I suffered from severe, debilitating migraine headaches, which worsened over the years until it became constant.    I was barely able to drag myself through each day, struggling to care for my children and my responsibilities at my extremely stressful job.  I had  to drop out of all my hobbies and social activities.

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Eventually, I was referred to a neurologist. After the scans and tests, I was told, “Your brain is normal.”  I received a diagnosis of “continual daily migraine,” and was advised that “it won't kill you, but it does have a suicide rate.”  I was prescribed a daily maintenance medication, plus rescue meds for breakthrough headaches.  It took some months for the medications to take full effect, and I began to feel better.  The side effects and the prospect of long-term use were daunting, but I resigned myself to the fact that it was just the way I'm made, and I would probably need to take them indefinitely-- and maybe for the rest of my life. 

 

More than a decade later, my headaches worsened again despite the medications.  I experienced frequent and severe migraines again, some lasting for days or even weeks.  Nothing helped-- not my maintenance meds nor the rescue meds.   More drugs were added to the ones I was already taking, including one that I had to inject myself.  The cost of the new drugs was astronomical, and it was a constant struggle with my insurance about getting them at all, which added to my stress.  And worst of all, I still had headaches. 

 

 I was disappointed by the conventional treatment I received because it served only to reduce the symptoms, and did not address the physiological causes.  I also had to live with the side effects and  risks of the various medications.  No one had ever asked me how I was sleeping, what I was eating and drinking, or what toxicities or other possible factors were contributing.​

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I was very fortunate to (accidentally) start seeing a chiropractor with a functional approach, who opened my eyes and gave me hope.  I learned that nutrition and lifestyle absolutely do  matter, and that it is actually supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature.  I made drastic changes to how I eat, manage stress and implement self care.  I began to improve and feel better.   I started to appreciate the power of the changes I had made,  and realized the value of finding and addressing the actual causes, rather than just medicating away some of the symptoms.  I did not have a "drug deficiency syndrome" after all!

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I am now, miraculously, off all migraine medications. I experience a migraine occasionally, but it is usually mild and of short duration, and manageable by alternative means.  I had never in my life thought that this would ever be possible.   

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During these years, I was teaching nursing and training nurses in the Texas Medical Center.  I was also  developing a new perspective on the conventional healthcare orthodoxy-- which I was very much a part of!  I began to realize that, while it does have benefits, it also has limitations, espescially when it comes to chronic conditions .  I found myself having to go to work every day to teach certain information and concepts that I knew to be obsolete, inaccurate, or limiting.  At that point, I knew it was time to leave that career and move on.  I desire to help others also to bridge the gap between traditional healthcare and functional methods-- and to start feeling better!

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