Nipping It in the Bud

After waking up this morning with yet another nasty headache, I think it's time to finally do something proactive. Waking up to take pain relievers every other morning is scary to me, and I'm not exactly sure what it's doing to things like my liver, kidneys, stomach, and heart. Granted, many of these headaches could be "rebound" headaches, and one of the best things I could do (though sickening and painful) would be to cut those a.m. pain relievers out. But I think there's more to it than just that.

It's Girl Scout Cookie Season, and I ate about half a box of Tagalongs yesterday, several of which were eaten right before bed. This isn't the first time I've woken up with a nasty headache or full-on migraine after eating too many naughty foods the day before. I think there may be a correlation between sugar / chocolate consumption and a.m. headaches / migraines the next day, and I'm about to try something to see if that's true.

I'd like to conduct my own form of an experiment, where I cut sugars and chocolates by a certain time each day, and watch my consumption as a whole. This will not only help with a.m. headaches and migraines (hopefully), but will also aid my health and body as a whole.

I think I will start by cutting sugars and chocolates after 8:00pm, and only eat fruits and veggies if I feel the need for a snack. Then, I will log if there were any headaches each morning, how severe the possible headaches are, what and how much I take to fight these headaches (if anything), and what I did the night before. This won't be easy: I love late night cookie, chip, and ice cream binges. But I know it will be good for me in the long run, even if it doesn't seem to affect my headaches, and it could be the first step in weaning off the scary morning meds.

I'll be logging everything on this blog, as a helpful way for me to keep track (and you, if you're really all that interested). If, after some time, cutting sweets doesn't seem to be having much effect, we'll move on to something else.

I go on vacation at the end of this week through most of next week (Key West!), so I can't say I'll want to focus and experiment on my headaches and their triggers. So we'll take a break, and experimenting will start full swing when I get back. In the meantime, I will continue to watch my sugar intake, and see where we can go from there. Maybe a little va-cay is all I need to kick these headaches to the curb! :)

I'd be happy to hear any suggestions you may have about my upcoming experiment, so let me have 'em :)