h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, Lil, I am so sorry. So a migraine head is the nearest he gets to 'normal'? That is awful. I had them for years, several times a month for three days at a time and that was bad enough.

BG, I do hope your headache has gone. If it hasn't don't accept their 'say so' even the best 'expert' doesn't know everything.



Websailor

It came back pretty bad this morning. I'll probably be looking for a neurologist this week.

please bear with me, Baron...
i know you probably already know this but i just have to say...
just in case...

stuff in prepared foods...

2 months ago i met a nutritionist who put me on an elimination diet
because i was having digestion problems and nutritional issues
(loss of muscle tissue, dry eye, dry and thinning skin... anemia

she gave me a medical food... mediclear i think it was called
at the same time i was travelling via train and staying with my family in different towns
and they all eat pretty purely
especially (ironically) the unmarried unfamilied youngest who i was with for a month
during that time we ate out of the garden and organic food stores
we made everything from scratch
we juiced
we drank lots of water
he lives with a bunch of guys and they all eat well
and we all cooked and ate together
so it was easy and fun and social

then when i got home
i live alone
i kinda slowly started eating something here and there thats not so pure
and of course its harder to keep up all that cooking when you are alone
at least i find it so

and i have been getting headaches
and i never get headaches
and i get funny tastes in my mouth
from the things i have given in and bought and eaten
like battered fish for fish and chips
like gluten
like sugar

like even like eggs and bacon and beef ...especially if not from someones organic local place around here...


just sayin'

oh and no oranges, no peanuts, no meat except chicken and fish and lamb, no soy
and no dairy or gluten... no sugar no prepared foods ...most restaurants are out...

pure

its not fun at first
unless you have someone to do it with
or you love cooking

I'm not ruling out a possible new allergy. There is almost definitely a connection with alcohol, possibly a reaction to a specific Texas brewed beer I've been drinking lately. But possibly not. The headaches have typically began more than 24 hours after drinking. (Although Friday morning after drinking Thursday night, I got up early to let the dog out and I could barely see straight from the pain.)

I'm drinking tonight, but I'm not touching the Fireman' s #4. If Monday is OK, that will be a large clue.

Now I can definitely agree that certain foods can have unexpected effects and that for those sensitive to it, gluten can be a serious issue. I do take anything from "nutritionists" with a grain of (sea) salt. Nutritionist is not a qualified profession, as in there are no laws or certifications required to call yourself a nutritionist. "Dietician" is a certified profession. Of course, this doesn't mean that nutritionists don't necessarily have good information, just that their job title isn't a direct indication of some standard of quality. (That said, any nutrionists appearing on a daytime talk show, I dismiss out of hand.)

>> certain foods can have unexpected effects <<

actually, i think my nutritionist, who is a naturalpath btw, was concerned about poisons rather than foods...

additives in prepared foods
Genetically Modified foods
pesticides and herbicides and growth hormones
subtraction of important substances in foods (potato skins, wheat germ, the brown in rice)

those sorts of things

as far as qualified professional go... who qualifies them?

That's a very important question.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/it-sounds-so-nutritionous/

i have to say i am very skeptical and cautious with all medical folks... alopathic or naturalpathic... traditional or alternative...

i am slowly learning how to better my health and consider most of my improvements have been due to the luck of chancing upon folks who could help me... and some of my improvements turn out to actually be just common sense... like getting down to basics when it comes to food...

reading it now...

okay...

that sounds almost as skeptical as i used to be...
but i have been doing natural food since 1970...



here's an interesting story...

in the middle of this elimination diet my nutritionist had me on (two weeks)
i was coughing so bad i finally said to my son that maybe i needed to see someone...
he misunderstood me (i meant a regular doctor) and asked me if i wanted to see so and so
a friend of his who is an acupuncturist....
i didnt want to make him feel bad so i said okay
and went in the next day
i didnt expect any thing to change about the coughing
there actually was bruising

but the next morning after the appointment
i woke up with no cough
had only one coughing fit that day
two the next
one the next

one a few days later
and none since
none

so...
its either the nutritionists diet
or the acupunturist
or both...

i have had the cough for 3 years
since the onset of my initial illness



i dunno if its "woo" or whatever
i just know i am better

Firemans... interesting.

The Fireman's #4 is not the culprit. I woke up with no headache, but I can feel one coming on now. I really have no real idea what's causing or affecting it. It very well could be alcohol is only having a temporary positive effect on it giving me a brief reprieve from it. Who knows. If it's bad tomorrow, I'll make an appointment with my GP to get a referral for a neurologist.

BG, I know it is a scary decision to have to make, and I am sure you would rather not, but I think 'do it' and get it over with, as the niggling worry at the back of your mind won't help.

As chief procrastinator in such circumstances I know how difficult it is, so I will wish you and shut up

I have had a migraine today, not as bad as usual but it is horrible. I think chemical fumes set it off. Hate the things and I don't know how you put up with so many headaches.

Take care,

Websailor

Well, I'm pretty sure I can rule out alcohol as the cause of this headache.

I saw my G.P. Monday. He just gave me a 'script for a handful of Fioricet (barbituate/acetaminophen/caffeine combo). These are indicated to treat tension headaches. I haven't taken more than two/day (prescribed for three) yet. I wasn't sure it was helping or the headache was just ebbing on its own.

Well, it came back strong this morning and I didn't have any last night. I'm actually pleased by this. I'd hate to think about "quiting".

So, if you went for a referral to a neurologist and came away with a prescription, where does that leave you? Did you also get the referral, or is your GP dismissing your concerns?

I'm not sure. I think he just wants to check for simpler (cheaper) solutions first. It was only a three day 'script so, we're not done yet.

I was wondering the same as Broelan. Are you suffering particularly from stress at the moment, more than usual? Do you wear glasses? All the usual thoughts

Websailor

I don't think it's either of these. While I've been quite depressed this year, I was starting to recover. Otherwise, I really haven't been very stressed lately. And while I do wear glasses, I don't seem to have any eyestrain.

Headaches are notoriously hard to diagnose. I can't even be sure where the pain is. I can narrow it down to the left side but I'm not sure if it's the muscles on the skull or if it's interior. Sure, it feels like it's behind my eyes, but it also feels like it's around the back of my head and base of my skull and the top of my spine.

My best guess is it's somehow sinus/scar tissue related even though I don't have any other particular sinus issues. I've been rather phlegmatic for a few years now.

I'm not overly concerned. We'll either figure it out or maybe it will just go away.

I don't know you Baron Grim, but I do worry about you, and I bet I am not alone. Hope you can get it resolved rather than just putting up with it.

Websailor

Today has been good. No headache today.

Good news Did you do or avoid doing anything in the last 24 hours, especially food and drink-wise?