Mother Nature is giving me a migraine

If you suffer from migraines you may have noticed that the frequency of attacks has increased this past year. But before you run to your neurologist in panic let me remind you that weather-related phenomena can cause a throbbing headache.Rapid changes in barometric pressure can change the charge concentration in the air and in turn flood the brain with serotonin which can cause head pain. The lightning from a thunderstorm may also cause a migraine. Actually it is 28% more likely that you will suffer a migraine during lighting.I think we can all agree that Mother Nature is having an angry fit this year across the Glob and those of us who suffer from migraines are keenly aware of her moods.

Other triggers for migraines include:
Emotional stress (good or bad stress)
Changes in schedule (weekends is often the time for an attack)
Traveling (especially airplanes)
Hormonal changes
Certain groups of food
Hunger (don't skip meals)
Strong smells like certain perfumes
Flashing lights
Noise and loud sounds

Depression makes us Bitter

No, really I mean it literally. A study published In May in the Annals of Family Medicine showed that in people with diabetes depression increases the risk of serious hypoglycemia by 40%. Hypoglycemia (dramatic drop in blood sugar) is a serious condition that sends a lot of people to the ER and can be fatal.

It is also the case that Depression is often (not always) accompanying diabetes. People with diabetes often take drugs that at this point work very well, sometimes too well in that they drop sugar levels too low. This being the case, depression can lower these levels even more sending the patient into a hypoglycemic episode. The lead researcher of the study, psychiatrist Wayne Katon, cautions people with diabetes to pay attention to symptoms of depression and seek treatment for it.   

Of course it is my strong opinion that there is no physical condition that if not caused by depression is not exacerbated by it. As I said in a previous blog, the tears the eyes will not shed the body will weep.