From Chronic Migraineur to NYC Marathoner
Last updated: October 2020
My migraine story starts off like so many others. My first migraine came out of nowhere at the age of 17 with no obvious trigger preceding it. I spent the next 14 years in and out of doctors offices, physical therapy clinics, and emergency rooms. I searched desperately for answers and tried dozens of medications and alternative therapies.
Yet I struggled to find long-term relief. The best I could hope for was that my abortive medications (usually a cocktail of Excedrin Migraine and Imitrex Nasal Spray) were going to subdue the migraine enough that I fake my way through the rest of the day. I thought this strategy worked well until one day I hit a wall.
That wall, which occurred in 2014, came in the form of a 6-month stretch of non-stop migraines, for which no medication could interrupt. I basically stuck in an endless loop between long days locked in a dark room to trips to the ER. I was miserable and desperate for answers. I could barely work, yet I also couldn't do the things I loved, like make plans to meet up with friends or exercise. I had recently become an avid runner and I longed to lace up my sneakers and go for a run through the park near my house.
I went back to the drawing board and tried seeing new doctors. But when two popular medications caused horrible side-effects (weight gain and significant hair loss), I decided I was done medicating my symptoms. I knew at that I had to find a natural way to remedy the true cause of my migraines. And that's exactly what I did...
I decided to work with a nutritionist, who put me on an allergy-elimination diet. I thought it was a long-shot since I considered myself to be a pretty healthy eater, but I was glad to try something new. I know it will sound too good to be true, but I swear, after 2.5 months on this diet, my chronic migraines simply stopped! It was the closest thing to magic I had ever experienced.
I knew at that moment, with my newfound freedom, that I had to do something big to celebrate. So I decided to sign up for the NYC Marathon, which was an amazing race that I always wanted to run. The fact that for months, I couldn't get up and walk outside for a mere 10 minutes without getting a migraine made the goal of training 6 months in the summer heat to run 26.2 miles a little crazy. But I'm so thrilled to say that on Nov, 1st 2015, I ran the marathon and was completely migraine-free! It was one of my proudest moments.
After that experience, I thought about how migraines had severly limited my life and potential for so many years and how tragic it was that so many people suffer as I did but never get relief. So I decided in that moment that I had to make another big shift: I decided to become a migraine health coach to help migraine sufferers heal through food and lifestyle changes.
I wouldn't wish anyone to go through the pain I went through. But I am so thankful that I can use all the knowledge that I've accumulated over the years to help others find some relief.

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