Migraine Miracles

Hello All My Beautiful Fellow Humans!

So, this is a super exciting newsletter/blog for me to FINALLY be able to write…

I have had only 12 migraines (and 4 tension headaches that were bad enough to need to treat with ½ Vicodin) in the last 83 DAYS!! Wow!! For those of you that don’t know my migraine history, this may not sound so wonderful, but for those of you who know that I have had a migraine every day for the last 6 or 7 years and at least 15-20 migraines a month for the 7 or so years before that: THIS IS SPECTACULAR NEWS!

I’m going to break this article down into 3 sections. The first will simply be what I have been doing recently that seems to be making the difference. The second will be a more detailed history of my migraines and those injuries, illnesses, traumas and emotional issues that likely played/ play a part in my particular migraine “puzzle,” and the final will be a comprehensive list of all of the therapies and treatments that I have tried in the last 14 years. I will include any benefits I received while engaging in those therapies as well. I want to organize it this way so that it is incredibly user friendly. If you suffer from migraines and you haven’t found relief you can simply read the first section and get started on seeing if it works for you. If you have less than stellar success (which mine has truly been stellar) then you can read further and see if there are other pieces of my migraine puzzle that intersect with your migraine puzzle and might give you additional information on things you could try.

I want to be very deliberate in saying that I am in no way claiming that this is going to work for everyone. It isn’t that I don’t hope that it will work for everyone, I absolutely do. I simply don’t want to be as arrogant as many have been toward me in the last 14 years when they have said thing to me like: “All you have to do it is ________. I haven’t had a migraine since I ________. (Fill in the blank. I’m sure you have heard this as many times as I have.)

I have had a theory about my migraines for a while. I have always felt that there are myriad aspects to my migraines that I often refer to as “pieces of the puzzle.” I have been putting this puzzle back together for years, and I have intuitively felt that as soon as I put the final pieces into place, the migraines would go away. And, it would appear, that I have finally placed the final pieces into that puzzle. That being said, I’m 100% certain that everyone’s personal migraine puzzle has a different number of pieces and different sized, shaped and colored pieces. My puzzle is probably a 50 piece jig saw puzzle. It has some areas that fall together easily because of the great contrast in color and design in those sections, and then it has the section of the puzzle that is all the same color, shape and texture. You know; that part of the puzzle that, even looking at each piece for minute details and differences, simply all looks the same! And that is always the last part of the puzzle to fall into place.

As you read what I am doing now, and what is finally helping me get well, it might be beneficial to acknowledge that these are some of the most critical pieces of MY puzzle. They may or may not be the most critical pieces of YOUR puzzle. It could be that something I did previously will be the most beneficial piece for you. So, as you read, be really intuitive and let yourself notice if something really rings true for you. Our body and our mind register “our truth” in different ways. For example, when you read something that resonates with you deeply, those particular words may keep reverberating through your head, you may get butterflies in your stomach, you may feel warm and fuzzy, or your own experiences may come rushing into your consciousness (or into your body) as you read those words. So pay attention as you read.

​Part One: What I’m Doing Now (From the most recent therapy moving backward chronologically)

I. Juice once a day: 5 red radishes, ½ medium red russet potato, 2-3 carrots. Make sure to stir well before drinking. The starch likes to settle on the bottom.

Start here. It’s cheap and easy. You don’t have to do anything else. Just try this and see what happens. You can also vary the type of radish and potato. Just stick with about that quantity. Marya Gendron, the woman I learned it from, had results without doing anything else. (I have no way of knowing if that would have been the case for me since I had already started the second therapy I will talk about a couple of weeks before the juicing.) Here is the link to her website: www.simplywell.info

I had been drinking the juice for three days when I had my first migraine free day. Since that first migraine free day I have only had 12 migraines in the last 83 days!! Also, since then the migraines that I have had have been much more traditional. I am consistently getting a classic migraine on day 2 of my menstrual cycle and then a few migraines that seem to stem from muscular tension and/or intense emotional stress. These also appear to cluster around menstruation.

Why it works? In Eastern medicine there is thought to be a strong link between the gut and headaches/ migraines. It would appear that the healing benefits to the large intestine, of something called “resistant starch,” also help to relieve the “digestive” aspect of migraines. As the name implies, this is a kind of starch that resists digestion in the stomach and the small intestine; so it arrives intact in the large intestine (colon) and is then used as food by the good bacteria in the LI. Thereby creating a more abundant and healthier good bacteria population. *This is super simplified. Please google resistant starch if you want more info. Or check out Marya Gendron's Simplywell Migrane Protocol. There are a lot of other potential health benefits. Especially for those of you who struggle with digestive issues specifically, and I suspect it could be profoundly beneficial for celiac disease and those with severe food sensitivities.

Side effects: Gas and bloating. Marya said she had 2 days of gas and bloating after about a month of juicing. I had it from day 2 to day 5 and also for about 2 days a month in. I had an increased appetite initially. I would encourage you not to worry if that is something you wouldn’t want to have as a side effect. From what I have read about resistant starch, it generally makes you feel more easily satiated. It probably has the opposite effect on me because my appetite tends to be underactive in the winter, so it is simply trying to put me into balance.

II.Rolfing: Do the Rolfing “Ten Series”

In Rolfing there is something called the 10 series. It is a series of approximately 10 sessions that are supposed to get you back to at least a good starting point in your own body (when I say body I include all of the etheric bodies as well.) This has been radically life altering therapy for me, even without the benefit of becoming migraine free. It is a lot more expensive than the juicing, AND it is truly one of the very best $1000 investments I have ever made. (That is approximately how much you will spend for the 10 series. Those of you in northern Colorado will spend a bit more.)

More than a decade ago my neurologist told me “Rolfers have better success than neurologist in helping people with migraines.” And he handed me the card of a Rolfer. I don’t remember why I never went to that specific Rolfer, but in the following decade I did go to a couple of different Rolfers and found that I felt nothing from the couple of sessions I went to with each practitioner. Neither of those practitioners said anything about the 10 series. You really should feel something during and after each session (and I don’t mean physical pain). Be picky! Interview the practitioner and have them explain to you their approach to Rolfing. (It is also referred to as Structural Integration.) It may take a few days or up to a week or two to feel the full effects of any given session. Take note of what is happening for you physically, mentally and emotionally during and after a session. If you are doing that honestly and you really don’t feel any changes, go to a different practitioner.

I immediately started feeling major shifts in my system back in November when I started the 10 series with a truly qualified practitioner. Most of the shifts that I initially felt were in my physical body. I could really feel the pain patterns that I carried, and I could feel when they were being pushed out or moved along the path. Because of my current gypsy life style I was not able to complete the series with that person. In my next location I found someone else and asked them to complete the series with me. They had a different training and felt it would be most beneficial to repeat the 7th session again, so by the time I was leaving that locale I was through the 8th session (according to that practitioner). Then, I found myself fairly close to a School of Structural Integration so I thought “Who better to finish the 10 series with than a master of Rolfing who also teaches it to others?” After our initial conversation and the practitioner’s initial evaluation, it was suggested that I really needed to start the 10 series over. So that is what I did. The shifts that I have felt working with this practitioner have been much more holistic and much deeper than the musculoskeletal system. Most of it has been very intimately connected with my nervous system and some very deeply held traumas that I have worked through on so many levels yet had simply been unable to release from my physical body and my energy field. After the first session I started to be able to sleep better and my migraines softened just slightly. The day of the second session was the same day as the 3rd day of juicing. I have already described my migraine relief since that day above.

III.Dump whatever emotional baggage you still carry with you (from present, prenatal or past lives)

I have used a ton of different modalities and approaches to heal my emotional traumas so I won’t go into all of it here. I simply include it because I know that I have done some of the deepest excavating ever of my emotional shit in the last four months or so. I was blessed with some wonderful life experiences recently that lay bare those traumas that still had a hold of me energetically, and I took the opportunity to muck through it as honestly and thoroughly as I possibly could, and then I LET IT GO. Don’t try to go it alone. It’s an important job and you deserve to have a really stellar support system as you work through it. The Rolfing was a critical piece in helping me to do this. A great therapist that also does somatic release work of some sort is a great place to start as well. Certainly let me know if I can help with my own techniques for trauma re-lease.

Happy healing! I sincerely and wholeheartedly hope that you find the same level of relief that I have.

Part Two: My Migraine Puzzle: Injuries, Traumas and Stress

I will write this section in list form. These are the things in my life that I believe have contributed to my migraines. I have had doctors and practitioners of all sorts have different opinions about whether or not certain things have contributed to my migraines, and to what degree. No one has ever been able to see/confirm, on MRI or CAT Scan, the “cause” of my migraines.

• Depressed skull fracture (age 1 ½)
• Plastic plate placed in skull (age 2 ½)
• Broken maxilla (upper jaw, age 7)
• Family history of migraine
• Unresolved emotional traumas: sexual abuse, rape, oppression
• Severe whiplash/ shattered femur/ torn rotator cuff (age 19)
• Trying to keep up with the Jones’
• Trying to be who others want me to be
• Trying to be super woman (graduate school, working and raising kids)
• Perfectionism
• Shame and rage
• Whiplash injury (age 42)

Part Three: A Comprehensive List of Therapies I have used

I will approach this list chronologically from most recent to least recent. I will also preface this section by letting you know that my philosophy has always been that you have to give everything you try a reasonable trial period before you should approve or dismiss it. My general idea of a fair trial period is 2-3 months.

• Past life regression therapy: This was beneficial to me in that it helped me to understand central themes for me for this life and how to prioritize in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me.
• Chiropractic: Helpful but never quite able to affect the migraines.
• Messages therapy: Helpful. I did have a short reprieve from migraines for several days when I was doing extensive PT which included message after my shoulder surgery.
• Spiritual Training (at the time called I AM CREATOR/ now called Standing in the Light): I had 5 migraine free days after completing the training. The relief didn’t last. Probably because I was unable to maintain that high of a vibration outside of that super nutrient rich environment.
• Quantum Energetics Structured Therapy: This was very effective initially (which is why I decided to study it). After about a month and a half of treatments my migraines went away. Unfortunately, shortly after I had a car accident and a fresh whiplash injury. After that I didn’t have as strong of results with migraine relief, but it did help me to heal more quickly from the whiplash injury.
• Botox injections: I had good results for the first round of injections. Protocol is to get injections every 3 months. With the second round of injections I didn’t have any response. I chose not to continue with that therapy at that point.
• Medical marijuana: I only tried it twice. Lots of paranoia and no pain relief. I used an ingestible form.
• Prophylactic medications: I took Lamictal for about a year and initially felt a decrease in the intensity and frequency of migraines. This only lasted for the first few months. After a year I chose to discontinue taking it. I tried Depakote and discontinued after 2 weeks as it was causing me to slur my speech and I simply felt completely out of it.
• Food sensitivity testing and the elimination diet: I was found to be sensitive to gluten and dairy. I excluded them from my life for about 8 years. It didn’t do anything for my migraines, but I felt definite benefits. It cleared up my cystic acne as well as my ovarian and uterine cysts. I also had far less digestive issues.
• Bio-identic hormone replacement: If anything this made me feel worse. It didn’t do anything to allay my migraines and other bothersome symptoms, and it gave me other unpleasant symptoms.
• Yoga: I have done yoga for as long as I have had chronic migraines. Practicing has never directly decreased my migraines, and the benefits have still been great and I’m sure I will practice for the rest of my life.
• Acupuncture: When I first started having chronic migraines I saw a Japanese style acupuncturist every 2 weeks and I had great results as long as I was consistent. When it became impossible for me to continue to work with that acupuncturist I tried several others and had no noticeable benefit. If you are in the Boulder area, I strongly recommend, Jeffery Dann at Aloha Wellness
• I have regularly sought help through psychotherapy as needed for emotional issues. Highly beneficial with no direct impact on the migraines.

That sums up the primary therapies that I have tried. I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Fourteen years is a long time! I hope this has been helpful to you all in some way. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or need clarification [email protected].