The Voice of Southwest Louisiana July 2018 Issue

Migraines
This month’s health
focus is on migraine
headaches.
According to WebMD, you should
lean your triggers. A change in
diet could help those experiencing
symptoms of a migraine headache. You
will see in the list below that food could
be one of your triggers. With migraines,
one of the best things you can do is learn
your personal triggers that bring on the
pain. WebMD states that Red wine, caffeine
withdrawal, stress, and skipped meals
could be the triggers for your migraine
headache.
They suggest tracking your migraine
symptoms in a diary. Note what you were
doing before and when your headache
came on. What were you eating? How
much sleep did you get the night before?
Did anything stressful or important happen
that day? These are key clues.
Learn Your Triggers
• When you look at your diary, you might
find that these things tend to lead to a
migraine:
• Stress
• Menstrual periods
• Changes in your normal sleep pattern
• Extreme fatigue
• Certain foods and drinks
• Too much caffeine or withdrawal from
it
• Skipping meals or fasting
• Changes in the weather
• Exercise
• Smoking
• Bright, flickering lights
• Certain smells
7 Steps to Avoid Your Triggers
1. Watch what you eat and drink. If you
get a headache, write down the foods
and drinks you had before it started. If
you see a pattern over time, stay away
from that item.
2. Eat regularly. Don't skip meals.
3. Curb the caffeine. Too much, in any
food or drink, can cause migraines. But
cutting back suddenly may also cause
them. So try to slowly ease off caffeine
if it seems to be one of your headache
triggers.
4. Be careful with exercise. Everyone
needs regular physical activity. It's a
key part of being healthy. But it can
trigger headaches for some people. If
you're one of them, you can still work
out. Ask your doctor what would help.
5. Get regular shut-eye. If your sleep
habits get thrown off, or if you're very
tired, that can make a migraine more
likely.
6. Downsize your stress. There are many
ways to do it. You could exercise,
meditate, pray, spend time with
people you love, and do things you
enjoy. If you can change some of
the things that make you tense, set
up a plan for that. Counseling and
stress management classes are great
to try, too. You can also look into
biofeedback, where you learn how
to influence certain things (like your
heart rate and breathing) to calm
down stress.
7. Keep up your energy. Eat on a regular
schedule, and don't let yourself get
dehydrated.
Pick up your copy of
The Voice of SWLA while
you’re out and about.
SULPHUR
• West Cal-Cam Hospital
• Stines
• Pitt Grill
• SPAR
• Goodwill
• Hollier's
• Dairy Barn
LAKE CHARLES
• Pujo St. Cafe
• Chase (Downtown)
• Steamboat Bill's
• Civic Center
• Carnegie Library
• Luna Bar & Grill
MOSS BLUFF
• Peto's
• Market Basket
• Southern Spice
VINTON
• Post Office
• Market Basket
• Love's Truck Stop
DERIDDER
• Brookshires Bros.
• City Hall
• DeRidder Hospital
• Post Office
• Steamboat Bill's
DIANETICS
T HE MOD ERN S CIENCE OF
MENTAL H EALTH
Volume 5 • Number 12 WWW.THEVOICEOFSOUTHWESTLA.COM July 2018 9