Migraine Relief

For those questions and discussions on the McDougall program that don’t seem to fit in any other forum.

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Migraine Relief

Postby Tatterhood » Sun Aug 02, 2015 10:54 am

I don't want to jinx it, but I've been doing McDougalling for seven weeks (lost 12 of 20 pounds) and have had WAY fewer migraines than I normally have. Now, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the migraine occurrences at first, and I'm pretty sure that in the first few weeks, I was still getting them at the normal rate that I had been getting them. However, in the past several weeks, I know that the number has decreased because I haven't had to use the "breakthrough" pharmaceutical meds that I normally have to use. In fact, when I have gotten that familiar pressure (and I only got that when I changed my daily routine with some travel last week, which is a trigger) all I had to take was some Aleve, which almost never helps, and it went away.

I've been suffering with migraines for 25 years. I've tried everything. Yoga, meditation, massage therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, elimination diets, going off all of everything...everything except for fats. I became a vegan 3 years ago, but kept consuming coconut oil, and avocados, and nuts in fairly large, daily doses. I tried going off all caffeine for 2 years during that time and it changed nothing.

But suddenly, I'm 12 pounds lighter, off all added oils, exercising every day for at least 45 minutes (also a big change, but one I've also tried before with little success on its own), and I'm not getting my weekly migraines.

I was told, back when I was in my 30's, by a homeopathic doctor, that migraines were connected to digestion, and exacerbated by rich foods. I figured he meant fried foods, and rich desserts, which I always tried not to indulge in. Took me a heck of a long time to make the connection. Hope this is it.

Anyone else here who has found this to be the case?
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby dailycarbs » Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:19 am

Migraines gone for good. It's been years now so I'm not worried about any jinxes.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby Tatterhood » Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:39 am

Dailycarbs:

Can I ask, if you don't mind, how frequently did you have them before you went on this plan, and do you attribute being on this to getting rid of them? Did you have the type of migraines that had to be treated with pharmaceutical grade drugs?

I only ask because I'm at that level now. I take Topamax (200 mgs daily) and Zomig (5 mgs) for breakthroughs, which can happen anywhere from 6-8 times per month. Used to be as many as 12X per month. The "preventative" has brought it down. But since I'm on the WOE, I'm practically down to 0. Like I said, I had 1-2 over the last 4 weeks, but both were either due to travel, or lack of sleep.

I'm still relatively new to all of this, really, so I can't claim to be a great success story just yet, but I'm going to start tracking it for sure.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby dailycarbs » Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:46 pm

I did not have them often. Maybe several (3-4 times) per year. I did not take any meds for them outside of Advil. I doubt that helped. The only relief would come after a proper lie down in a dark, quiet room with a cold compress on my forehead and over my eyes. My pain was right behind my eyes. I also had nausea and sweats I would not be fully recovered until the next day but had some relief after 3 hours or so. I lost 50 lbs on this woe in less than a year. Since then, I've had 2 very minor incidences of migraines in almost 5 years of this woe. I have zero doubt the woe is the reason for this improvement.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby Jeepsterhound » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:41 am

I started having migraines when I was about 19. I had them every month or so, related to female hormones or stress. I started this WOE when I was about 30 and they mostly disappeared and then completely disappeared when I got divorced. I did revert back to SAD for about 15 years, but stayed mostly dairy free and lower fat. The migraines returned, but less frequently and less intense. Now that I have been 99% McDougall for a couple of years the migraines have once again disappeared.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby Tatterhood » Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:31 am

Wow! Very interesting, and telling. Yes, mine are mainly hormonal in nature. Stress, travel, sleep, and alcohol related, too. The funny thing is that I got one this morning, managed by the Zomig, which is the only reason I can function, albeit, mildly nauseated. It's also a mind thing with me. When I said I didn't want to jinx it, I meant it. I have this power of suggestion thing with these damn migraines. If I put any mental energy towards them, I can summon one. There was really no other explanation for it. Went for a four mile, hilly hike this morning (carrying weight in a backpack) to try to work it off, but to no avail. Sometimes that helps. Oh well. But, I'm still getting fewer, and I'm still somewhat new to eating extremely low/no fat. So I believe time will tell.

I've also got to realize that just last year, I underwent surgery to have my uterus removed for lots of very big fibroids. My ovaries are still intact and functioning, but I'm sure my hormones are undergoing the change of life, so to speak, and until I am completely done with all of that, I think that I will continue to experience some level of migraine issues.

Still, hoping that by losing this excess 20 lbs. and ridding my diet of added fats will help with the hormonal fluctuations. Everything that I read seems to indicate that I'm on the right track. Fingers crossed.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby awest27 » Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:10 pm

I used to have a bigger problem with headaches. They seemed to be mostly hormone related and could last up to three days, usually just after a period. Pain killers would only just knock them back enough for me to function but I could still feel it lingering in the background. Staying on this WOE really helped. Eating low-fat is probably key as that helps decrease hormone related symptoms in general (PMS, mood swings). I'm going through the change now so that probably has a lot to do with me not getting them anymore as much as the diet does.
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Re: Migraine Relief

Postby Tatterhood » Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:19 pm

Since posting this, I've been doing a little more research about menopause in general because I'm having some mild other symptoms and one thing that keeps coming up pretty regularly in terms lifestyle changes is lowering one's daily fat intake. So there's got to be a connection.

I started this WOE on June 14th. I've been on it for 7 weeks, and have had 6 migraines in 7 weeks, which is about half of my usual amount. I know it still seems like a lot for the average non-migraine sufferer. And it is. I would love for them to go away forever, but, like I said, I do manage them with major meds and have learned to function. Maybe once my body begins to adjust to the lower amount of fat, and is carrying less, they will finally subside, or will become even less prevalent.

It's worth keeping track of. Glad to hear that others have found relief through this WOE.
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