking the herb feverfew, which has been found by research to alleviate headaches, and an herb for a nagging case of constipation, which she believed was contributing to her migraines. The plan worked, and Toulouse has had only one migraine headache in the past three years.

Recurring headaches-defined as occurring once a month or more--are an exceedingly common problem: More than 45 million Americans suffer from them, according to the Chicago-based National Headache Foundation. Using drugs to ward off headaches also is common; the foundation estimates that more than $4 billion is spent each year on over-the-counter pain relievers alone. Paradoxically, the medications that many headache sufferers take may actually be to blame for the pain. According to Seymour Diamond, M.D, the foundation's executive director as well as director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, almost-daily use of both prescription and over-the-counter pain killers has been linked to the "drug rebound headache," where the body becomes resistant to previously effective drugs and a headache results. Happily, as Toulouse found, drug-free approaches often can offer relief without side effects.

MIGRAINE OR TENSION?

The first step in handling recurrent headaches is to figure out exactly what kind you have. Tension headaches are most common, accounting for more than three-quarters of all headaches. The ache is dull and steady, starting either at the back of the head or in the forehead, and the pain spreads to both sides of the head, sometimes feeling like a tight hatband. Stress, depression, eye strain, poor posture or lack of sleep can trigger the chain reaction of a tension headache: A tensing of the muscles in the head, neck or shoulder leads blood vessels in the head and neck to narrow and expand, causing the headache.

People suffering a tension-headache attack usually manage to muddle through the day without interruption, but those hit with a migraine attack are stopped in their tracks. The National Headache Foundation estimates that the 17 million Americans who suffer from migraines lose 157 million workdays annually. Unlike tension headaches, the pounding ache of a migraine, usually confined to one side of the head, can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. For about one in five migraine sufferers, attacks are preceded by a set of warning signs called an aura, which can include slurred speech and the appearance of flashing lights. The attacks can last from several minutes to several days. Migraines, which are thought to be hereditary, can be triggered by some of the same things as tension headaches: stress, depression and irregular sleep. Additional causes of migraines include hormonal shifts, certain foods, excessive smoking and even bright lights. Unlike tension headaches, muscle tensing is not involved in migraines; the migraine's more severe pain is simply a result of expanding and contracting blood vessels in the head.

Cluster headaches, in which the pain is clustered around one of the eyes, are a less common type of headache, striking about I million Americans, most of them male. Some headaches, called secondary headaches, are a symptom of underlying disease or illness, from the flu to a brain tumor. If your headaches seem unusual compared to previous headaches, get progressively worse without abating, or accompany a fever and stiff neck, see a health-care professional right away.

IDENTIFY THE TRIGGERS

Once you've identified your headaches as tension or migraine--our focus here--the next step is to try to eliminate what triggers them. Keeping a headache diary for at least a month can help you determine these factors. First, rate each headache attack; The Woodbury, N.J.-based American Council for Headache Education suggests using a scale from one to three: one for a mild headache that doesn't disrupt your daily routine, two for a moderate headache that somewhat interferes with your routine, and three for a severe headache that prevents you from doing practically anything.

Second, keep track of the foods you eat every day, as well as your daily activities and stress levels. (Women should also note where they are in their menstrual cycle.) See if you notice a pattern; for example, do your headaches tend to occur after you eat aged cheese or sleep less than a certain number of hours? If you notice a pattern, try to eliminate the precipitating factors. Adopting an exercise regimen also is helpful, says Diamond, because it reduces stress.