EMOTIONAL WHIRLWIND: MIGRAINE RELIEF WITH DIET AFTER FEELING LIKE A GUINEA PIG!
I have been suffering from migraines, tension headaches, hormone migraines….and all kinds of different headaches and tensions since I was 12 years old. I first noticed that I had headaches in the spring of 1999. Each day I complained about the pain to my parents, who in turn gave me aspirin for two weeks before my mum took me to a doctor to see what was wrong – I was diagnosed with tension headaches and said it should go away in a few months…well here I am 17 years later and I’m stuck with the same problem. A journey started where I went to all kinds of doctors and tried everything from massages and chiropractors, personal trainers, relaxation methods, acupuncture, electrical shocks, jaw operation, medicine and nothing worked. I found that the massages were lovely, but didn’t really help in the long run. Acupuncture made me feel sick after all the treatments and the medicine – don’t even get me started! It was just not for me – I felt drowsy, tired, difficulties expressing myself, to focus and I became forgetful. I really have tried everything…it feels like it, anyway. But I know there are so many things out there that I haven’t tried. My latest thing is the food I eat and the things I drink. It has somewhat --- changed. In September 2015 my mum showed me something she read in a magazine about migraines. It was a woman who changed her diet to get rid of her headaches and it worked. It was difficult to find the book the article was mentioning but I finally found a second hand book on Amazon and ordered it. From reading the first few pages I was hooked! It was so interesting to understand, really understand how everything we eat and drink affects our body. It is amazing to realise what sugar does to our body and what fat does to our body. There is a misunderstanding that fat is bad for us but the fact is that sugar is the real villain here. Ok, so I will tell you in short, some facts. It helped me understand what I needed to change to improve my pain. There is a theory that people with migraine have a higher insulin level than the average person. It is opposite to diabetics. Diabetics need to take insulin shots each day to level it, migraineurs need to do everything they can to decrease the insulin level in their bodies. One way to at least not increase the insulin level is to quit sugar. Yes, pure sugar. Which means no cakes, cookies, sugary drinks….you get it. Another way to decrease or at least keep the insulin level in check is to exercise. It’s Important to drink a lot of water and eat very regularly. Just like everyone (migraine or no migraine) should do. We need to keep the insulin as levelled as possible throughout the day. Some people who follow this notice a difference within a week, a month. For me it has been a bit more difficult than that. I found it hard to eat regularly, to exercise each day but the hardest part was to change my diet – not to diet per say, but to keep my insulin in check. You have to find the right balance of fat, protein and the right carbs each day and it all depends on the individual. The hardest for me was not to skip the dessert or say no to sweet things when eating out or hanging out with friends or at work, but to think about how I cook. I cook a lot of food, each day really as I love to cook. But I have always put honey or sugar in my tomato based sauces etc as I have heard that’s what chefs do! Those small things are the hardest to quit. You think, how bad can it be….well the reality is, as long as there is processed sugar in my food and drinks I will have migraines. That’s where I am now, I am working on improving the food I cook, eating proper snacks and to balance my diet each day. It is a journey, a long journey, but a good one. I know I will find myself one day not feeling my brain. Not feeling a heavy, cloudy head. Not feeling tense in my neck and shoulders, not get those knives drilling my head or the pressure between my brain and forehead. Because, as you know, that’s what it feels like with a migraine or tension head ache. And that is what we all want to get rid of, once and for all! I would love to get tips and hear your stories and hopefully I can help someone. Follow my journey: Instagram.com/victoryovermigraine facebook.com/victoryovermigraine victoryovermigraine@gmail.com Victoryovermigraine.blogspot.com
