4 Steps To Avoid A Holiday-Induced Migraine: The Short List

The holiday season is here once again, and the same old problems persist: how can you relax and have a great time without

A) Obsessing over every food and drink you consume or don’t consume

B) Avoiding the whole thing because it’s just TOO much stress

C) Eating and drinking whatever you want because “for goodness’ sake I deserve to live a little!!” and practically guarantee an episode

D) Total emotional spin-out from crazy family that precipitates C, above

There’s so much talk of “avoiding triggers” in the migraine community it can make you crazy. The fact is, the only trigger you need to manage is running out of voltage for your brain. THAT is what foods, food additives, food dies, etc really do to you.

There are plenty of other baddies that can be added to the list of “triggers” that dehydrate you, such as artificial blue light, WiFi and cellular radiation, indoor living and sedentary lifestyles. I don’t advise that you obsess over dietary triggers, as it leads to crazy and not to actual migraine prevention that lasts.

I’m here to give you some solid strategies to stay sane and reduce migraine occurrences while actually living a little.

Note: This is not medical advice, but lifestyle advice. The reason I work closely with my migraineur clients is that each and every migraine brain is unique and requires an individualized lifestyle program for success. What works for one may not work for another, and you know that by now 😉.

Your Goal: Stay Hydrated

Your number one goal is to stay hydrated - which means drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day WITH minerals, whether they be sodium chloride alone or a full spectrum of electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, calcium). 9 out of 10 of my clients were able to stop a prodrome from advancing with all electrolytes present in water, so I suggest you start there.

You know I love Liquid IV and Nuun, but getting in enough water seems to be tougher than choosing electrolytes, so I highly recommend getting a large water jug like this one and dosing it with electrolytes first thing in the morning. Finish it by the end of the day and ta-da! You are adequately hydrated - which means your body has enough available voltage to prevent the Cortical Spreading Depression that is the migraine itself. BUT....

...and yes there's a BUT - you must avoid voltage leaks that will rob you of the free electrons supporting your migraine brain!

Voltage leaks? Yes! You can refresh on the topic here. Us migraineurs tend to have poor functioning neurons and the Standard American Diet full of fast carbs and not enough fats is the biggest exacerbating factor.

The best way to avoid voltage leaks is to eat more fat, less sugar, and slow carbs instead of fast carbs. “But it’s Thanksgiving/Hanukkah/Christmas and I want to eat it ALLLLLLLLLL” you say?

It’s OK - I’ve got a strategy for that.

Step 1 - Before the festivities

Make sure all of your meals before the dinner/party/festivities are heavy on protein and fat. I’d suggest eggs with avocado, a snack of pistachios, or a piece of fish or steak with greens.

Drink most of your mineral water before the event, if it’s in the evening. Otherwise do your best to drink more than you would by that time usually, because…..

You are going to AVOID drinking water of any kind after indulging. Sounds counterintuitive, right?

Step 2 - Make the choice: Alcohol or sweets, and act accordingly

When it comes to alcohol, all bets are off. Because alcohol increases your blood sugar (which robs you of the free electrons available to your migraine brain) AND causes vasodilation (an expansion of your blood vessels known to be a part of the migraine process), you’re rolling the dice. My personal suggestion is to choose between carbs and sweets OR alcohol. If your choice is “alcohol, dammit!” then read on.

Being well hydrated and well fed on proteins and fats prior to consuming alcohol is your best bet. Don’t chase the alcohol with water or you may cause voltage leaks, but rather drink the beverages slowly and eat more protein and fat while you do it.

Before drinking water, try putting a little salt under your tongue. Your craving for water is often a craving for salt. When you really need water, make sure it’s well-mineralized. Sip it, don’t chug. Keep it to a minimum.

When it comes to fast carbohydrates (mashed potatoes, rice, chips, crackers, pasta with red sauce, etc) or sweets (pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, candy, candied sweet potatoes) the rule is to avoid drinking water afterward, for a few hours if possible.

This can be REALLY difficult because the glucose in your blood will make you very thirsty. Again, put some salt under your tongue and/or eat potassium-rich foods like pistachios instead of drinking water. If you do drink water you’ll be removing the electrons from your cells, setting you up for a migraine. Wait two hours, then have your mineral water, and you’ll have avoided disaster.

Step 3 - Protect Your Brain and Mitochondria

Wearing blue-blocking glasses at a holiday party may not be your idea of “looking cool,” but trust me, you’ll be the smartest person in the room! Flashing holiday lights are one way to overwhelm our migraine brains - but the bigger problem at a holiday event is the invisible strobing that digital devices and LEDs put out.

These sources of artificial light not only damage our voltage-creating mitochondria but put a ridiculous burden on our migraine brains by forcing our brains to exert effort stringing the disconnected images it “sees” into a continuous visual image that we “see.”

Give your precious brain a break! Set it up for success by wearing high-quality blue-blocking glasses like those at BluBlox or Ra Optics, especially when under artificial lights or looking at screens. You can hack your own home by installing once-banned incandescent light bulbs, that do not strobe.

Step 4 - Sleep, of course

Obvious, yes, but we must keep our sleep is a top priority. It’s when all of our precious neurotransmitters are restored. Make sure to get the same amount of sleep as usual, even if you’re not able to get to sleep at the normal time - but always try to go to sleep at the same time - our migraine brains love it.

Extra - If there’s drama-rama and you just can’t deal

I don’t know about you but the holidays are always full of drama in my family, and lots of alcohol is always the precipitating factor. If you come from a family with dysfunction relating to alcohol, drugs, mental illness, religious or militaristic abuse, or even just la-la-land denial, I highly recommend attending a meeting of Adult Children of Alcholics (ACA).

ACA is a safe refuge from drama-rama that makes you doubt your sanity, and there are in-person or online meetings going on all around the WORLD - as this is a human problem, belonging to no special group.

It’s a twelve-step group that requires commitment to really heal family trauma long-term (it did for me!!), a drop-in for an hour-long meeting can really restore your sanity. Not sure if this applies to you? Take the “Am I an Adult Child” quiz to shed some light.

Hearing about other people’s crazy holiday family stories can put your own into perspective. I have a hard time on the holidays since I’ve got no remaining healthy family relationships, so Ryan and I will be attending one weekly during the holidays to ensure I remain emotionally sober during this triggering season. You. can find a meeting here.

The bottom line is that intense stress can TOTALLY trigger a migraine by using up all of your available voltage, so reducing the stress and expanding on your coping skills and resources is a great thing to help prevent an episode.

That’s the 4-Step Short lList for how to avoid a migraine this holiday season - I’ll follow up with some other lifestyle tips to build on what you’ve learned today.

In health,

Oriana 💋