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Chicago Migraine Specialist – Who do you recommend?

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Last month I asked for your help in finding a headache/migraine doctor in San Francisco.  I’ll announce the results of that search soon (but feel free to add more recommendations).  I’m travelling at the moment and will have to get you the information when I get home again.

City of Chicago

There is actually a lot of demand for specialists in certain areas, so I’m going to keep going and ask for more of your tips.  Remember, if we can help each other, it will go a long way in fighting migraine everywhere!

So, we’re heading north now, and looking for your favourite doctor/specialist/clinic in Chicago, IL, USA and area.

Chicago is the third largest city in the USA, so there are a lot of people there in need of an experienced health professional.

If you have a suggestion, contact me now on Twitter, Facebook, Email, or leave a comment at this post on the blog.

Oops – did I say it had to be complicated?

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When I asked you to share some migraine-fighting (or migraineur-friendly) recipes, I hope I didn’t give the impression it had to be complicated.  Since we haven’t had a lot of entries so far, I think maybe I wasn’t clear. 🙂

Fresh foods!

Ok, so sometimes it’s hard to eat with migraine.  But guess what?  It doesn’t have to be a 23-ingredient gourmet meal – just a few ingredients thrown together into something yummy is fine.  A snack, a basic dish, side dish, dessert – doesn’t matter.  If there’s something you like to eat that is more than just something you grab off the shelf, it probably qualifies!

So what are you waiting for?  I have some books to give away, and I’ll bet there’s someone out there who would love an idea of what to eat tomorrow.

For full instructions and the entry form, zip over here and share with the world!

Seriously, grab a recipe and throw it in.  Something simple can help in big ways!

Migraine Free Diet, Red Wine, and a Cookbook Giveaway!

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Is a migraine free diet really possible?  As with many things related to migraine, the answer is yes and no!

The good news is that many people actually have found their very own migraine free diet.  That means that they have tracked down a food or some foods or a type of food that seemed to be triggering the majority (or all) of their migraine attacks.  When they cut it/them from their diet, they found that their migraine attacks drastically decreased or disappeared.

The problem is that everyone is different.  One person may find that bananas trigger migraine attacks, another may have no problem with them (or even find that their healthier with more bananas!).

Recently a study was done on a typical migraine trigger – red wine.  The study chose people who believed that red wine had triggered attacks in the past.

Migraine free diets and red wine

Each participant drank a half a bottle of a different type of red wine at least four days apart.

The result?  A few didn’t have a single attack (12%).  About half had attacks on at least two occasions.

Why didn’t more attacks occur?  For one thing, few triggers are going to cause problems all the time.  It’s probably more a matter of going over the line – too many triggers adding up.

But in this case, researchers also found that some red wines were worse than others.  Prime offenders?  Tannat and Malbec wines – possibly because of the higher tannin content. (see below for more on tannins)

This just illustrates again how tricky it can be to find a truly migraine free diet.

However, here are some migraine diets and other tips that have helped people in the past.  Take a look, then see below for information on the cookbook giveaway!

Now, what you’ve all been waiting for!  I know many of you have some great migraine-fighting recipes.  Now’s your chance to help migraineurs around the world – share your recipe!  It’s easy!

Just find a recipe that at the very least avoids the most common migraine triggers.  Make it healthy, easy and fun!  And share it with us here – Share your Migraine-Fighting Recipe!

If you want to get really fancy, you can even upload a picture or two of the finished product!

If you’ve shared a really great recipe, you might just find yourself the owner of a free migraine cookbook!

Once we have 10-20 recipes, I’ll take a look for one that really stands out from the crowd.

And who knows?  If the recipes keep coming in, I might just give away some more cookbooks!

So go ahead – check out the details here!

Migraine Specialist in San Francisco?

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I have a crazy idea.  Let me know what you think.

There are a lot of people out there looking for migraine specialists in a specific geographical area.  Now I’m not necessarily going to start up a database of migraine specialists around the world.  However, I wouldn’t mind hitting some that people are most interested in.

So here’s my idea.  For a certain time – say, 2-3 weeks, I would ask for your advice.  Who is the best migraine specialist in [a certain area]?  Where is the best clinic?

Once the results were tallied, I would upload a page with accurate information about that particular doctor/clinic (I might even include 2 or 3 if I get a lot of responses), and then we’d move on to another one.

So let’s give it a try, and see what happens, shall we?  In order to give your advice, you can contact me on Twitter, Facebook, Email, or leave a comment at this post on the blog.  I’ll give it two or three weeks and see what happens.

The first location we’re looking for?

The City and County of San Francisco, California, USA
(or something nearby)

Remember, it could be a regular doctor who’s really good with migraine patients, or a clinic, or a specialist – wherever you would recommend people go for quality all-around migraine treatment.

San Francisco - migraine treatment?

Pain During Migraine: Not Just in Your Head

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Our latest poll asked this question:  Other than your head, where else do you sometimes/always experience pain during a migraine attack? (choose as many as apply)

The results were not surprising, but they do reinforce what a complex disease migraine really is.  Here are the stats, with some comments.

During I migraine attack, I also have pain here:

  • Neck (83%):  The question with all of these is – does the pain come from the migraine attack, or is there a related cause.  Or, for example, does the cause of neck pain also trigger the migraine attack?  There’s no doubt that neck pain (and neck stiffness) come along with migraine.  For more on neck pain, read Methods that are Really Fighting Neck Pain and Get rid of neck pain!
  • Face (60%):  Facial pain is very common in migraineurs.  In fact, in rare cases facial pain is the main pain in a migraine attack.  Sometimes, migraine is mistaken for sinusitis because of the pain in the sinus area.  See Migraine: Does your face hurt?
  • Stomach (37%):  Another very common issue in migraine, and again, stomach pain (abdominal pain) may be the main symptom in your attack.  This is especially common in children.  Read about abdominal migraine here.
  • Back (32%):  Back pain is another prime suspect when it comes to migraine triggers.  Could pain and tense muscles trigger (not cause) an attack?  Also, could your body’s reaction to migraine pain cause back pain?  I think the answer to both could be yes.  Read Dissolving tension.
  • Arms (22%):  This was an interesting response that I hadn’t given much thought to.  But I do know that migraine can cause pain from head to toe – been there, done that.  But why is arms so high on the list?  What are your experiences with this?
  • Skin (19%):  Sensitive and painful skin is very common in migraine.  The technical term is cutaneous allodynia, and it commonly strikes on the scalp and arms.  Combing your hair or wearing a shirt can be very painful.  Read My Hair Hurts! Migraine and Allodynia
  • Other (16%):  As I said, head to toe.  And I could say inside to outside.

These were the most common answers.  However, visitors also included hands (14%), legs (12%), chest (12%), fingers/toes (12%), feet (8%), and finally pelvis (6%).

I’ve taken to saying that migraine attacks can cause pain all over the body – and they really can.  It’s time to bust the myth that migraine is a bad headache.  Oh yes, migraine often brings on bad headaches – really bad – but that’s not all.

Pain

Be sure to take our new poll on migraine triggers!

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The articles on Headache and Migraine News are © 2004-2024 J. Cottrill.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of each article, and to point you to further sources of information. However, this site is for informational purposes only and should never replace a visit to your doctor.