My new anti-headache regimen

Coincidentally with seeing my doctor and getting new headache meds, I picked up a book I'd put on hold at the library: Heal Your Headaches: The 1-2-3 Program, by David Buchholz, M.D.

After reading it pretty much cover to cover, I am convinced that I need to make some significant dietary changes to try to avoid migraine triggers. These include caffeine, chocolate, cheese and alcohol as well as a number of other things (full list here). Now, the four items I mention are things from which I derive an immense amount of pleasure, and while I have read suggestions in the past to give them up, this book really impressed upon me the role that dietary triggers play in migraine. I'm going to do a 2-3 month trial and then slowly add back in some of the foods. Unfortunately, I am probably going to have to give up caffeine for the long term, at least until after menopause when migraines tend to be greatly reduced in women.

MSG is also a trigger, and I will need to add it to my food label list of ingredients that nix foods (high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils are the other two).

I'm going to wean myself off coffee over the next week. I really only drink it in the morning, but I often down 2-3 mugs. I'll limit myself to one mug this week and stop any other caffeinated beverages, diet crack coke being a biggie for me. I'll probably need to find some tasty herbal tea for those times I crave a warm beverage. Cheese is going to be heartbreaking. Chocolate not so much. Alcohol? Well, vodka and white wine are low on the trigger list so these will be my back-ups. But no more red wine, champagne, or dark distilled spirits.

It may all be worth it....we'll see.