Greene - Migraine: Part of Something Bigger: How I Banished my Migraines by Hormonal Restoration

Migraine: Part of Something Bigger

How I Banished my Migraines by Hormonal Restoration

Image: The Migraine Domino Effect.

Phoebe Greene

Author of the Bestselling book: LowBody Temperatures but Not Hypothyroid: How I Banished my HealthGremlins & Lost Weight through Thermogenic Foods & BurstTraining

Note : Where applicable, informationwithin this first book will also be found here, but the subject ofmigraines is explored in much greater depth.

Disclaimer: before changing your medication, embarking upon anew regime of exercise or diet, always check with your GP orspecialist first.

Contents

: Anguish of the TypicalMigraineur

: When Migraines are LeastLikely to Occur

: Enter CandidaAlbicans

: A Diet to Support MigraineEradication

: Averting the HerxheimerReaction

: Putting it AllTogether

: Stop the Migraine DominoEffect

: Feverfew andOthers within the Natural Cabinet

: Analgesics, NSAIDs andOthers

: A Guide to the EndocrineSystem

Introduction

HAVINGSUFFERED REGULAR and chronic migraines for most of my adult life, Icame to believe that this debilitating condition forms part ofsomething much bigger, making its definition a bad headachegrossly inaccurate.

After suffering a recent health crisis, where variousgremlins began to sap the quality from my life, I decided toconduct dietary trials which inspired me to write my firstbook, Low Body Temperatures but NotHypothyroid . One of the aims of my researchwas migraine elimination.

Supported by fastidious records which have been posted on myCutTheJunk blog, as well as scholarly articles and respectedwebsites, I discovered a way of reducing the incidence andintensity of my migraines to a point where they now seldom occur. Ibelieve most migraineurs can also do the same.

Inlogical vein, this book begins with the basics about migraines,progressing to an in-depth look at about how abnormal hormonalfunction can trigger migraine attacks and what can be done to putthis right.

Findalso a guide to the traditional treatment for migraines, a crashcourse on the endocrine system and an anti-migraine dietsummary.

Withillustrations, photos and a few surprises along the way.

Chapter 1: Anguish of theTypical Migraineur

MIGRAINEFORMS ONE OF THE MOST horrible aspects to my health gremlins, whichinspired me to conduct dietary trials, keep a blog and write myfirst book. This, my second book, concentrates solely upon thematter of this debilitating condition.

Whenresearching into the possible causes of my migraines, I came tobelieve it involved the entire body, not just the head. With thisapproach, I discovered a way of reducing the incidence andintensity of my migraines over several months without the use ofdrugs.

Inlogical vein, this book begins at the beginning with my migrainestory and the basics about migraines.

Theremainder of this book looks at the bigger picture, viewing themigraine only as the end product to a long process. Only aftermaking drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle was I able to stallmy migraines for good.

The aimof this book is to share with you what I have learned so that othersufferers can do the same.

So, fromthe beginning...

Isuffered my first migraine in my early twenties when a few hours ofnausea and dizziness hampered my work day. Having never suffered amigraine before, I didnt understand what the sensation was. Theattacks soon closed in on my life, visiting every month for yearson end, and at one point, twice every month.

A drythroat, fatigue, dizziness and occasional aura would lead to thesensation my right eyeball was being impaled by a bolt. Nausea, aghastly pallor, fever and dizziness would often accompany. Themigraine attack would drag on for 3 days, worsening atnight.

After awhile, I noticed my migraines followed 2 patterns:

Theymight occur regularly at a particular time of the month, oftenbefore a period and sometimes during ovulation; the so-calledmenstrual migraine.

Or theymight occur at weekends after a hectic week or at the start ofholidays; the so-called Saturday migraine or holiday migraine.This stress-removal type of migraine, I have learned, is causedby frazzled adrenal glands, and so I have termed it the adrenalmigraine. The mechanics of the adrenal migraine will be explainedlater in this book.

Sincemigraines had become a regular occurrence in my life, I havelearned that they fall into two basic categories.

The Common Migraine

The first type, the common migraine, sounds rather mundane andfails to grasp the torment of the sensation no one can understandunless the symptoms have been endured. The term simply describesmigraine without the aura (which is a sensory disturbance, usuallyvisual, as explained in a moment). The common migraine occurs in 70 90% of all migraine sufferers ( the Migraine Trust ). With thestatistic that 1 in 7 people suffer migraines overall means thiscondition has a devastating effect upon the overall population. Ofthis figure, 3 women out of every 1 man suffers and furthermore, ismost common between the ages of 15 and 55, although children andolder people do suffer migraines.

Therarer migraine with aura or classical migraine occurs withspecial effects, which I have experienced per ten migraines or so.More often than not, the typical migraine would follow the patternof:

The prodrome phase , the precursor,which occurs in 60% of migraine sufferers. Such signs includeyawning, dry mouth, tiredness, aura, fuzzy head or a funny taste inthe mouth. Depression, anxiety and irritability often descends, aswith me. In fact, there seems an inextricable link betweenmigraines and depression.

The pain which comes on swiftly afterthe prodrome. This often occurs bilaterally in the skull, perhapsover one eye, temple, forehead or cheek. The neck, shoulder andeven the ear can be involved. A drilling sensation, throbbing or anunbearable pressure seems to build within the head, aggravated bysudden motion or bending downwards. The attack lasts from a fewhours up to 3 days.

And lastly the postdrome phase whichcan last up to a few days after the migraine has passed. Somesufferers feel tired, jelly-like, drained, depressed or cant thinkstraight. But others (as I do) feel euphoric, clear.

Other symptoms of migraine that oftenaccompany are nausea, photophobia (aversion to light) aversion tosound, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, stomach cramps, fever,shivering, food cravings, exhaustion and overwatering of theeyes.

Visual disturbances typical of the aura of amigraine.

The Classical Migraine

Therarer migraine is known as the classical migraine, or migrainewith aura. The aura can be any number of things, but is most oftenvisual disturbances such as zigzags, flashing or blind-spots thatdrift slowly across the visual field and move with theeyeball.

Visual disturbances are known as ocular migraines and can take manyshapes and colours. Although the experience can be unnerving, itoften turns out to be far from the horrors of the pain itself. Theaura can form part of the prodrome, occur during the pain orwithout any pain at all the so-called silent migraine .

The auraof the non-visual type might comprise funny smells, tastes in themouth or other bizarre sensory experiences. The type that affectsmotor neuron function are quite rare and do not fit the typicalmigraine that this book deals with. These fall under two furthersubcategories that describe migraine with aura.