Migraine Caffeine
Migraine | Caffeine
Caffeine, for all of its complications – can actually work as an excellent natural migraine abortive (meaning, if consumed when a headache just starts to develop, your pain could decrease or disappear altogether depending on the severity of your headache.) How does this work? Like other abortive drugs, caffeine is able to forcibly shrink your dilated blood vessels – the source of that uncomfortable throbbing pain.The reduction in inflammation can them give you pain relief.
The next time you feel a migraine coming on, try drinking a cup of strong coffee, tea, or a non-diet soda (avoid that aspartame) such as Coca Cola when you feel a migraine coming on (be sure not to add artificial sweeteners.) Other options could include chocolate or chocolate covered espresso beans if chocolate is not a trigger for your migraines. Looking for other options – try this link.
Caffeine can also be found in certain over-the-counter pain killers such as Excedrin and prescription medicines like Fiorinal. One of the benefits of caffeine is that it can help your body absorb medication faster. In theory, adding caffeine to medications can even reduce the amount of active ingredient necessary to feel the same effects. Many people feel this can decrease risk of overdose and other interactions.
Unfortunately, there are still problems with using caffeine on a regular basis. If you ingest caffeine via medicine or through a natural form on a regular basis, your body will come to expect every dose. When the expected amount is not ingested your body will protest causing headaches (which is what prompted you to take the caffeine and pain killers, right?), fatigue, nausea, etc. Many people will not recognize this as symptoms of withdrawal and instead will resume taking their medicine. This behavior will lead to a cycle of headaches and rebound headaches.
In addition to rebound and withdrawal headaches, consuming too much caffeine can lead to other side effects such as fatigue, anxiety, headaches, and trouble sleeping. These symptoms are important to note as many migraine sufferers already experience fatigue and anxiety – there is no need to increase this amount. Increased feelings of fatigue can lead one to drink more caffeinated beverages, which in excesses will then lead to headaches and trouble sleeping. For many people, poor sleep quality can be a major migraine trigger.
If you suspect that caffeine is causing more problems for you than it solves – then slowly reduce your consumption and see how you feel. If you feel fine but worry that your sleep quality could be affected, then try not to eat or drink foods containing caffeine after 2pm.
For more information on migraines and caffeine, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
