What Caffeine Withdrawal Has to Do With Migraines
Caffeine is a very strange drug when it comes to migraines. Headaches which are associated with migraines have to be triggered and these triggers come in various forms. Triggers for migraines include various types of foods, weather conditions, lighting and a number of other triggers. One of these many triggers of migraines is the consumption of too much caffeine. However headaches can also be lessened by taking caffeine as well.
The main reason migraines are related to caffeine consumption is due to caffeine withdrawal and it can work in the prevention of migraines as well. Two methods of handling migraines through the use of caffeine exist and the first method is easy in theory but it is rather difficult to practice: it basically focuses on reducing the amount of caffeine you take in. Staying off too much caffeine means that you won’t suffer from withdrawal symptoms. The reason its easy in theory is that all it requires you to do is cut down on caffeine. However we all know that reducing our amount of caffeine intake is something that is easier said than done.
The second method sounds a lot more difficult in theory although this is the one that’s easy in practice, a lot easier than cutting down on caffeine intake completely. This method is all about ensuring that withdrawal never becomes an issue. This can easily be done by limiting your caffeine intake over a period of time. Ingesting a specific amount of caffeine at precise intervals on a daily basis means that your body will be satisfied and the effects of migraines can be kept at bay.
Some migraine sufferers have attempted to solve their problems by engaging in the cold turkey method of complete abstinence from caffeine. This sounds like an excellent idea but abstinence is always a difficult idea to stick to. In theory however, there are no problems with the abstinence program but it’s when you start applying it in practice that you experience the issues associated with it. The thing is that caffeine is addictive, the more you take in, the more you want. Most of the time the urge to take caffeine is stronger than the strength needed to resist that urge.
One more thing that people should find disconcerting is that it is almost completely impossible to stay caffeine-free except you are someone that is very detail-oriented. Anyone who is planning on abstaining from caffeine in order to remain free from migraines has to know that it will take more than giving up coffee and soft drinks. Nowadays we have caffeine in everything we can think of from chocolate candy, pain-relief medicine diet pills to liqueurs, energy drinks and even pudding.
Regardless of your preferences for a solution, the way to go about caffeine withdrawal is to keep a little diary in which you note when and how much caffeine you consumed, along with information about any headaches you got; things such as time of day, how long the headache lasted, how severe it was, etc. This information will be your guide in determining when and how often you need that caffeine to keep the migraines away.
Darren Williger is an over-caffeinated, low carbohydrate eating, winemaking enthusiast who writes for CaffeineZone.com, MyLowCarbPages.com, and HomemadeWine.com.
