Sampler Sunday! I’m having a migraine today, and after sipping down my White Thunder (a white mint tea) this morning, I decided to try what my doctor suggested and pair pain medication with caffeine this afternoon. Caffeine has never really affected my migraines one way or the other (it’s not a trigger, and has never really helped with vasoconstriction, either) but he thinks during the attack it could help get my pain medication to respond quicker. I’m having major problems getting triptans, the only real abortive therapy out there for migraines, to do anything for me lately.
So, this freebie teabag of Earl Grey from Lupicia. The dry leaf has a strong citrusy scent that reminds me of grapefruit. I probably steeped it a bit longer than I usually steep black teas, so I expect this to be a bit more astringent/stronger than usual and than I typically prefer, but the idea was to try to get a pretty caffeinated cup. It was a nice reddish-brown color and still strongly citrus in aroma.
Surprisingly, the tea itself is pretty smooth, and even has a bit of a malty aroma beneath the strong citrus of the bergamot. The bergamot in this Earl Grey is pretty strong, and I usually prefer bergamot on the lighter side, but I am not finding this unpleasant. The bergamot has a strong lime note to it, with a touch of a tangy lemon zest. It’s hard to pick out the flavors of the black tea beneath the strong bergamot, but I’m getting a bit of malt and molasses. Overall it’s a fairly nice cup for a plain EG.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Lemon Zest, Lime, Malt, Molasses
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Yeah, my dad would get headaches if he didn’t have his coffee every day for a while there, until he stopped drinking coffee. He would NEVER get headaches otherwise.
My dad is that way too. He always have caffeine every morning at the same time so if he doesn’t the loss of the vasoconstriction effect will give him a headache (since the blood vessels then dilate and that hurts). Once the body adjusts to that, it goes away, hense a “caffeine detox” period. A long time ago I already did the “detox completely off of caffeine” thing, which is actually when I went onto tea (herbals) because I still needed a “warm beverage” in the mornings to ease the transition. After I was “detoxed” for two months (long after the “caffeine headache” period could be a factor) I was told to try caffeine again to see if it was a “trigger” for me. (Since caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, it is one of those foods that can be a migraine trigger for some, or help relieve pain for others, as dilation of blood vessels occurs during attacks). Nope. Did not cause me to get migraines. On the flip side, it didn’t do anything to provide me relief during attacks, either. Essentially, it was just a wash for me. So I was able to reintroduce it in my diet after I’d detoxed off it, and at that point I started trying out caffeinated teas and not just herbals. So I’m not on it as heavily as I was before. I used to drink coffee every morning before the “detox” period, now I have tea instead which is lower in caffeine than coffee, and I don’t necessarily have caffeinated teas on all days (though I usually do have teas with caffeine in the mornings and herbals in the evenings).
Caffeine is weird. It’s sad though, because so many of your notes start with a migraine, so it obviously has a crazy impact on your day (or days). I hope you find something that helps you eventually.
The medication I’m on now (CGRP antagonists, an injectable taken once a month) dropped my migraines from 15 a month to around 7 a month, which was huge. But there is no cure for chronic migraine. Like most chronic pain you just learn to live with it to the best of your ability!
That does sound a little better! That’s good.
Yeah, my dad would get headaches if he didn’t have his coffee every day for a while there, until he stopped drinking coffee. He would NEVER get headaches otherwise.
My dad is that way too. He always have caffeine every morning at the same time so if he doesn’t the loss of the vasoconstriction effect will give him a headache (since the blood vessels then dilate and that hurts). Once the body adjusts to that, it goes away, hense a “caffeine detox” period. A long time ago I already did the “detox completely off of caffeine” thing, which is actually when I went onto tea (herbals) because I still needed a “warm beverage” in the mornings to ease the transition. After I was “detoxed” for two months (long after the “caffeine headache” period could be a factor) I was told to try caffeine again to see if it was a “trigger” for me. (Since caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, it is one of those foods that can be a migraine trigger for some, or help relieve pain for others, as dilation of blood vessels occurs during attacks). Nope. Did not cause me to get migraines. On the flip side, it didn’t do anything to provide me relief during attacks, either. Essentially, it was just a wash for me. So I was able to reintroduce it in my diet after I’d detoxed off it, and at that point I started trying out caffeinated teas and not just herbals. So I’m not on it as heavily as I was before. I used to drink coffee every morning before the “detox” period, now I have tea instead which is lower in caffeine than coffee, and I don’t necessarily have caffeinated teas on all days (though I usually do have teas with caffeine in the mornings and herbals in the evenings).
Caffeine is weird. It’s sad though, because so many of your notes start with a migraine, so it obviously has a crazy impact on your day (or days). I hope you find something that helps you eventually.
The medication I’m on now (CGRP antagonists, an injectable taken once a month) dropped my migraines from 15 a month to around 7 a month, which was huge. But there is no cure for chronic migraine. Like most chronic pain you just learn to live with it to the best of your ability!
That does sound a little better! That’s good.