Rita knew the warning signs. This was going to be a night of agony. Not everyone who had migraines experienced auras and neck stiffness, but when Rita had a migraine, it always started with both of these.
Rita’s mother was cursed with migraines and Rita was one of the 50% of migraine sufferers who had a genetic component to her migraines but lack of water, insomnia, stress, and her estrogen hormone levels all played a part in how often and even how severe the migraines were.
She looked for a miracle that would end her suffering and there was no end to the supposed cures that would help her overcome her issues. She had tried nearly everything:
Piercing her ear in the “migraine point”, lasted 6 months but then the migraines returned.
Changing her diet – 5 times, 5 different ways. Taking out processed foods did seem to help a bit.
Reducing stress did help with the severity but she didn’t live in a bubble and life is stressful.
Her doctor explained that the main issues for her were sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and keeping her stress down. He offered her a medication to take as soon as she had the warning signs of the migraine and between all of this life became somewhat normal.
There are many different ways to treat a migraine. Because migraines have a wide spectrum and look different for nearly each individual.
When patients are given a medication to stop the migraine from progressing, it is called an abortive treatment. Sometimes patients are given a medication to stop the migraine from coming back. This is called a preventative medication. Both can be very effective for a while possibly even years, but in most cases, the medications eventually quit working or the side effects put the person in a no win situation.
Most doctors will also recommend some self help, such as getting proper sleep (eg. no screens an hour before bed), getting regular exercise, healthy eating (eg. Avoiding processed foods), and keeping stress to a minimum. It is also wise to keep a migraine diary so it can be easier to determine triggers in difficult cases.
Unfortunately, eventually the medications quit working consistently and the next medication she was placed on didn’t work at all but still had the side effects of nausea and fatigue.
Thankfully, she saw one of our Doctor of acupuncture’s social media posts and decided to come in for a consultation. It was determined that she was a good fit for treatment and at her last appointment had been migraine free for the last 5 months.
Migraines are terrible and complex but do not give up. There is nearly always a solution. If you have already exhausted your options, I recommend giving our clinic a call and book in for a no risk consultation. After all the biggest thing you have to lose is your migraines.
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