Migraines are awful. Simply unbearable. In fact migraines are listed as the 6th most disabling illness in the world, with over 1 million hospital visits in the U.S. alone.
I suffered for migraines for years and like many of you know the drugs don’t work. They only mildly dull the pain. The good news? I successfully treat people all over the world to rid themselves of this pain and reclaim their life and here’s how I do it.
Here are the 5 factors that I address with migraine sufferers:
- Hydration. Dehydration is a major migraine trigger. 75% of most Americans are dehydrated and this can cause many other health issues. The rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces. This means that if you weigh 160 lbs, you should drink 80 oz.
- Find and then remove the foods that cause inflammation for you. Reactive foods are foods that do not work for your chemistry and cause a rise in histamine which will affect cortisol, your hormones and your thyroid. You can identify these foods by reading The Metabolism Plan and testing to see what foods you are eating that cause inflammation and migraines. Every person is eating at least 3 healthy foods that do not work for them. Here are some surprising higher inflammatory foods: strawberries, cooked salmon, Greek yoghurt, cauliflower, turkey and roasted almond butter to name just a few!
- Hormonal imbalance. Up to 18% of all women suffer from debilitating headaches and women suffer from migraines three times as much as men. This is due in part to hormonal fluctuations. Inflammatory foods cause hormonal imbalance. Find and remove the foods that cause inflammation for you and migraines are a thing of the past.
Acupuncture is incredibly helpful as a treatment for balancing hormones and there are many herbs such as red raspberry leaf and vitex that can work as well. Consult your healthcare provider based on your bloodwork.
- Muscular tension. These areas are usually tight and imbalanced: trapezius, cervical spine, subocciput, and muscles of your jaw such as masseter and pterygoids. Seeing a physical therapist who specializes in manual therapy is key. The massage will help to loosen the muscles and the rehabilitative exercise will help to bring back your muscles back into balance.
TMJD- clenching your haw is a big trigger and a mouthguard won’t help. It just stops you from grinding your teeth into nubs! Make sure your PT specializes in in intra-oral massage and teaches you this technique to do at home. Literally a couple of minutes at night is all you need!
- Sinusitis and seasonal allergies can be a huge trigger and cause migraines to increase in frequency and intensity. I have my clients take MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) for 6 weeks to decrease histamine response to allergens. The major anti-allergic property of MSM is caused by its ability to act as a “shield” between you and your allergens. MSM works as a histamine inhibitor at least as well as the traditional antihistamines, without the negative side effects.
I know how much you have suffered, now you can be in control and pain free!
Your friend in health,
Lyn-Genet Recitas
www.lyngenet.com
