Migraines on the Retreat?

You don't want to say it, when there's still plenty of time for it to go wrong, but the migraines are on a long vacation at the moment. Two years of relative quiet. I have no trouble saying it, really. Saying it isn't what messes it up. But I'll tell you what does mess it up: coffee.

If I started drinking coffee again I'm sure the migraines would come raging back. The caffeine is a major trigger.

If you have migraines, and you don't know what a "trigger" is, you should look up Dr. Sacks and/or Dr. Buchholz. And in the interest of fairness, see also a skeptic of Dr. Buchholz: The Daily Headache.

Coffee! How unfair! But it gets worse, too: how about if I told you no more cheese, nuts, chocolate, preservatives, wine, or anything with dye in it? How boring does my diet look now?

The most exciting food I eat comes out of Asian restaurants, particularly Thai and Indian. They are lower risk for having MSG than many of the other Asian cuisines, and they less cheese, nuts, wine, preservatives, and dried ingredients than, well, the rest of the world.

And that's just the food side of it. Triggers can come from any direction: atmosphere, sounds, music, vibrations, even patters on the wallpaper. Dr. Sacks's research goes into dozens of case studies, from all through history, where headache sufferers, observers, and doctors record any number of possible causes and attempted preventions.

Five years ago the migraines came back to me after five years of retreat. It was like finding out the Creature from the Deep had a baby and he was back for revenge. Now I'm back to placid waters again, but this time it's not an accident. I changed a lot of things about my diet, my routines, and exercise. Not everything: I still drink beer and eat some pork (watch out for sulfites!) This time I'm taking nothing for granted. Buchholz's book says you can try to reintroduce some foods after you've taken them out of the diet for long enough. I'm 41 now. I got great news from a neurologist recently you might want to know: around the age of 60, migraine typically disappears for good!

The year I turn 62 will be 2029. Meet me there in Paris, where I'll be enjoying aged cheese and red wine.