Posted 5/19/2011 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi - I am new to this site. I wanted to give everyone hope. I suffered from a migraine, every day, for 2 full years. I was suicidal. The pain never stopped. I went to every neurologist in San Francisco (Robertson, Goadsby (head of neurology at UCSF), Nagy (former head of neurology at UCSF), head of neurology at UCLA, and head of neurology at Stanford). I tried every drug (immitrex, frova, migranal et al, Topamax, amitryptaline, xanax, klonopin, propranolol, the list goes on, etc.). Goadsby, Stanford neurology head and Diamond Clinic all recommended that I do a hospitalization first to get off all the medications (was taking about 5-6 different meds daily), and then do an IV drip of DHE for a week. I scheduled this appointment, but cancelled and scheduled several times because I was terrified.
I started seeing an acpuncturist (yes, I had done acpuncture before, and it didn't work, so I didn't think this would either. However, someone told me this particular acpuncturist was something truly incredible). Well, I am happy to say that, I am migraine free. HOWEVER, it has taken me a full year, and it's been a lot of work. This is what I have done (no silver bullet or quick fix or gimmick here):
1. OBVIOUSLY no caffeine, alcohol of any kind (but I am sure you guys all know this).
2. NOT SO OBVIOUS - no sugar of any kind, except an occasional piece of fruit (no dried fruits, and no candy, ice cream, yogurt, etc.)
3. NOT SO OBVIOUS - no dairy of any kind.
4. NOT SO OBVIOUS - no movie theater popcorn - this is filled with some really bad chemicals that your liver cannot process - migraines can stem from your liver not being able to process things like sugar, alcohol, chemicals.
Those were the easy things. HOWEVER that is not at all the whole story. Then there is treatment.
1. acupuncture EVERY DAY - yes EVERY DAY. I have an arrangement with my acupuncturist and I see her at night around 8:30pm after my 3 small children are put to bed. Also, not just any acupuncturist - must be 5 element acupuncture. This is VERY different than regular acupuncture. Much more painful (but we all know pain), but much more effective. Eventually I have worked my way down to 5 days per week, and eventually it will be once per week.
2. chiropractic - frequently, if your neck is out of alignment, that will play in to the whole migraine thing, and if you believe in acupuncture and merdian blocks, then if your neck is out that will play in to that. I used to go 2 x per week, and now I am down to 1x per week.
3. rolfing - frequently, migraines come to someone who has had various accidents; I had no idea that my cranium was out of whack (for lack of a more refined term). So I get cranial rolfing. On the first treatment, after 2 years of daily migraines, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I started at 2 x per week, and now go 1 x per week.
I am completely off all medications, have not taken an immitrex, migranal, frova or anything like that in over a year. I continue all these treatments and YES it is a drag to spend so much time in treatment, however I am pain free, no more migraines, and I know that I won't have to do these treatments for ever.
I know that this seems overwhelming - it was for me. But these treatments saved my life. I spent most of those 2 years in bed, in pain. My children started calling our nanny "mommy". It was heart breaking. But I have made it through, and want to share this with other people. There is a cure. If you want more information, I am happy to provide everything I know.