This fascinating article is about a first-hand account from a brave woman who has suffered from migraine headaches for a huge part of her life. Her description of her suffering is horrifying! Fortunately, she seems to have found an answer. I know you join me in sincerely praying that this awful chapter of her life is over!
I have suffered with migraines for almost half my life … I am a baby-boomer. You see, migraines robbed me of life for three days at a time and included a headache with throbbing pain and sensitivity to light, which lead to dry heaves and all I could do was wait it out since the pain was so severe that I could not keep any medication in my stomach for more than 20-30 minutes. For the first two years of having migraines, I was treated as if I was a “nut case” and it was all in my head, which of course, was true. My head was the problem but not in the same way the medical community treated me. I finally found a medicine that worked for me in 2004 and was temporarily relieved after many years of pain robbing my life. I was concerned when I refilled the prescription because I received the same medication except this one was fast dissolving. It no longer worked.
This is a debilitating disease that affects so much of the population; I can’t imagine pharmaceutical companies should be allowed to change the drug when there is suppose to be a patented on it.
Unfortunately, that put me right back where I began, again.
I have never liked to take pills (even vitamins) but specifically, medication for any reason. This put me on a quest to find an alternative. I wanted to try to cure the migraines instead of waiting for one to come on to take medication for it. Being at the mercy of time was not comforting.
I tried a chiropractor which helped me live a normal life many years ago but was in another state 1600 miles away. Finding another chiropractor that did the same type of therapy was nearly impossible in the new state where I lived. When I decided to go to a chiropractor anyway, I found that every time I got an adjustment, I got a migraine within 2-12 hours.
During this time, the chiropractic industry changed from doing adjustments to using a tool (I call a clicker) to put more pressure on a particular area, much like acupressure. I failed to respond to the therapy after three weeks. In fact I got worse. I had to once again wait it out and suffer in silence.
This square I kept returning to was looking very familiar. I have always believed that the body can heal itself if you give it the right things. I didn’t know what those things were for me and kept reliving this nightmare over and over again. So, my next approach was more of a holistic approach and someone that I talked to extensively and thoroughly trusted to always do the RIGHT thing for me.
I had already eliminated all the things that I had read may trigger migraines out of my diet for nearly six years with little results. I had also tracked my migraine episodes and there seemed to be no pattern to them. They seem to come on randomly except for weather changes. Living in Colorado, the weather changes can come on suddenly but the migraines started when I lived in Arizona, and I didn’t have them for almost a year after I moved to Colorado, so of course during that time, I thought I was cured for good.
I wasn’t. It was kind of like cancer that goes into remission. You are always afraid it will return. The migraines did return.
I tried acupuncture for nearly a year and found some relief that was temporary. I tried cupping and I will admit that it helped my body but I had no relief for my head.
I finally tried bio-identical hormones and found relief. Now, before you go out and try this therapy, know that it too was temporary although having a migraine is rarer than ever for me, the bio-identical hormone therapy went away within 4 months. I am no longer part of the therapy but I do use cream that provides estriol, not estradiol, progesterone or testosterone. I no longer have hot flashes with just the estriol cream and whether it is because of my age, starting my own business, or just plain hormone changes, I am now enjoying a life free from debilitating migraines. I still get headaches, but not migraines.
For those still suffering, it will be up to you to find a cure. Doctor’s rarely help and specialists try their best. I found most doctors want to give you a pill and send you on your way. That is not what I call caring for my needs. You have to decide for yourself, what can help you kick the pain to the curb.
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