Migraines and Salt Intake

Many people do not realize the effects that salt has on their bodies. After I had my heart attacks in October of 2009, I had to go on a low salt diet, as do all heart patients. Within months, I realized that the migraines that plagued me since I was five years old were suddenly gone.

Migraines had affected me since I was a child. These migraines occurred at least three times a month and sometimes they landed me in the hospital. When I was about thirty-five, I learned that processed foods made these headaches worse so I cut back on those foods.

For instance, I cut back to two hot dogs at a cook out and I had a slight headache not that raging one I had when I ate three. In the summer time at cookouts, I would eat three grilled hotdogs but I rarely ate them other times in the year. I did eat a lot of cheese and sandwich meat because it was cheap, as a single mom, I pinched pennies.

After the heart attacks, I began reading labels to make sure I was staying on the low salt diet. Cold cuts, hotdogs, sausage, and cheese went off my diet for the most part, because they were high in sodium. The benefit for me was lower blood pressure and the migraines virtually disappeared. I have had a few since then but they are very rare and always occur after I splurge on sodium-laden foods.
Occasionally when I will eat too much salt, the migraines come back because the blood pressure goes up. I can feel it. Most of us do not realize the effects that our food intake does to our bodies.

Unfortunately, after some people have heart attacks they still did not limit the salt and their blood pressure remains high. Therefore, they have recurring heart attacks. I am very careful about what I put in my body. I am anal about salt intake because I am scared to death to have another heart attack.

I am very careful when I go out to a restaurant. I order baked chicken or a chef salad, but the heavily seasoned items are off my list of eatable foods. Instead of the beer battered Haddock I love, I opt for baked fish which is lightly seasoned and not breaded. I choose a baked potato instead of the French fries, which are usually salted before they come from the kitchen.

For picnics or parties where there is a wide array of food, I will always go for the plain looking foods. I also make a low salt dish to pass so that I know at least there is one thing I can eat. Being on a low salt diet does not mean I have to eat bland food or go hungry. It simple means I need to make better choices and if this means I get the added bonus of the rare migraine it is a great choice.

Breast Self Exams Are Critical to Your Health

Performing self breast exams should begin when a woman is in her twenties according to the Cancer.org website. Early detection could save your life, that's why it is so important for all women to check their breast on a monthly basis beginning at age 20. This allows you to become familiar with your breast and make it easier for you do detect changes if there are any.

There are 3 ways to do a self breast exam looking in the mirror, while showering, and of course laying flat on your back and feeling the breast. The WebMD site explains why you need to perform all of these ways of examining the breasts. Simply the breasts look and feel different in different positions.

In the mirror: Look
Stand in front of a mirror topless in a well lit room.
Examine your breasts visually, first with arms at your sides. Next place your hands firmly on your hips and tighten your chest muscles. Then bend forward in the mirror allowing your breasts to fall. Now place your heads behind your head and check your nipples from side to side. Also look at the undersides of your breast, lifting them if necessary.

In the shower: Feel
Check armpits are breasts for any lumps or thickenings. Examine your chest area from bra line to collarbone. Raise one arm over your head and use the other hand to examine the opposite breast. Use an up and down motion from bra line to collarbone and repeat on the other side.

Lying down: Feel in a circle
Lie down and place one arm behind your back and use the other hand to examine the other breast using a circular motion. Start at 12 o'clock and move toward 1 o'clock in small circular motions.

Continue around the entire circle until you reach 12 o'clock again. Keep your fingers flat and in constant contact with your breast. When the circle is complete, move in one inch toward the nipple and complete another circle around the clock. Feel the entire breast. Make sure to feel the upper outer areas that extend into your armpit for any lumps or thickenings. Also push gently on your nipple, it should easily be moved.

It's recommended to do a self breast exam monthly, usually a few days after your period or the first of the month if you no longer menstruate. Remember to report any changes to your doctor as soon as possible. Not all lumps are cancer but early detection is crucial if it is. You can sign up for free email reminders of when to do your monthly exams at the Bright Pink website.

Recovery Mode

Recovery from a heart attack is easier than it sounds. Diet, exercise, medication, and of course talking about our experience are mandatory for the full recovery of a heart attack. This is how I recovered.

Diet

Heart patients are often put on a low salt diet; some are put on a low cholesterol and low fat diet as well. I got the low salt and low fat diet and my first reaction was how am I going to live without my potato chips? I eat chips with less salt on them but I limit myself to the recommend serving these days and when I try to eat the brand of chips I used to eat, they are way to salty.

It was only the first few days on the low salt diet, that I thought food was bland. Never been a big fan of prepared foods anyway it was easy to get away from them, and trust me the sodium level is high in many of those items. I cook from scratch most of the time and I do not add salt.

Mrs. Dash has several great brands of seasoning mixes so I sprinkle some on skinless chicken breast or a small piece of pork with no fat on it. Gone are packaged seasoning mixes and those mixes you put on chicken or pork. The sodium level is huge per serving.

Sea salt, which is often recommended for heart patients, is tasty but the sodium levels are equal to regular salt. Compare labels side-by-side next time you visit a store and you will see this.

Fried foods were also something I was never a huge fan of, but I did love fish fry. Now the comfort food is off limits to me the way I love it, so I chose not to eat it. Instead, I make fish at home and it does not sit in oil.

Exercise

I admit before my heart attacks I thought very little about exercise. I took the elevator because it was easier. I did not take the time a few days a week to walk out around town. Instead, I sat for hours writing which is my work, and only getting up to take a bathroom break. I would walk to grab something from the convenience store.

Housework occurred as needed but laundry occurred once a week or the kids did it. My washer is in the cellar and well it was a pain in the butt climbing the steps daily.

Laundry occurs a few times a week now days but I do the bulk of it. Sometimes I will leave baskets of clean clothes and have the kids bring them up. I now make sure I only sit for an hour and then get up for some exercise.

When the weather is nice, I walk to work or around the town. I love to walk over to the river, sit on the benches, and think.

I do what I can, if I get tired out I rest. Right after my heart attacks family were scared to let me do things.

MY advice for family members and friends: Do not baby a heart attack survivor; allow us to do what we can. Trust me we will not over do it soon after an attack because the pain is too fresh in our minds.

Medication

Simple, if your doctor prescribes it, take it. After my heart attacks, the doctor prescribed me a blood pressure pill, a pill to lower my cholesterol and an aspirin a day. The blood pressure pill kicked my butt, I'd take it and be asleep with an hour, or so which really limited my production. However, as time wore on my body adjusted to the medication and I was fine.

Counseling and Support

I so wish there was a Heart Attack Recovery support group as there as for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. I would proudly stand up and say 'My name is Amy and I am a survivor'. The best I can do is talk to people who have experienced a MI (Myocardial Infarction) as I did.

For only survivors such as my boyfriend Jay and my brother in law Willie know what I have been through. They understand the pain, the fear and the anger of it all, where most people cannot begin to understand.

Talking out the feelings you have concerning the heart attacks is great as it helps to relieve the stress and apprehension associated with it. It's through talking with other survivors that we begin to realize we are not alone. We also realize through talking with others just how family, friends, and others treat us once we have a heart attack.