The Adjusted Life {onions}

The bad stuff:
Onions (especially raw), onion powder

The good stuff:
Leeks, scallions, and shallots

I can't tell you how sad I was about this one, but have been surprised at how successful I've been. I use a lot of shallots now. I find that being able to use shallots really does satisfy my love of onion flavor. What a relief!

I do eat onions every now and then when ordering food at a restaurant. I don't worry about that part too much, and it doesn't generally bother me.

Friday Five

1. We've decided to change up Gus' room. Yes, our cat has a room. What? Doesn't every cat? We are going to be getting rid of the single bed in that room. It's not usuable with Gus in there anyway, so it's just taking up space and being generally useless. We are getting a new piece of kitty furniture - a nice tall cat tree. I bought some new plastic tubs to better organize the stuff in there. Gus loves jumping up on them, so it will be fine if they sit out in the room. Gus isn't spoiled. Nope!

2. We received a package in the mail from my mom this week containing some Heralife products. I'm looking forward to mixing up a bunch of different yummy shakes.

3. I helped organize a cornhole tournament at work this week. We had 32 teams sign up! Good times.

4. I had a horrible migraine this week. It was bad on Tuesday and terrible on Wednesday. It was mostly gone on Thursday (finally). I haven't had a migraine that bad in quite a while.

5. We are going on vacation soon. I'm really looking forward to it. And by that I mean, I'm counting the days. Ah yes, the pool, beach, and relaxation. Fun dinners out with Rusty. It cannot come soon enough. We need some time off in a bad way.

The Adjusted Life {nuts}

All nuts (such as pistashios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, coconut) are potential triggers because they contain tyramine. I should also avoid peanuts and peanut butter  (which are actually legumes and not nuts...who knew).

I don't eat a lot of nuts, but I do love peanuts and peanut butter (especially when the peanut butter is combined with chocolate...oh yum). Bummer.

Seeds, such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds, are fine.

The Adjusted Life {meats}

Processed meats and fish

The bad:
Aged, canned, cured, fermented, marinated, smoked, or tenderized.

The good:
Young and fresh is best.

Nitrates and nitrites are the big triggers here, along with MSG in some cases. Examples of the meats and fish that I need to avoid are: hot dogs, sausage, salami, pepperoni, bologna, lunch meat, beef jerky, certain hams, bacon, and smoked salmon.

Some stores offer meats without nitrates and nitrites (and with less MSG). I guess I would have to be bold and start asking at the deli counter, or start reading labels. I don’t know about you, but I find that those labels can be hard to decipher!

I’m really sad to have to give up sausage and bacon for any length of time, but can live without the others for quite a while. I’m of the mind that you either love bacon or you’re wrong. Honestly, how can you not love bacon?! But I digress. :)

The Adjusted Life {bread}

Fresh Breads

The bad stuff:
Anything less than one day old, including bagels, donuts, and pizza dough.

The good stuff:
Anything two or more days old.

When I first saw fresh bread on the list of triggers, I was worried that I could never eat a sandwich again! I’m not a huge sandwich girl, but I do like to have them on occasion. Having said that, I can see a typical easy lunch for me quickly becoming a turkey sandwich…where I roast a turkey tenderloin and slice it myself, since I can’t have deli meat.

I don’t eat a lot of fresh bread, but I do enjoy it. And I guess I won’t be able to stop for a bagel or donut…or get a pizza on the way home. Pizza is actually a huge no-no anyway, what with all the cheese and pepperoni and onions and more. Again, I don’t eat pizza very often, but I do enjoy having it on occasion.

The Adjusted Life {dairy}

I have already talked about cheese and headaches, but there are other dairy products to discuss. Like with cheese, tyramine is the potential problem compound.

The bad stuff:
Yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk

The good stuff:
Milk, cream, butter, and ice cream

I've cut out yogurt - even the ever yummy Chobani black cheery Greek yogurt that I had come to love. The only time I really used buttermilk was for bake "fried" chicken, so it isn't a big deal to cut that out. I'll miss sour cream the most out of the bad dairy items.

I was thrilled to find out, however, that I can have milk, cream, and butter! I don't eat ice cream that often, so I'm only moderately happy about that one. I was really afraid that all dairy would be banned for me.

The Adjusted Life {cheese}

Cheese – tyramine is the potential problem in cheese

The bad stuff:
Aged cheeses - Blue cheese, brie, cheddar, stilton, feta, gorgonzola, muenster, Parmesan, Swiss, processed cheese

The good stuff:
Young cheeses – cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, and good quality American cheese

The in-between stuff:
Relatively young cheeses – fresh goat cheese and mozzarella

I love cheese.

I love food smothered in melted cheese. I love grilled cheese sandwiches... Yes, I love cheese.

I lessened the amount of cheese I use almost two years ago after joining Weight Watchers. I still enjoy having light string cheese and Laughing Cow Swiss wedges as snacks. They are great little bits of low-fat protein that compliment my Weight Watchers lifestyle.

In the last month, I have almost completely given up cheese. I've had a few small...tiny...minuscule amounts of cheese in the last few weeks.

I'm already looking forward to introducing cheese back into my diet to see if I react to it at all. Silly me. That's still more than a month away! From what I understand, however, aged cheese is one of the major triggers. One of the biggies. Time will tell if it is a biggie for me.

All That Triggers

Last week I told you about my visit to the doctor and started talking about my plan to identify possible food triggers.

I already know about many physical and environmental triggers that I have:

• Fatigue
• Light (especially florescent lights)
• Loud noises
• Neck pain
• TMJ
• Allergies
• Dehydration
• Skipping meals
• Hormones
• Changes in weather (heat and storms)
• Exercising in extreme heat
• Excessive caffeine
• Tension
• Stress
• Extreme emotion
• Hair accessories/hats

And then there are the physical symptoms that both preceed and/or show up during my headaches/migraines. I get the majority of these symptoms every time. And yes, some of these sypmtoms mirror my triggers, begging the question, "Which comes first - the chicken or the egg?"

Good times, eh?

No.

• Fatigue
• Sensitivity to light
• Sensitivity to sound
• Neck pain
• TMJ
• Dizziness/vertigo
• Nausea
• Sensitive to strong scents (newer issue)
• Shaky
• Irritability
• Increased pain with normal physical activities
• Sensitive scalp
• Yawning
• Confusion
• Nasal congestion
• Fever (rare)
• Aura - wavy lines/pulsating lights (rare)
• Speech problems (rare)

The Adjusted Life {caffeine}

Caffeine - Coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, and certain medications.

I have already given up Diet Coke and will be working on switching to decaf coffee soon. I will also have to stop drinking iced tea when we are out to eat. I guess my main drink while eating out will be water. I like my water, but it can get boring. I’ll have to look forward to have my (decaf) iced tea at home.

When my doctor brought up the caffeine in chocolate, I whined, "Really? Chocolate?!"

He laughed and said, "One step at a time, right?"

Right!

And this is just one of the first steps. It already seems so hard! I have given up caffeine before, however, so I know I can do this. The thought that this has to be pretty permanent is what’s getting to me.

I know, I know…this is just the beginning. Yikes!

Out of the Shadows

I had my first migraine when I was 10 years old. I have been managing migraines and other headaches (tension, sinus, hormone) ever since. About a month ago I woke up and decided that I was done living like this. Why am I putting up it? Why am I living this way? Because I know I don’t have it as bad as some other people? That’s just silly, Rachel! It affects your way of life. Do something about it!

And so I am.

I met with my doctor and he asked me if I have ever actually been diagnosed with migraines. I said no. He then asked me why I think I get migraines. I smiled as I pulled out a piece of paper that contained a list of triggers, symptoms, descriptions of pain, and more.

My doctor looked at the list and asked me, "Are you sure you don't work in the medical field?" Ha!

I left the appointment with a prescription and instructions to work on getting rid of possible trigger foods. The list is a long one.

Some of the foods are:

• Additives found in aged, canned, cured or processed meats (nitrites, nitrates, tyramine?)
• Aged cheese
• Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners
• Avocados
• Caffeine
• Certain beans
• Certain Fruit
• MSG
• Chocolate
• Cultured dairy products, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt
• Olives and pickles
• Onions
• Peanuts, peanut butter, other nuts and seeds
• Pizza
• Potato chip products
• Smoked or dried fish
• Canned soups and broths
• Sourdough bread, fresh baked yeast goods
• Sugar

There are many days where all I want is to lie down in a dark quiet room. If I’m being completely honest, I am a little afraid that giving up certain foods forever will leave me a deprived and depressed mess. Cheese? Bacon? Onions? Chocolate? Say it isn’t so! No really, please tell me that I will be able to eat those things again before I start sobbing! I may be tempted to crawl back into my comfy bed in my dark quiet room. Except life and work don’t afford me that option very often. And it isn’t what I ultimately want.

I want to come out of the shadows. I want to live in the bright light of day with all its hustle and bustle, and without fear of pain or struggle.

I plan on blogging quite a bit about my headaches and all the things that I need to adjust, temporary and permanent. You get to be along for the ride. Lucky you.