How I Found the Root Cause of My Migraines
I've had migraines for about 20 years now (I’m 46 now), and just learned over time to live with them. I’ve researched all the ways to help like eating healthy, not overstimulating yourself, reducing stress, etc. but nothing would help. The funny thing is after enduring something for so long you get used to it.
Migraine family history
My mom's side of the family has a history of migraines, so I was told that my two options were to either get on prescription meds or just deal with the pain. My aunt had taken Topamax for a while, and I saw first-hand how awful the side effects were- she basically became a zombie. I decided I would never go down that route, and instead just learned to live with it.
Then, a friend bought me the book Mastering Migraine written by Dr. Adam Harcourt. It was all good info that I agreed with and helped me to understand what the root cause of migraines were. There are four main factors and they are hormonal, nutritional, musculoskeletal, and neurological. The theory is that everyone has different weighted factors, and I believe this to be so true. Everyone’s migraines are different and unique, and one single cure or answer does not exist.
I decided to reach out to Dr. Harcourt to learn more about his program. This is when the slight hope of living a pain-free life settled in, which was enough. After failing my whole life to come up with a solution other than the route of medication or botox, I decided to give it a shot.
My mastering migraine journey
The whole process took me 6 months, and it was not straightforward. I found out so many things that I would've never realized. I discovered what my food triggers are. They revealed that my hormones were off balance and corrected them with natural hormone supplements instead of hormone replacements. My atlas (a small bone at the top of your neck) was misaligned too, which contributed to my headaches. I endured intensive neurological exercises everyday that really fatigued my brain, but it was all worth it.
There were definitely some ups and downs. Some of the neuro-rehab triggered a huge flare-up. After seeing some progress thus far, the flare-up was a huge set back for me. But the doctors and kind staff reassured me that the path to healing is not a straight line. It goes every which way and sometimes you have to endure the worst before you can get better.
Now, I can gratefully say that I’ve been 45 days (and counting) migraine-free (used to get the 2-3 times a week)! I still can’t believe that I am where I am today. Fixing the root cause of my migraines this way helped me to realize how strong I am.
I now feel like I’m in control of my migraines rather than letting migraines control my life.
I’m here to tell the world that there are other options besides going the route of meds with awful side effects or botox or other injections. Looking at multiple factors and findings the root cause of the symptoms should be the way that ALL doctors treat chronic pain or any medical issue for that matter. You are more powerful than you think.
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