The Headache Cure

You read it right. I finally have "cured" my headache. How? I finally read the book "Heal Your Headache" (look to your right you can see and click on the book and see if it is right for you). This book has literally saved me! I have even ordered it for multiple people who have had great success with the program outlined in the book. You first have to understand that there are many triggers but the biggest one is the food you consume. A hard pill to swallow I know as I am the most stubborn person I know as you have read throughout my journey with migraines. I did not want to give up any of my favorite foods at all! What is life without chocolate and pizza? No migraines is the answer. Remember when I said I ate just pasta and broccoli for a month? I had no headaches during this time yet I did not make the connection because I thought it was the Nortriptyline. I decided to overhaul my diet to see if it would make a difference. Inflammation plays an important role in migraines and getting that under control is equally important. I added Turmeric/Curcumin with ginger and bioperine added to them. It is important that you get the Turmeric with Bioperine because it helps with the absorption of the Turmeric. I liked that the one I bought had ginger for nausea. If you look to the right there is a picture of the one I prefer (just click on it). Turmeric reduces inflammation in your body and also reduces pain.
     I decided to eliminate nearly everything all at once. The book gives you a list of things to avoid but I decided to go all out. I ate broccoli and quinoa with olive oil butter for the first 3 weeks. I know it is extreme but I was determined to eliminate these migraines. I also had to go through my vitamins and eliminate a great deal of them as they had migraine triggers in them. I added a new food into my diet every 3 days. If I did not have a headache I knew I could eat it. My triggers so far are: onions, corn, chocolate, watermelon, all nuts and seeds including coconuts, all cheeses, aspartame, beans, sadly cream cheese and sour cream (boo), and msg. The hardest things are the onions and corn. Most products have corn (also known as maltodextrin and corn syrup). Onions are in everything from sauces, ketchup to frozen meals. I literally spent 3 hours in the grocery store practically in tears of all the things I could no longer enjoy. I found one spaghetti sauce that did not have onions. I have to say that the clarity is worth the sacrifice. I am slowly learning how to bake things without my triggers so I do not completely miss out on the sweet stuff. I did have to stop all over the counter pain relievers all together and that was a lot harder than I thought. I relied on the Baclofen to get through this. After about a week the rebound headache was gone. I can happily say I am off all pain relievers!
     The best advice I can give anyone who is suffering from migraines is STOP treating the symptoms and figure out the underlying cause. Get the book or do your research online. There is a ton of great info on the web for certain!

Botox

Woo hoo finally I was approved for Botox! I could not help but feel excited and extremely nervous at the same time. Yes I googled all the side effects so let's just say I was kind of hesitant and quite frankly freaking out because it is a poison that is injected into your skin. If it spreads you could have serious side effects and yes die. Needless to say I pushed through my fears and had the injections. The day I went in I felt pretty good. I had a faint headache on a scale of 1-10 I would say a 2. The injections were quick and painless and I was out within 20 minutes. I read somewhere to take ibuprofen after so I did. I felt pretty good until that evening when I was a little tender where she injected the Botox. The next day I woke up with a full blown migraine. Then the sinus pressure began and I could hardly stand it. I felt nauseous and dizzy. Two days later I had a fever. I had an appointment scheduled with my PCP in a few days so I decided to wait it out. I still had the fever when I made it to my appointment and he put me on prednisone and an antibiotic. Five days into the treatment my fever was still raging and I contacted my PCP. He put me on Levaquin this time. I did contact my Neurologist who insisted there was no connection between the Botox and these symptoms. After some quick research online I realized that I was not the only one who has had these side effects. My ears felt clogged, sinus pain/pressure, fever, achiness, dizziness and nausea. The fever lasted 15 days until finally breaking. The Levaquin seemed to kick what ever it was out. I was so scared and decided to not go through with the next injections. I made the decision to finally pick up the book I had tossed aside so many times and really read it this time and apply the diet. I had finally had enough and decided to take it into my own hands. This whole time I had been treating the symptoms and not the underlying cause. Next up: The Headache Cure

Cymbalta

Cymbalta is another antidepressant used to prevent migraines. I felt ok the first day but after that I felt "disconnected." I walked through my day as a zombie in a sense of not feeling like I was in my body at all. I had constipation and my blood pressure and pulse went through the roof again. After about 3 weeks we decided to slowly taper off of it. I was at 60 mg by then so the taper had to be slow. Our last resort was Botox. My insurance finally approved a trial run of 2. I was excited and nervous at the same time. I did fall into old habits of taking Excedrin again as well as Fioricet (a prescription med for relief of migraines). I was also taking Relpax for my more severe migraines. For my anxiety attacks I was taking Ativan which is an addictive drug if you are not careful. Next up: Botox.

Verapamil

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker. It is used to treat high blood pressure as well as to prevent migraines. I started this and immediately had a feeling of a weight on my chest. I found it hard to catch my breath and within 2 days I came off of it. It may work for someone but I could not take that feeling. Next prescription: Cymbalta

Nadolol

Nadolol is a Beta Blocker that also helps prevent migraines. I cannot say if this worked for my migraines as I was on it for only 3 days. Apparently if you have Asthma you should not take this. For some reason my Neurologist did not check my chart before prescribing this and I ended up having a severe asthma attack  every day for three days. Mind you I had not had an asthma attack in years. I made the connection after I looked up the side effects. I contacted her and she told me to stop right away. I then began taking Verapamil a calcium channel blocker.

Nortriptyline and a Trip to the ER

I began taking the Nortriptyline and continued to do so for about a month. I had dry mouth which I thought was a minor. The biggest and most troublesome side effect was Tachycardia. I was hesitant to come off this medication because I literally had NO headaches after being on it for a few weeks. I had no choice however after I fell ill and made a trip to urgent care. My BP was 200/120 and my pulse was a whooping 134 bpm. They insisted on calling an ambulance to take me to ER. I refused and told them I could drive myself. They made me sign a waiver. The ER was notified I was on my way. After another IV, anxiety med and something to bring down my BP I was sent home. I messaged the neurologist and she suggested I come off of the Nortriptyline. She decided to try Nadolol which is a beta blocker that also helps migraines. I should note here that during the month I was on the Nortriptyline I also limited my diet to pasta and broccoli with olive oil butter. I managed to lose 20 pounds doing this but that was not the point of the diet. I felt like I should eat bland and stick to one type of food per instructions in the book "Heal Your headache." I will post more on this later but if you are interested in the book look to the right of your screen. I posted a picture of the book and if you click on it, it will take you to the book on amazon. This has been the best investment I have made with regards to the migraines (even though I tossed it aside for a long time). Next up: Nadolol.

Second Opinion/ENT

I decided that the first ENT did not know what he was talking about and sought another ENT for a "real" diagnosis (note the sarcasm). I just could not wrap my head around this being a migraine. I had all the symptoms of a sinus infection. The pain, pressure and drainage. At this point I was extremely dizzy and even the roof of my mouth hurt. I explained my symptoms and he did a sinus endoscopy. Again I am told I have a slightly deviated septum but not surgery worth while. He asked me if I had a history of migraines (go ahead shake your head). I was at this point ready to jump across the room at him and shake or slap him. Really? This again? He ordered a CT scan just to ease my mind and referred me to a Headache Clinic. A few days later I got the call that my CT scan was clear. Sigh, now I have to finally swallow my pride and go back to the Neurologist. I called and made an appointment however the soonest appointment was 2 months away. During this time I still could not function and had to take a month off of work unpaid since I used all my vacation days. It got so bad I messaged the Neurologist and she got me in the next day. I received a shot of Toradol and trigger shot injections in my head and neck. She wanted me to start on another preventative medication right away. We decided on Nortriptyline another antidepressant that treats migraines as well. I felt a little better for a few days before the "migraine" reared its ugly head again. I messaged the Neurologist and she called me in a taper medication called Naratriptan. After 2 days I still had the migraine and called her back. She advised me to keep taking for remainder of the days. After five days I felt marginally better. I needed to change something! Next up: Nortriptyline.