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Dr. Max Gomez reporting When the holidays come around, headaches are soon to follow.
We talked to an expert who explained how to get through the season in the least amount of pain.
Tis the season... For shopping... And eating... And drinking... And....
Amy Lapastochel, Migraine Sufferer: "I will get a piercing sharp pain on one side of my head, um, usually my right side, and it feels like a nail is going through my skull, usually right here (points)."
Amy Lapostochel is one of millions of Americans who suffer from migraine headaches. For many of them, the holiday season is also the headache season.
Just ask any headache specialist.
Dr. Lawrence Newman Headache Specialist: "From the week before Thanksgiving through New Years' is an amazingly busy time in in the headache field. Our our phone calls increase by, by a fifty, by fifty percent. On Monday alone I had three hundred phone calls."
All migraine sufferers have certain things that trigger their headaches.The problem is that during the holiday season, those triggers are all piled one on top of the other.
Dr. Lawrence Newman, Headache Specialist: "There is the stress of family, there is the stress of going to parties, there is the stress of preparing foods, of going from one place to the other, you have to go shopping, you have long lists of things to do."
And Amy has a few more of her own.
Amy Lapastochel, Migraine Sufferer: "Sweets, perfume, heat, flashing lights, Nitrates, red wine, um, alcohol."
And while you probably can't avoid all holiday stress and triggers, here's some useful advice.
Dr. Lawrence Newman, Headache Specialist: "Go to sleep, wake up at the same time, exercise regularly, make sure you don't skip meals. Don't take on everything yourself. Ask for help. You have family and you have friends who can help you. Have people help you shop. If you're going to the airport make sure you have plenty of time to get there so everything isn't rushed at the last time."
