Headache/Migraine Status Update

I would like to update the world on my headache/migraine status.

As some of you may know, I have been suffering from pretty severe headaches and even migraines for the last two years. This is not a new thing, as I've suffered from heavy headaches since I was in high school, but it got to a point where my life was suffering from the severity.

In October, I decided to start trying new things to figure out if I could make these go away naturally. The only exception is that I would not use ibuprofen to help alleviate the pain. I visited a GP and he gave me muscle relaxers to try to relieve the nerves in my neck. This only caused increased heart rate and an almost drunk-like state if I woke up in the middle of the night. I tried support pillows for people who sleep on their back and side. I decided to reduce my caffeine intake to just one cup of coffee a day. I attempted to cut dairy out of my diet. I tried sleeping differently. We got a new mattress. Nothing seemed to be making it much better.

In May, I decided to try a more naturalistic approach. I didn't want to use medicine to cover up my symptoms after all. After several weeks and attempts at visiting different doctors and doing a lot of research, I found a doctor that I really liked. She adjusted me, did some muscle release techniques, and gave me some information that I didn't realize might have been affecting my body.

You see, I've been suffering from several auto-immune diseases since I was young. In hindsight, I've had acid reflux for as long as I can remember and I've been dealing with dermatitis and chronic inflammation since high school.

Now to get a little more in depth.

When someone has an auto-immune disease, their body is constantly fighting off these ailments. My immune system has been constantly fighting the acid reflux, inflammation, and skin issues. Naturally, as I get older the disease get worse. It's just part of life. However, my immune system is having a difficult time keeping up. Therefore, other issues I have with my body (i.e. getting a cold, allergies, etc.) are pretty severe, because I have little energy to fight those off.

Some symptoms of auto-immune diseases flaring up are things I thought were just normal and everyone dealt with: chronic fatigue, headaches and migraines, sudden onset of nausea, blood sugar levels dropping, and much more. 

If you've known me well, you'll know that I used to often mention that I was incredibly tired. I honestly thought that was normal for someone my age and as busy as I was to feel tired all the time. I do a lot, therefore I should feel tired. But I always felt so guilty thinking that I am this exhausted, yet I have no kids or a big family to take care of, yet I need to rest and sleep and I constantly complain about how tired I am no matter how many hours of sleep I get at night.

As for the headaches, I used to suffer from pretty severe headaches in high school. I ended up becoming dependent on ibuprofen to get rid of these headaches and after a few years of this, and learning what ibuprofen can do to your stomach, I stopped taking medicine for headaches. They come and go, but as I've stated before, they have gotten worse in the last two years.

The acid reflux is something I've struggled with since I was diagnosed with it at 20. I had no idea that it affected so many things, and I'm still learning what triggers acid reflux and what doesn't. I used to regularly wake up nauseous and had to go throw up in the early hours of the morning. I've learned I shouldn't eat a few hours before bed. I've learned that tomatoes and peppers cause it to flare up, as well as soda, too much sugar, and ice cream. I've learned that vinegar is great to settle my stomach when it's flaring up. I've learned that caffeine can cause my acid reflux to flare up and in turn cause headaches. It's crazy what the human body reacts to!

So a few weeks ago I met this doctor who confirmed some of my suspicions about my auto-immune issues and gave me a diet to try. At this point, I am on a 30-day anti-elimination diet. Currently, I am avoiding all gluten, dairy, legumes, peanuts, and soy. At the end of the 30 days, I can try adding different foods from the "avoid" list and see how I physically react to them.

I have been doing this for almost two weeks. While it's been difficult and I crave carbs (because that's what I thrive on), I have noticed a significant decrease in my headaches and migraines and an increase in my energy levels. Since I've started this diet, I've only had one major headache last Saturday, which I'm not sure if it was attributed to my allergies, lack of sleep, or a pinched nerve in my back, but a friend of mine found the spot and released the nerve for me, and I've been feeling good since then.

A book I've been referring to is called Practical Paleo. It has a lot of information on auto-immune disease, gut health, heart health, fat loss, and much much more. It talks a lot about how foods can affect your gut and why, especially gluten and legumes. It's pretty fascinating, and the author of the book has studied nutrition and science and refers to other esteemable medical professionals. It's not my only reference to this new diet, but it is one I refer to regularly.

I wanted to write about this since it's something I've finally been open about sharing and am slowly learning how my body works. I also wanted others who have been struggling with ailments to consider looking at their diet as the possible source of your discomfort.