A quest to end Migraines
- tmmt1111
- Oct 2, 2024
- 4 min read
I am a migrainer. I hate labels like that because we then identify with something and own it. I don’t want to own this one. But I suffer from migraines and I have for decades…decades.
Over the years they gradually got worse, they went from lasting a day, to lasting 3 days and then sometimes as much as 6 days. Through the years I kept a journal to track them as many migrainers do, documenting their frequency, duration and pain level. I did all the recommended dietary restrictions, I had all the tools, hot head wraps, ice wraps, medications, over the counter pills, tried chiropractic, osteopathic, mainstream doctors etc. There are no solutions only band aids in these approaches. That's because migraine is a mind-body condition.
In April 2023 I had a 6 day migraine. This is one I labaled “a doozey” in my migraine journal. There were a lot of doozeys nowadays. But this one wasn’t just bad, it really fucked with me mentally. I mean, I came out of that thing feeling like I had just been psychologically abused, beaten with a bat and left for dead on a rock somewhere. Dismayed and betrayed by my body and brain. Walking around after the episode in a state of postdrome pain, trauma from the experience, glazed over eyes in a blank stare, fatigue, and a sense of resignation that I can't do this anymore. I knew what I was doing wasn’t working and that wasn’t the solution.
As some migrainers know, each migraine can be different, some worse than others and some with symptoms that other ones don't have. The worst ones usually involve vomiting, nausea, weakness, and chills, with the addition of pounding or searing head pain The closest thing I can equate it to is the feeling of a hangover, a bad one. I had figured that since a hangover is the body’s way of eliminating toxins after basically being poisoned from alcohol, and the symptoms feel much the same and persist until the toxins are removed, I equated the migraines to a detox that my body was purging all of the poisons I was ingesting, and since I didn’t drink or smoke, basically it had to be food.
Now I'm not an unhealth eater, in fact I eat fairly healthy. I haven't had a soft drink or fast food in years. I don't eat candy or chocolate. I avoid MSG and am aware of chemical food additives which I mostly avoid. I drink caffeinated tea but gave up coffee because I noticed a possible link to that. With all this, I still assumed I wasn't doing good enough and continued to eliminate more foods and beverages from my list of favorites in hopes that I'd stumble across the problem food and once it was out the migraines would cease. Not so.
But something in me realized that I was chasing a red herring. In July 2023 my new approach to solve my migraines was focused on the concept of the “migraine personality.” I knew this had something to do with it because there are millions of people who eat all of my trigger foods, with horrible diets who never get migraines much less headaches. I knew this was the key. And I knew I had many of these traits without even googling what they were, I can take a guess. Let's see probably a person who doesn't handle stress well? A type A personality? Yup that's me. So my goal became working on this. And once I did, it opened up a world of new possibilities.
In September of 2023 that I came across a video about TMS – Tension Myositis Syndrome, a phrase coined by Dr. John Sarno, a medical doctor who realized that back pain, and other chronic pain conditions including migraine, are neuroplastic pain, that is they are created by the brain and are not related to any physical pathology. I’ve always been interested in natural health topics, especially natural cures, holistic remedies and some that are off the beaten path. But this one, WOW. This is interesting. I’m all ears. I kept listening to videos about it, purchased the recommended books written by Dr. Sarno and other doctors who believe in this approach, and read them all cover to cover, subscribed to social media channels based on this topic, most of whom are primarily talking about musculoskeletal conditions such as back pain, they certainly include other types of chronic pain such as migraines. I heard about the Curable app and subscribed and started listening to expert interviews, and patient success stories. There are many great books, youtube channels and podcasts on this topic: Nicole Sachs, Dan Boglio, Dr. Schecter, Dr. Eleanor Stein, Dr. Christine Bradstreet to name a few.
As of this writing in October 2024 am I migraine free? No, but I have more work to do. Have I seen improvements? Yes - that means I'm on the right path. Is the work difficult? No it's amazing. Have I learned a ton of stuff and changed my inner being from a migraine person to a different person through doing this work? Very much.
I will be writing more about my incredible insights and experiences in future posts.
For now I will close by saying that I strongly believe that migraines are for most sufferers a mind-body condition that cannot be solved on the physical level but can be solved on a mental/emotional/spiritual level. They are one of the disorders that Dr. John Sarno classifies under the category of Tension Myositis Syndrome, and many know it as Mind-Body Syndrome.
And finally as a disclaimer I would never suggest anyone self-diagnose, and always see a doctor first for any chronic condition to rule out a serious illness.If you are reading this post and have migraines, I would love to hear from you with any comments. Thank you for reading.
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