Dear Dr. SerVaas: My dear friend, Janice, has a bad case of migraines. She talked about it with her doctors, but they haven't looked into it to give her any major help. They once told her to stay off of milk products, and she might have less of a problem with them. They haven't tried to give her any medication to help.Please tell me something I can pass on to her to help. Some weeks she has five or six bad days and stays in a dark room and is careful what she eats to get herself some energy to help herself.
Mrs. Hazel Anderson
Dear Dr. SerVaas: After suffering from migraine headaches for 50 years, I have been "cured" by following the advice found in Dr. David Buchholz's book, Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program.
After spending thousands of dollars on doctors and medicines, I saw Dr. Buchholz from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine on TV, bought his book for $13.95, followed his advice exactly, and was headache free in two weeks. It has been a true miracle.
Many of my friends have been helped also. Please pass the word.
Lois Linder
Dear Readers: We're happy you had such good results. We reviewed Dr. Buchholz's book to find out more about his plan to control headaches. In a nutshell, he advises patients to avoid the "quick fix" offered by frequent use of painkillers; to identify and eliminate foods that trigger head pain; and, when diet and other lifestyle changes aren't enough, to control migraines with preventive medications.
Potential food triggers listed in his book include caffeine, chocolate, nitrites in processed meats and fish, dairy products, nuts, alcohol, vinegar, citrus fruits, aspartame, fresh yeast-risen baked goods, and MSG (see "MSG Allergy" at right.) Some preventive medications are the antidepressant Pamelor and the antihypertensive drugs verapamil and diltiazem.
Extra magnesium or vitamin B2 (riboflavin) also help prevent migraines in some people. In several small studies, 400 to 600 mg of magnesium daffy was effective; a trial in Belgium showed that 400 mg of riboflavin was helpful after three months of daily intake.
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