Chocolate can be the kiss of death with multiple sclerosis

  

Raise your hand, if you love chocolate. OK, maybe not so fast.

 Chocolate is a major trigger for headaches, especially migraines. And migraines are common among those battling multiple sclerosis.

 Sure, that’s not good news, especially during holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, or … well … you get it.

  But identifying triggers that can be eliminated (even disappointingly) can sure be good news.

 Maybe tyramine is to blame. That’s a component of chocolate. Caffeine maybe factor, although that’s also found in some headache remedies (such as Anacin or Excedrin). Whopping amounts of sugar can also lead to headaches.

 For any or all of these reasons, chocolate is not the headache sufferer’s friend. (To make matters worse, chocolate is a common craving during PMS for women – a time when we may be particularly susceptible to headaches anyway.)

 I used to love chocolate. But once I discovered that consuming chocolate would lead to headache hangover, I was only too happy to give it up.

 Here’s a hint. Dark chocolate seems to be the worst culprit, when it comes to chocolate-triggered headaches. White chocolate is the lesser foe, and milk chocolate falling somewhere in the middle.

 So chocolate is the kiss of death for those who are prone to headaches. It won’t exactly kill us, but it can lead to death-defying pain in the brain. 

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Image/s:  Public domain photo/s, Pixabay

 

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Dizziness isn't always all-ears

 

Whirling vertigo often begins in the ears … but not always. Ask anyone with multiple sclerosis or migraines. Better yet, ask anyone with the double bonus of both. The combination abounds!

 Vertigo can be a symptom of migraine. And it’s extra special when it comes from an MS migraine, which is an entity (or agony?) all its own.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association put it this way:

 Specifically, vertigo, which is the sensation of perceived motion without actually moving, is reported by up to one third of people who have migraine, and general dizziness or unsteadiness is reported by up to three quarters of all patients with migraine.

The folks at Johns Hopkins Medicine point to vestibular migraine as a frequent source of vertigo and related symptoms:

 Migraine headaches are a common neurological condition. Although common migraines are characterized by a moderate to severe pounding or throbbing headache, vestibular migraine may or may not involve headaches in combination with vestibular symptoms such as vertigo, imbalance, nausea and vomiting.

Stanford Medicine agrees:

 Unlike the classic migraine, which is described as severe, throbbing headache, vestibular migraine has no pain associated with it 50% of the time. Vestibular migraine causes episodes of dizziness described as rocking, spinning, floating, swaying, internal motion and lightheadedness. They most often occur spontaneously, but can be triggered by stress, sleep problems, skipping meals, dehydration, other illnesses.

 Wow. So it’s possible (and not even unlikely) to have a migraine without suffering a severe headache.

Finally, someone’s talking my language!

 After years of going around and around (See what I did there?) with my primary care physician, in which he insisted that my frequent and severe vertigo / lightheadedness / dizzy / off-balance symptoms were caused by inner-ear crystals (including multiple physical therapy sessions for this diagnosis, which proved unfruitful and actually aggravated my symptoms, I found this migraine-related information to be a complete game changer.

OK, for the vast majority of vertigo sufferers, a simple physical therapy maneuver can work miracles. (Got vertigo? Try this first!)  But for the MSer (or anyone with central vertigo, rather than benign positional vertigo) or the migraineur, it generally proves a bust.

 I’ve had migraines since my Junior High years. But they always used to include major headaches. And apparently vestibular migraines (and the frequently associated vertigo) are most common among those who were particularly susceptible to motion sickness, especially as children. Bingo! That was me.

 Enter MS. Within the past few years (especially since hormonal changes kicked in with a vengeance), my migraines have evolved. Sure, I occasionally have the head-in-a-vise pounding variety. But more often, I battle a dull headache behind the agonizing whirling and unsteadiness of vertigo.

 Thankfully, my MS doctor affirmed my description of symptoms and flat-out said the frequent (sometimes daily) vertigo I face is related to migraines, which are common with MS. As such, she recommended avoiding food-related migraine triggers (as I already do), getting much-needed rest, drinking plenty of water, and taking travel-sickness medication when vertigo strikes. (See Simple OTC product helps vertigo?)

 That means no more neck twisting, which only aggravated some of my existing MS demyelination and didn’t fix the lightheaded spinning problem anyway.

 

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• Simple OTC product helps vertigo?

 

 Image/s: Excruciating Headache, M. Egerton, 1827, public domain

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Can't I just blame it all on MS?

Right now, I’m wincing from a piercing headache. I can’t stop sneezing. One foot seems to have fallen asleep again. My neck hurts. My legs are tired. And my jaw joint feels like it’s taken a beating.

Waah – waah – waah. (OK, that might have helped, just a little.)

Can I blame all of these woes on MS?

Multiple sclerosis can cause all sorts of crazy and obnoxious symptoms. Of course! Anyone who battle MS gets that.

Do these count?

Headaches? Check.

Sneezing? Maybe.

Tingly foot? Sure.

Neck pain? You bet.

Tired legs? Possible.

Jaw cramps? Umm …

Perhaps those are MS symptoms. They could be heralding yet another exacerbation. Or they might be simple facts of life in this climate and season. They may even hearken back to my recent workload or activity level.

Headache? That could be traced to the new salsa I scooped onto some rice last night. It tasted great, but it may have included some monosodium glutamate (untagged on the ingredient listing, which I actually read). That would bring me a whopper headache for sure.

Sneezing? We’ve had a week of windy weather, with fall leaves, dried seed pods, and dust flying all over. That was followed by a sudden snowstorm, which shut us up in the house with three pets for a day or two.

Tingly foot? OK, I have been sitting at my desk for over an hour straight.

Neck pain? Did I mention I shoveled snow for close to 90 minutes yesterday?

Tired legs? Well, I did run a long trail race over the weekend, followed by a team training jog the next day, and two rigorous back-to-back cardio classes the day after that. I’m a little weary today.

Jaw cramps? My dentist had me strapped in under the drill for two filling replacements a few days ago. (Truth be told, I was not actually strapped, but I was definitely stuck there.)

Often, MS really is the culprit, when miserable symptoms attack. But not always. Sometimes circumstances are to blame … or even my own choices.

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MS means I might have the flu for DAYS without knowing it

A nasty midwinter flu is making the rounds around here, and I finally caught it. Only I didn’t realize it for a few days. Finally, once the flu was full-blown, I got the point. 

I know that sounds weird. It’s like I’m not even paying attention, right?

Only I am. But multiple sclerosis throws a wrench into the works, adding confusion to some of our most uncomfortable seasons.

It started with a headache that lasted for a few days straight. But headaches pretty much go with the MS territory for me.

A whirling vertigo spell came along next. But that’s a hallmark of MS for me.

I started feeling hot and cold and hot and cold. Again, that’s sort of standard practice for my life with MS.

Then the sneezing started, sending me honking two or three times in a row. But I get the sneezies sometimes with MS too. (Look it up. It happens.)

The all-over aches and fatigue crept in, right about then. And yes. You got it. I chalked that all up to MS too.

The idea that I might have the flu didn’t hit me for a while. I’d been overtired after not sleeping well for several weeks. My stress bucket was overflowing for a host of reasons. And the midwinter blues were blooming in full force, as the darkest months of the year brought sub-zero temperatures, beckoned blasting blizzards, held back the sun, and made staying home a whole lot easier than going out.

But, yes. Eventually I got the point. I had the flu. It just took me a while to realize what it was and stop blaming the MS MonSter.

Once I did that, I could even count back several days and figure out where I probably caught it. I’d been at a music convention, spending an entire weekend singing with hundreds of other attendees in a crowded hotel ballroom. Singing together meant breathing all over each other. Plenty of laughing, talking, and coughing were also featured. (Enter the flu.)

Two weeks later, I’m finally digging my way out of the sneezing, wheezing, hacking, sniffling, snuffling, sweating, chilling, aching mess. Soon, the flu will flown. Thank God.

Then I’ll be battling the MS MonSter better. You can bet on it.

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