Natural Migraine Approach

My Migraine History

I have had migraine headaches for 40 years.  I recall having them for the first time after our daughter was born.  Coincidence? I doubt it.

I have changed jobs because of headaches, we sold a business because of frequent massive headaches.  Migraines for me involved laying perfectly still in dark, silent room trying not to vomit.  We have been driving and had to stop while I dealt with enough medication to keep me from vomiting.  Migraines with the aura, migraines that slammed me so hard I was out for a couple of days.

Medical Intervention

I have used preventive medications which had me so spaced out I don’t recall much about a few years of our children’s lives.  I refused to continue on one preventative medication after I’d gained so much weight and was absolutely miserable.  I’ve been on a different prescription where I lost weight.

I was sent to a psychiatrist to help balance brain chemistry.  All he kept telling me was that what I was experiencing was something from my childhood.  I cried for an hour until our time was up and never returned.

I am really good at biofeedback practice and lowering my breathing and focusing to try to ward off headaches.  I had therapy to learn how to cope.

I have been to a headache clinic where I was hospitalized for a week and was told “You’ll never have headaches like that again.”  The intern did not understand what it was like to put your life on hold, hate the pain, and not be able to function.  I threatened to slap her if she didn’t leave my room because she was sure I was cured and could not answer the question about what I would do when I did have the next headache.  Her response was I would not need medication again to thwart a migraine.  She’d never had a headache.  Her supervising physician, my neurologist, told me that sometimes the interns need to learn how to be compassionate.  Really, did I have to teach her?

I’ve had the discussion with the doctors about implanting a device that helps with chronic headaches.

I’ve spent hours in the ER receiving shots and been admitted to the hospital for migraines.

I’ve had CT scans to rule out tumors.

Empathy

It’s really hard on your family to watch you throw up, have to miss events, and be wiped out constantly.  It’s tough to have them watch you take medicine after medicine hoping for an improvement.

The other thing I have really struggled with over these years is when folks say “I have such a migraine.”  My sympathies often go out the window when they are complaining of a massive migraine and yet completely functional.  I really have had to bite my tongue and leave rooms not to “go off” on them.  I understand all headaches are painful, I just have little tolerance for those who do not educate themselves about their own health and headaches.

I would urge everyone to look at the headache chart put together by the National Headache Foundation.  There are very good explanations about headaches of all types there.

I cringed every time my daughter described having a headache.  Yes, there can be a hereditary component.

The Value of Headache Diaries

Over the years I learned to keep track of what I was doing, eating, weather, etc. just prior to a headache.  I also kept track of where the pain was, how long it lasted, and whether it was a massive migraine with the light, motion and sound sensitivity, and vomiting, or something less.  It’s a lot of work and time consuming.  I wasn’t always faithful, but over the years I gained a pretty good idea of what set things off.

What I’ve learned is no one has as much to gain as you from keeping track of life before headaches.  No one really understands the frequency, the pain, or really takes the time for you to explain everything.  They don’t have time or really just want to push a pill, or shot, or patch, on you.

You are the only one who can truly get to the root cause, notice patterns, and educate doctors and caregivers.

I began to notice trends:  windy days, massive temperature changes, hormonal spikes, certain places, foods.

My Journey to Natural Headache Relief

Over the years I have been very active in our community.   I was deeply involved in organizing a day care at our church, I co-chaired a huge community celebration, we ran our own business.  I had two children, a husband, pets and a household to hold down.  I’d participated in fitness classes twice a week for years.  I had migraines and was bouncing between preventative migraine meds and medication for the headaches themselves and something else for the nausea/vomiting.

One evening I missed a committee meeting because of a massive migraine.  When a friend called to ask about why I had missed the meeting, I let her know I’d planned to attend, yet had picked up the mail which contained a fragranced sample.  I attributed that to the resulting migraine, vomiting, and seclusion.

She told me about a friend of hers who also suffered with fragranced things and had found a doctor who truly helped her.  She hooked us up and I had the most interesting conversation which truly started my journey to far fewer headaches.

I hadn’t really thought about scents being a big cause for my migraines.  Yet one of the last times I’d been hospitalized had been during the Christmas season.  We had a real tree and I loved the cinnamon pine cone potpourri.

Drastic Measures

The friend described having similar reactions to fragranced samples in magazines.  She went on to suggest I take all fragranced items out of our house.  All cleaners, potpourri, candles, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, fragranced deodorants, lotions, soaps, and perfumes were packed up in garbage bags tightly sealed and taken to a garage.  She suggested ending magazine subscriptions so nothing scented would inadvertently come into our home.

To pack up all those things we’d paid good money for seemed a bit daunting as well as the thought of learning what to use instead.  I was overwhelmed.  I will be honest, I saved a very special perfume that I’d always hoped to be able to use again and just got rid of it a couple of months ago.  You see, the purge took place 21 years ago.  It’s very, very hard to give up all those things.  The emotional toll was rough.  Imagine your home without your special potpourri or candles at Christmas, imagine telling your children their deodorant has to be unscented and they can’t wear scented lotion or soaps or cologne.  As I write about all these changes now I can still recall the looks from our teenaged children.  I still recall the overwhelming sense of loss we all felt.

Natural Alternatives

I had to learn to clean with no chemicals.  Remember this was 21 years ago, when Seventh Generation dish soap was extremely hard to find.  Trying to find unscented laundry detergent was impossible.  I used washing soda for years for the laundry.  We went to Indian grocery stores to find pure olive oil body soaps with no fragrance.  I still miss the cleaning capability of Soft Scrub with Bleach.   I’ve learned to use Bar Keeper’s Friend, vinegar for windows, I’ve dusted and polished wood furniture with a mayo/milk blend.  Today, we are so fortunate to have so many unscented cleaning, laundry, and personal care items available.  Back then, it wasn’t so easy.

I’ve tried so many natural alternative products over the years, I can truly attest to what is and isn’t safe for me.  That’s a key too, many things that set me off aren’t a problem for others.  We are all uniquely made.  Migraines are a part of my life and yet, not as big of a part as they once were.

Extreme Changes Required

Since the purge, I’ve learned so very much.  I know the cleaning/laundry aisles at the grocery store are not good for me.  I’ve learned to avoid the bicycles and tires at stores.  Rubber scent is huge trigger for me.  I feel weak in the knees if I spend any time near cedar chip bedding or bird feeders.  I know water coming into our homes can be filled with chemicals and need to be filtered before bathing and drinking.  I actually know the water tastes “fuzzy” if it isn’t properly filtered.  I drank distilled for years, yet learned that isn’t always best for our bones.

I know newspapers, books, and libraries aren’t always my friend.  The formaldehyde used in printed material as well as ink, isn’t good for me.  I get a shaky feeling inside around new books.  I can read the paper if it’s been all opened up and aired out, usually a day late.  I still don’t read ads, the color processed glossy prints are terrible triggers.

I am very thankful we do not live in town.  Folks using dryer sheets or laundry detergents, spraying lawns, or burning things are instant triggers for migraines or itching.  I am thankful we have an organic lawn and I don’t have to feel like I’m being bitten just being outside.  I’ve had to leave ballgames, track meets, and curtail festivals because of the reactions.

I time visits to stores and restaurants and hope I don’t have to visit public restrooms.  I’ve changed clothes in the car, I’ve been incontinent because of new floor wax.  I have been unable to drive or find my car after shopping.  I’ve blurted out things to folks in public places I would never ordinarily say, because of exposures.  I don’t drive places alone without a phone or someone knowing where I will be.  I don’t go to new places alone, unless someone is available an on-call in case I have trouble.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)

All these things have been a part of my life for years.  We have all adjusted because there is no real alternative.  I am so much better because we have learned to manage the triggers.  Not only the migraine triggers, but the MCS triggers.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity was the diagnosis by one very special doctor I was encouraged to see after that chat with my friend’s friend.  Dr. George Kroker, and the staff at Allergy Associates of LaCrosse, had me in tears on our first visit.  You see I’d been told so many things–I wouldn’t have more headaches, it was all in my head, the weight was inevitable with the prevention meds.  I was miserable until that day when the I’d explained my response to books and magazines and the staff told me “Oh we hear that all the time.”  I cried.  To finally not think I was losing it or crazy was a huge relief.

Dr. Kroker and his team taught me to manage my cup.  Food allergies and sensitivities were treated and I avoid a lot.  But managing the allergic load to foods, pollens, pets, molds, my cup was reduced to only half-full.  I was not constantly overflowing my toxic cup; therefore, when I am exposed to things that normally triggered migraines or reactions, the headaches and reactions are more manageable.

I have felt overwhelmed with emotions of loss and depression for a life that was more “normal”.   Although as I look back on my childhood, teens and early married life, I know I struggled filling up my toxic cup for years.  It just took a long time to push me over the edge.

What to Try

I now use a magnesium supplement daily   I go into biofeedback mode when I feel an aura or headache coming on.  I regularly have chiropractic and acupuncture treatments and I use CBD oil.   I sleep on a regular schedule every day.  I also try to eliminate all those things that I know I’m sensitive to.  I would urge you to see a allergist and learn what you are allergic to.  I had no clue and it made a huge difference in my toxic cup.  You may also look at some of the newer home sensitivity tests that have been popping up recently.  I also eat very, very little sugar.  All these things are good for me.

Alternative Medicine

So now as I look at products, places, venues, clothes, foods, travel, and life, I am far more open minded to holistic, natural approaches to living well.  My venture into alternative medicine arenas has been fueled by the fact that I am so sensitive to so many things.  I know pills are not always the answer.  Did surgery push me over the toxic cup limit and bring about years of suffering and enduring?

Do alternatives like acupuncture, chiropractic care, naturopathic physicians, integrative medicine physicians, energy healers and plant-based nutrition and food as medicine have a place in your life?  I always go into problems now thinking to myself “But Is It Good For Me?”  I hope to encourage others to ask that question in others’ lives.  Were those years of medications good for me?  No.  Did I think I had a choice?  No.  I encourage you to look for alternatives, think about your toxic cup and that of your children, and make good choices for you.