LETTERS
The author welcomes your questions, comments, and corrections.
4 December 2006
Barry —
Here is my story:
I was a heavy caffeine user from since I was about 15 years old (I am 40 now). I drank 2-3 cups of coffee a day until about five years ago. I cut back because it was bothering my stomach, and began to substitute green tea for coffee.
I had a couple of episodes of the "hole in my vision" and "blurring," but I wrote those off as strange episodes. Then in October 2003, I got my first migraine. It was horrible! I was stricken with nausea, head pain, and general sickness. I thought I had the flu, and was out of commission for a couple of days. The next one came a month later, and this one was even worse. After I threw up all of my stomach contents, I started retching so violently I could not breathe; I thought I was going to die! Luckily my girlfriend rushed me to the hospital. It was there that I was told it was a migraine, and I was given an I.V. of something that helped. I saw my doctor, and he gave me a prescription for Imitrex.
The migraines began to get more frequent. I was now getting them every 1-2 weeks. It was ruining my life; I was afraid to go into meetings at work (and missing days off); afraid to go on backpacking trips into the mountains; and getting anxiety attacks thinking a migraine was always coming. My life was nearly hell.
I began to study migraines on the Web, and all of the doctors (and sufferers) said the same bs. I tried avoiding all kinds of stuff, and nothing worked.
Then I found your web site. For the first time I got an explanation that made sense and immediately started tapering off caffeine. I got down to ¼ cup of green tea, and then stopped completely. I got a migraine. One week later, I got another. Then... they stopped!
Your theory nailed it. Just to give you some back up, here is some more info:
Six or so months later, I was in need of some comforting vice. A friend gave me a cigar, and I experimented my taking it apart and taking a couple of puffs in a pipe. Without inhaling, I absorbed the nicotine through my gums and got a big stimulation. I did this on and off for two weeks, then got a migraine. So it is not just caffeine, but nicotine also (or anything that stimulates).
Then I tried instant decaf coffee. After a few weeks of that: migraine (I am so sensitized to it now that the littlest amounts cause the adaptation). Some green powder (Delicious Greens 8000) my girlfriend gave me did the same thing. By the way, I am fine with alcohol; I can drink as much as I want of any type (red wine is fine) and get no migraines.
I have been spreading the word wherever I can. But most people will not listen to the facts. I just cannot believe that people will suffer with migraines and yet I cannot convince them that caffeine (or nicotine, or other stimulants) is causing it. I cannot even convince my own doctor of what I found. He is not taking your information (or me) seriously. I have been able to help the wife of my boss, though. He knew my story, and my cure, and convinced his wife to abstain, and it works for her.
The key is to totally abstain; not even trace amounts are allowed, because the body becomes hyper-sensitized to caffeine. I think that this is where most people fail.
That is my story. It feels good to finally let you know what good your theory and website has done for me. Thank you.
It is a great pleasure to write you and thank you for coming up with the theory that gave me my life back. I have tried to get in touch with you for a while now, but always came up with dead ends (I was beginning to think the Imetrex people had silenced you!)
— Doug
Doug, you are one of only three known examples of caffeine withdrawal headache with visual aura. The second example contacted me less than two months after you did, the third more recently. Their letters are below.
29 January 2007
Barry —
I am a 39 year old male from the UK who has suffered from migraine since
teenage years. I have always had migraines both with and without visual
disturbances, although latterly many more attacks without than with 'aura.'
Having a father who at times in his life has suffered badly with migraine
(ironically his attacks are now almost all with aura and less severe), I
have always considered myself to be relatively fortunate with the
frequency/severity of my attacks.
At this point I would like to say that I have a highly sceptical disposition. I rarely take conventional medicines (and never any alternative medication) even for migraine, or visit the doctor. I was, however, very interested in your site which I stumbled upon whilst investigating the possibility of a caffeine migraine link. If nothing else, I was interested because of i) the clearly non-commercial nature of your site and ii) the clarity and logic of your deductions and theory and its presentation. I also knew a little about the 'causes of stomach ulcers' story, and have always found it interesting that the now widely accepted simple explanation eluded science for longer than it seems it should have done.
As a result of your site, in July of last year I adopted a caffeine abstinence lifestyle, by gradually cutting down over a couple of weeks as you suggest. I think this was easier for me than for most people because I've never drunk tea or coffee, and I rarely eat anything sweet; diet cola was probably my only source of caffeine. I have since that time (now six months) not had one single migraine attack; whereas in the months leading up to this I was probably experiencing over one per week. I do occasionally now suffer what I interpret as normal (mild) headaches: no nausea, predominantly not one-sided, and certainly not debilitating. Before stopping caffeine I didn't really experience normal headaches; that is, they would always escalate to be one-sided and accompanied by nausea. The effect on my life has been greater than I would have predicted, as not only has the suffering gone, but I now no longer worry about the disruption of getting an attack (perhaps on a work deadline).
Having grown up with a Dad who tried any number of conventional and not-so-conventional solutions including most migraine off-the-shelf and prescription drugs, acupuncture, growing feverfew in the garden to eat the leaves, breathing from a paper bag while standing on his head (seriously), night time dental attachments, relaxation, tranquilizers, allergy testing, etc., the only thing I would have said caused me to suffer a migraine was dehydration. I have in the last six months on occasions been more dehydrated than I would previously have allowed myself to become, and now don't worry about this causing an attack.
All this having been said, I remain of a sceptical disposition, and am prepared to accept that my experience is not as it seems to me. A part of me is expecting an attack to (at least somewhat) take the shine off the simplicity of the situation. It is entirely possible that something else is the explanation, but there is nothing that seems to fit the circumstances as well as your theory. Perhaps I grew out of migraines somewhere along the line (explaining the relative rareness of attacks with aura), and what I call migraine is really caffeine withdrawal headache. If so, then for me, caffeine withdrawal headache hurts like hell behind one eye and causes me severe nausea and, on occasion, vomiting. If that's the case then I'm very happy, for the time being at least, not to be having them whatever you might like to call them!
I hope the details of my experience are of interest to you, and would like
to thank you for the effort you have put into structuring and publicising
your theory. Please let me know if there is anything else I can contribute.
— [name withheld by request]
[Barry Spencer replies]
Doug's migraine with aura was diagnosed by a neurologist, and you describe clear and indisputable migraine aura, so Doug's headaches and yours are genuine migraine.
Yet in both cases migraines ceased after quitting caffeine, which strongly suggests caffeine caused them. Caffeine is a demonstrated cause of severe headache, so associations between quitting caffeine and cessation of severe headaches can't be dismissed as merely coincidental.
Several leading headache researchers believe caffeine withdrawal can trigger migraine but not cause migraine. The distinction between trigger and cause seems an attempt to preserve the prevailing view that migraine is separate from caffeine withdrawal headache, but that distinction is too slender a reed to bear the entire weight of the prevailing view of migraine pathogenesis. Migraine triggered by caffeine withdrawal is indistinguishable from migraine caused by caffeine withdrawal; for all practical purposes, they are the same thing.
I think the interpretation that makes the most sense is that caffeine withdrawal causes your migraine with aura. The same goes for Doug's headaches. Apparently in at least some cases caffeine withdrawal headache is migraine, and vice-versa, and the prevailing assumption that the two conditions are distinct and separate is mistaken.
You are the second of only three known examples of caffeine withdrawal headache with aura. These three examples put tremendous pressure on the prevailing view, which assumes caffeine withdrawal symptoms don't include visual aura, caffeine withdrawal never causes migraine, and migraine is distinct and separate from caffeine withdrawal headache.
24 March 2007
Barry —
Hi, I followed your advice and gave up caffeine completely. My only
source was coffee (I never drink soda or other packaged beverages).
It took a few weeks of tapering. Previously, I had to abstain
completely from alcohol—even half a glass of wine would leave me
hungover and migraine-stricken the next morning.
Now, I still feel headachy once in a while (mostly seems related to
altitude changes) but I haven't gotten a migraine since giving up
caffeine, and I can have multiple alcoholic drinks with no headaches
at all, which is an incredible turn of events. Thanks for your very
informative website.
— Nick
19 May 2007
Hi Barry
Please don't publish my email address or name as I am very private. I do want to say I have had migraines since around age 26 — auras of zig zag lights and blocking out of vision in my right visual field followed by severe, one-sided headache, nausea, vomiting, malaise, photophobia, etc.
Headaches were rare in my twenties — maybe one a year. I saw a nurse practitioner when I was in my early thirties as the frequency of my headaches was increasing and I was getting these migraines just about every weekend and was having to spend my weekends sick in bed. She asked about my caffeine intake and I mentioned I drink diet colas heavily along with coffee daily, perhaps more so during the workweek. She suggested I gradually cut down on caffeine and taper off it. I got mad and told her I hadn't noticed any association and I didn't think it was caffeine so she prescribed a calcium channel blocker which did help.
A few years later I realized she may be right and decided to taper off caffeine. I got so sick every time I reduced my coffee/colas by even a few ounces. I had to measure how much I was drinking and cut down no faster then ~10% per week. If I reduced my cola/coffee any faster I was very ill with nasty migraines. Eventually I very slowly tapered of all caffeine and after a few months my migraines almost completely disappeared and I was able to get off all prescription meds. For the past five years I have been caffeine and chocolate free and now only get migraines once a year or so. Here is the kicker: if I drink cola, coffee, decaf coffee or eat chocolate my migraines come right back!!
I am so glad you have your website as it is going to get migraine people — even ones like me who initially insist caffeine is not the culprit — to at least think about it and maybe — even if it is a few years later — try to get off all caffeine. It is hard to get off all caffeine as unless you taper off very tediously slowly by measuring your intake in ounces and reducing very slowly you can beome violently ill with migraines.
It is wonderful not to have to take any medication. What got me to change is I read a medical study that came out sometime around five to eight years ago suggesting calcium channel blockers may cause brain lesions or cognitive impairment — I can't remember the study or details but it scared me enough to want to get off the meds, plus the meds were really expensive and that irritated the heck out of me.
[name withheld by request]
[Barry Spencer replies]
You are the third of three known examples of caffeine withdrawal headache with aura (or migraine with aura caused by caffeine withdrawal — take your pick).
1 December 2007
Hi,
I just wanted to email you to say that your website changed my life.
I was a migraine sufferer for many, many years. I had my first aura at the age of eight, and began getting debilitating migraines at about the age of 21 (I am now 37). I would sometimes get up to 20 a month—discomfort in my neck, followed by extreme nausea, pounding on the right side of my head, and extreme sensitivity to light. I only had auras occasionally. In a good month, I would have nine (never less than that). I spent many years taking every prescription preventive migraine treatment you can think of. I had to stop all of them because of the side effects, and to be honest, none of them worked on me anyway (with the exception of verapamil, which kept me at about nine per month). I thought this was something I would have to live with forever. I put off having children because I couldn't imagine nine months without my Imitrex. Finally, after fifteen years of agony, I thought to myself, "What is consistent in my life besides the migraines?" The answer was my extreme love of sweet tea (I'm in the South). So I then found your site on the Internet, read what you had to say, and thought anything was worth a try at that point in my life. I gave up tea and all caffeine over the course of about three weeks so I wouldn't be totally sick. During that process I would get a headache even three days later after the tiniest dose of caffeine. After that time, I paid extremely close attention to make sure I was getting NO caffeine whatsoever. That was a year ago, and it has been the greatest miracle! I have maybe had five headaches this entire year, and I don't really know that they were migraines. They were triggered by long plane flights (twelve hours to Hawaii), long car rides, and sometimes very strenuous exercise.
I have since told several migraine sufferers about the "no caffeine" cure, but no one wants to listen. They all say, "Well, I don't have very much." That included my mom at first. I thought she would be thrilled to know there was hope for her, because she had just as many per month as I did. She is now 63, so you can imagine her suffering over the years. She says she really doesn't drink caffeine, which she pretty much doesn't... but she has taken Cafergot for YEARS. My dad and I have worked her over about this, so she has tried to give it up and she is somewhat better. For me, "pretty much" doesn't cut it. Caffeine has robbed me of a good part of my life and I'm done with it forever!!!
One thing that is still kind of a mystery is that I had caffeine throughout my childhood. I tolerated it ok, though I did have a headache here and there. Therefore, when it started causing so much pain in my twenties, it was harder to make a connection between the two.
Anyway, I thought I'd tell you my story. Maybe some of the details will be helpful to you. Most of all I wanted to say THANK YOU! YOU HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE! My quality of life and productivity have improved more than I ever thought possible. It's a joy not to be in so much pain!
Best regards, Julie
30 August 2008
Hi Barry,
First off can I just say thank you for producing such an informative website. I found it about 5 days after I cut out as much caffeine as I could be aware of — seems it is in so much and has so many similar chemicals!
I'm now 31 (male) and started with migraine from ~23. My Doctor at the time was sceptical and blamed the stress of my forthcoming marriage and my limited exercise — gave me no option of treatment nor suggestions to help beyond 'maybe do some more exercise' — I did actually start regular exercise but that made no difference at all (surprise!). A few years later I had progressed to multiple migraine attacks per month and spoke to my now changed Doctor about it — they were much more accepting that my symptoms were migraine related and said 'Try some triptan (Naratriptan), if it works then you have migraine' — they did work and for a while proved a good way of dealing with the 3-4 migraine per month.
A good year or so later I had progressed again, getting multiple migraine per week, and after further discussion with my Doctor started a course of Pizotifen, which did amazingly well at controlling my migraine but left me lethargic, out of character and lead to almost stuffing up my marriage although I didn't link the two until a good while later. I also found that one painkiller tablet (paracetamol + aspirin + caffeine) worked fairly well to help with the initial pain until the triptan kicked in — inadvertently this left me with ongoing stomach problems.
I never went back on the Pizotifen because of the tiredness although my migraine frequency returned to multiple attacks per week. Around one month ago I had what initially started as a self-inflicted hangover — hangovers (or even relatively small amounts of alcohol) often result in migraine for me — when I have a migraine I have always felt very nauseous at the thought of a cup of tea/coffee so for the day or so following the initial hangover I refrained from caffeine completely (only drink tea normally and have little or no chocolate intake or similar) — the migraine symptoms continued to last and I had a solid migraine for 5 days. On the 5th day it got very bad and I took a naratriptan which 'cured' the headache within the usual hour. It was on that day that I found your website — I was aware that I'd not had caffeine for a week and did a quick Internet search on 'migraine and caffeine'. I'd pretty much resolved to cut out caffeine anyhow as a trial since I'd already had the first week (of what I now understand to be a major caffeine withdrawal!) of this and it was a good place to continue from.
It's now one month in to no caffeine at all. Previous to this month I was having 3-4 or more migraine attacks per week — since cutting out caffeine I have had one migraine and one mild headache — both of these I can tie down to (weirdly!) a cup or two of Red Bush Tea, something which is supposed to be caffeine free — I am wondering at present if there is some different form of stimulant in Red Bush Tea that may affect me like caffeine but have got nowhere in finding out more on this.
My stomach problems quickly disappeared as well, so it may well be that caffeine was affecting my digestive system, exacerbated by the aspirin — I am now feeling the best I have in years. I am sleeping better, I have much much more energy and I'm not spending most of my week feeling like I just need to go sleep in a dark quiet room, much to the joy of my wife and child who see a happy Daddy and not a grumpy one!
I will do my best to pass the caffeine/migraine link potential to others I know who suffer as there is a family link for me (my Mother and Aunty both suffer), though I am surprised to find (as I think you are based on your website) many people seem insistent that there is little in the link for them even though they've not actually tried cutting caffeine out completely or still eat things like chocolate etc. I think towards the end of my pre-caffeine free diet I ended up on a caffeine rollercoaster — I'd have a migraine and refrain from tea/coffee, then feel better and overdose, the next day having a massive caffeine withdrawal when I woke. My migraines were nearly all morning ones and normally my last tea intake would be ~6pm. I refute that anyone can say caffeine (and/or withdrawal) is not a major migraine cause even if it doesn't affect all migraine sufferers as it does for me.
I am more than happy for you to use any of this e-mail on your website, it has completely explained things for me and I hope I have reduced my migraine frequency for the rest of my life, however much I miss that morning cuppa!
Best regards,
Chris W
UK
8 February 2009
Dear Mr. Spencer,
I want to thank you for changing my life. I found your website about caffeine causing migraines, and decided to take you up on the challenge. I wouldn't have been willing to try it if you had said "it could possibly help."
I already knew it could possibly help, but the withdrawal would be murderous, and I would never have gone through it for a possibility. After all, I've been trying for thirty years to figure this thing out, and most everything has been a dead end.
It's just very hard to give something up that seems to be your only lifeline! Sometimes I'd drink a Pepsi, and my migraine would disappear like magic! Sometimes it didn't help at all, and sometimes, I believed, it made the pain worse. Like you say, human beings aren't necessarily objective. But the Pepsi sometimes helped, dammit!
I didn't think caffeine was my problem, because everything I read that connected caffeine and migraine said that more than two to three cups of coffee was problematic, and my daily caffeine intake was below that amount. And most of those articles would also claim that caffeine is helpful in the treatment of migraines.
I quit caffeine one month ago, and for the past two weeks I have been completely headache free. No migraines, no tension headache, no nothing. For me, this is a miracle. I will never go back to caffeine use, ever.
The withdrawal phase went much smoother than I expected. Yes, it was painful. But the fact is, I'd been withdrawing over and over from caffeine, for thirty years! I kept myself from giving in by saying, "This could be your last migraine."
For years I lived a very narrow life, struggling to avoid every trigger and failing. Everytime a new headache started, my first thought was, "What did I do?"
I still worry about triggers, because I've thought of migraine in this way for so many years. I decided to divide my list of trigger foods into two parts: healthy foods and non-healthy foods. I continue to avoid the non-healthy (like bacon and cheese), and eat small amounts of the healthy (like grapes, citrus, and nuts.)
Last year, I spent, after insurance, $1,679.73 on Imitrex. I spent over $400 on Pepsi and Jolt gum and Excedrin. I'm looking forward to having an extra 2 grand to spend on landscaping this year. And having the good health to go out and work and enjoy the great outdoors.
I wish you great success with this research. As for me, I'm starting my life over at 49. This has been the best month of my life.
Thank you,
Michele
24 March 2009
Dear Mr. Spencer,
Thank you very much for your website and the information about caffeine and migrane. It was my lucky day when I found it. After two weeks of abstaining from drinking caffeine I have not had a single headache, while normally I would have two to three a week.
My story is a little bit strange. I am from Spain and I own a construction company. Due to the [economic] crisis, I had to move myself and my company to Morocco. When I was back in my country I used to drink a lot of diet Coke, in the office, at home and specially travelling around, which took a lot of my day time. Typically, I will stop like three times a day in petrol stations and I will buy cans of diet Coke. Then in Spain I always had weekend migraines. I thought it was because I overslept, now thanks to your site, I know it is due to the fact that I missed my caffeine fix. Well, when I moved to Morocco I noticed that diet Coke was not easily available. It is not like in Spain or the US that you get it in any petrol station. Here petrol stations do not sell beverages, and in the few ones that do, there is no diet Coke. Indeed, it is difficult to find it sometimes even in supermarkets. This way I reduced drastically my intake of diet Coke. I drunk sometimes regular Coke, but I did not want to drink too much of it since I put on weight. The result was that I was getting terrible headaches around two to three times a week. I wrongfully associated the headaches with my biggest change, I changed country. There was something wrong with this country that gave me those terrible headaches. Maybe the intense sun. However, other expatriates did not have the same problem.
Then I started searching on the Internet for the possible cause of my problem and I found that actually caffeine helped to ease the headaches. So I started drinking coffee and it worked. I reduced the frequency of headaches but they did not stop. I noticed that if I drank coffee when I was about to have a headache, it would stop. I even recall one site saying that it was actually the lack of caffeine, if you are a frequent coffee drinker, that causes you headaches and migraines. So it recommended to not miss your daily "cuppa." Thanks.
Well, finally as the headaches did not stop completely even though I was drinking as much coffee and as often as I could, I made a search asking for "caffeine and migraine." Then I found your site and it all made sense. Now it is two weeks with no caffeine and no headache. And I have done everything I could to get one. Stay a long time under the sun, expose myself to strong smells, not eat for a long while, etc. None of the things I had thought gave me migraines gave me even the slightest headache. I have to point out that I reduced the intake of caffeine rather drastically and within three days I stopped drinking any caffeine completely. Then I felt depressive for a while. But eventually I felt much much better.
Again I am very thankful for you sharing this information. If I can help you back in any way please tell me. I am indebted.
Agustin
23 June 2009
Hi there,
Thanks very much for putting the info you have on the web. You sound like you are well beyond the need for anecdotes, but just in case you aren't, here is my migraine story:
I started getting headaches as a teenager, but only started getting migraines in my 20s. While I drank soft drinks, etc., in my teens, I became a regular drinker of coffee from about 20 onwards — typically 1 to 3 cups per day.
When I first started getting these headaches, I didn't realise they were migraines, didn't know anything about migraines, or triggers, etc.
I lived with getting the odd migraine (once every few months). After about 5 years, I worked out that it was better to not cease coffee consumption whenever I had a migraine (I had been ceasing coffee consumption whenever sick, because I figured it wouldn't help me) — in fact, it was better to immediately have a cup of coffee.
This was doable until last year, when I started getting them more frequently. At worst I was having a migraine once every three weeks, sometimes more frequently. And the headaches went from being a 1-1.5 day duration headache to a 3-5 day duration. Paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen, and codeine were useless. I got an Imigran prescription for a bit, but the Imigran seemed to get rid of the headache for a half day and then it would return, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to take an imigran dose every half day for 4 days straight.
I had been unable to work out a trigger for my migraines. I tried giving up red wine. No luck. I [subtracted] white wine. No luck. I [subtracted] all alcohol. No luck. I was reluctant to continue on this goose chase for a trigger, so I went a neurologist.
The neurologist was quite idiosyncratic. He established that I was in fact experiencing migraine. He declared that he thought a lot of the talk of food triggers was rubbish, and that if I hadn't worked it out by now then I probably didn't have a trigger. He suggested I was just unlucky, I get migraines. He prescribed Epilim as a preventative.
Even though I had been given the prescription, I hesitated, and avoided taking the medication. It sounded kind of heavy duty. Instead, I gave up caffeine, [as did] my wife who was pregnant.
And here is the best part of my story:
I got a ferocious caffeine withdrawal headache for about 5 days. After that, no headaches. I would get the occasional odd vibe of a headache coming on, but no full blown 3 day migraine. This lasted for 3 months, at which point I relapsed, and gradually built up to a coffee a day. Boom. I got a 4 day migraine.
What was especially telling about these headaches was that I had experienced no migraines in both of the three month periods in which I had given up coffee, but then experienced a migraine once I had built up to a coffee a day for a few days straight.
I again gave up coffee. I again lasted 3 months, before relapsing. Boom. Another 4 day migraine.
That, combined with reading more on the involvement of caffeine in migraine, has (finally!) brought me to the conclusion that caffeine consumption is the one thing involved in my migraine (maybe stress and sleep, etc., are also involved) that I can affect easily. So I am giving up coffee for good, soft drinks, and I've never been a big chocolate eater anyway.
Caffeine had been such a mundane part of my day that I hadn't even considered giving it up. And it was only once I had (a couple of times!) that I could see the difference it has made to my headaches. The migraineur wants nothing more than for there to be an obvious answer to their pain. I had despaired of finding one, but it seems that caffeine is it.
Anyway, hope this anecdote is useful, and thanks again for your website.
Stephen Pritchard
8 March 2010
Dear Mr. Spencer,
Upon visiting your website I have the feeling that I have finally
found the cause of my miserable weekends, and am about to quit caffeine
to prove myself (and you) right.
For the last three or four years I have been having weekly migraines that, with clockwork accuracy, always start on Saturday early mornings and finish about Sunday evening/early Monday, almost each and every week of the year.
Caffeine withdrawal is, almost certainly, the very thing that provokes my pain, as I usually drink a cup of coffee upon arrival at my workplace, at about 7:30 a.m. every workday. One or two more coffee doses may follow later during the day, at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. As you can guess this routine breaks on Saturdays, when I awake at around 7:00 a.m. with the scary feeling that a headache is coming; by the time I get the first (and usually only) Saturday coffee, at around 9:00 a.m., the headache is pretty strong already and soon develops into some sort of nail driven through the top left side of my skull, not to leave until a couple days later. If I am lucky two grams of paracetamol will do away with the pain, but anecdotal evidence suggests this is rarely the case.
Searching for whatever might be causing my illness I have even been refraining from visiting my parents on Friday afternoons, as I used to, having reached the conclusion that something evil (you can call it CO/CO2) was floating around in their abode and giving me miserable times the next few days. To my dismay I soon had to disprove my misguided theory, and this is where we stand now.
I learned about the link between caffeine and migraine just today,
after I had already drunk two coffee cups. Not sure if I will suffer
from migraine later today or tonight (it's still Monday after all). If
I do then it's swell because I will know it's the withdrawal thing kicking
in. If I don't, well, I guess we'll have to wait until the weekend.
Yours truly,
Manuel García
[Barry Spencer replies]
If you decide to quit coffee, make sure to quit gradually over a number of days. If you quit suddenly you'll likely suffer terrible withdrawal headaches.
If, while gradually decreasing your daily caffeine intake, you start to get a headache, try treating the headache with naproxen sodium. I mention naproxen sodium because it works for many people, and many people haven't tried it. I have the impression it works better than paracetamol (acetaminophen, Tylenol) for most people.
You can also treat an oncoming migraine with caffeine. Yes, that is adding fuel to the fire, and may seem like a step backward when you're trying to use less caffeine, not more. But you may be able to use caffeine to treat your migraines without digging yourself deeper into a hole. You might try using a little caffeine to block a headache in progress. Not a whole cup of coffee, as that would be much more caffeine than necessary, and would put you back on the addiction/withdrawal treadmill. Take only a fraction of a cup of coffee, just one or two or three swallows. Or drink a can of Coca-Cola (if you like Coca-Cola). Or a small amount of tea.
Or try naproxen sodium in combination with a little caffeine.
The trick is to take medicinal caffeine as early in the headache as you can. The earlier during the migraine's development you take caffeine, the more likely caffeine is to effectively abort the migraine episode.
To a lesser extent, the same goes for naproxen sodium: the earlier in the migraine episode you take it, the more effective it's likely to be.
The important thing is you now know what causes your migraines. So even if you occasionally still get migraines, at least you will know why. Knowing why makes the pain easier to bear.
And, best of all, now you know how to eliminate your migraines.
Let me know how it goes.
9 March 2010
Dear Mr. Spencer,
Regarding withdrawl, I was wondering (we will find out soon anyway)
when I should expect to suffer the associated migraines.
My point is: I am already suffering withdrawal migraines every
weekend, and it is not only that I miss the 7:30 a.m. coffee; also, the
coffee I have for breakfast Saturday and Sunday is made at home in a moka
pot, while the ones I have at my workplace come out of an automatic
espresso machine.
I suspect the quality, caffeine content, and amount of coffee are
different in both cases, this meaning that the coffees I have at home
mean a much lower caffeine intake than the ones at work. My hope is
that, having drunk just two espresso coffees this week, I have not built
enough caffeine in my body to trigger the weekly withdrawal response.
As a matter of fact, the response was not triggered (I had a headache-free weekend) a couple of weeks ago when I was on holiday Monday
and Tuesday and, therefore, I had two additional "home coffees" and up to
six fewer "work coffees" that week. For the time being, I did not have my
third coffee yesterday and have not had my early morning coffee today (I'm at
work and it's 9:20 a.m.), and I feel pretty much ok.
What I mean is: the weekly cycle seems to finish when the weekend
migraine goes away, and it might not start again if I don't build enough
caffeine in my body. Since I can pretty much live without the stuff, I
guess no coffee at all as soon as possible is as good as it can get
(provided I do not suffer migraines), and much better than a coffee a day.
Still, I think I will keep "home coffees", which I have been drinking for
a long time without adverse effects.
I will let you know how it turns out. It's nice to share this with
someone who does not just say, "You are just suffering from stress and weekend letdown. Take some pills, see a doctor..."
15 March 2010
Dear Mr. Spencer,
And that was about it. I cannot believe all the pain I have been
through, and not being able to pinpoint the cause. I have tried learning
about migraine on the Web but all I could find these years was the same
useless nonsense. Only when I by chance searched for "weekend migraine"
I found the link to your website, drowned in a sea of irrelevant and even
harmful "information." And this is tragic, because it seems that the good
bits are so hard to come by. It seems the food and drugs cartels are doing
a great job.
As I sidenote, I decided to cut caffeine intake all at once (I think
people call this "going cold turkey"). After reading other people's
experiences I saw that my migraines, though painful and disabling, were
nothing compared to what others had to go through. So I assumed my
widthdrawal symptoms would be milder also, and I think I was right.
Besides, and since I had already ibuprofen and paracetamol at hand I
decided to try and see if these two would work after cutting caffeine
supply, and it seems they did. On the third hand, I am stubborn. :)
Last but not least, thanks a lot for turning me into a new man.
I will spread your gospel whenever I have the chance. As I matter of
fact, my girlfriend also decided to quit caffeine on her own, even though
she never experienced these migraines. But I guess knowing first hand
about the effects of caffeine can be intimidating enough, she was also
a sufferer of my migraines.
Thanks, thanks, thanks, one million times thanks, and take care.
Yes, from what you tell me it seems likely your migraines are caused by caffeine withdrawal. Wow — that extra hour and a half delay on Saturday mornings seems crucial in your case.
Thanks very much for your advice, I will surely take it into
account when the time comes.
Best regards
Manuel García
I believe I can declare myself migraine-free, for good. Withdrawal
was not too tough, just some stiffness in my neck and back of the head
and mild headaches that were successfuly treated with ibuprofen. This
lasted for two days. Some drowsiness the third day, and a strong migraine
in the middle of the night that lasted for half an hour (paracetamol did
the trick this time, fast).
Manuel García
7 June 2010
Mr. Spencer,
I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you. I stumbled across your website 3 months ago and figured I would give your theory a test. I have struggled with migraines for almost 30 years. I would get 3-4 migraines a week. I have tried almost every type of medication. I have cut out every type of food from my diet. I have even taken guinea pig medication that I was paid to take. Nothing ever worked...
Why I never thought about cutting out caffeine is beyond me. I guess I always felt..."caffeine helps my headaches"... boy was I wrong. In trying to wean myself off I ended up getting migraines for 5 days straight, morning til night. I was about ready to give up and then it happened... they went away. No longer did I even have the non-headache, standard pain in the back of my head/neck. All pain was gone. More than 3 months of zero head pain. Plus, I am now eating things that I had originally cut out of my diet and I am getting no pain. Cheese, Hot dogs, Chinese food... you know. I can't believe it was this easy. I am so grateful that I feel better but I am so angry at myself for not trying this earlier in my life.
So, thank you. Your ideas and your willingness to share them has changed my life. I feel like... actually, I don't just feel like, I AM a totally different person now.
Chris Brosky