New to PB and hoping to beat migraines once and for all! page

[Aliophile]

March 1, 2012
Hello, fellow PB fans,

I'm Ali and I stumbled upon MDA several months ago but gave it no notice, really. I believe at the time I was searching for info on candida (yuck, I know!) I came back to the site about a week ago, started reading the posts in earnest, and I'm now fully committed to adopting the lifestyle.

I've always been on the lean side and a gym-goer to boot, but after abdominal surgery for endometriosis 6 years ago I found weight training and cardio machines to be too uncomfortable. My years of fitness allowed me to maintain muscle tone despite being a carb queen. My sugars came in the form of salty chips and I'd drunk rivers of full sugar pepsi's and cokes most of my life. In retrospect it's no wonder my hormones were all out of whack and candida continued to rise to awful levels. I never thought I'd ever be able to follow the no sugar candida diets - not with my love of potatoes!

On top of the candida I'd suffered all my life with terrible migraines. These were linked to my crazy hormonal fluctuations so at least twice a month, during ovulation and at the start of menstruation, I was guaranteed a full blown, two day migraine. Not to mention the ten or so days per month I've been headachy and exhausted. The thing about migraines is often the only thing that would give me temporary relief during those excruciating 48 hours was comfort foods like potatoes and chips and fatty sweets like pudding and ice cream. I literally needed to eat those things to curb the nausea and settle my stomach, while taking the edge off the pain in my head. As long as I was spooning that stuff into mouth I'd feel better. The cravings during migraines were overpowering.

To control the migraines I'd cut out certain foods - sometimes for years at a time (dairy, alcohol, bread) for extended periods of time but nothing seemed to help. I'd find myself giving up and bingeing on even more processed foods. At this stage I'd turned to diet coke, which meant I was cutting down on the sugar at least.

About 2 years ago I began "eating clean" and even went on a super strict 1200 calorie per day eating plan that consisted of oatmeal w/ cinnamon and a banana in the morning, 4 oz of salmon, 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1/2 cup of yellow squash for lunch and a 4 oz serving of meat + more squash and zucchini for dinner. I didn't cheat once in 30 days, lost 12 pounds and got down to my smallest size since I'd been a gym-goer. Oh, also, I barely had enough energy to get out of bed and cook my food. Naps became my best friend.

Then, after a month long haitus on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, where I cooked super nutritious meals and even foraged for some of my foods (herbs from the garden, mussels harvested at low tide from the rocks at Solva and apples scrumped from nearby orchards, delicious pork, lamb and chicken roasts on Sundays) and I believe it was absolutely the healthiest 4 weeks of my life - all the chilly, fresh sea air, the nutritious foods, trecking along the Pembrokeshire coast and meeting lots of lovely creative people - it was the best!

But after I returned to the states I went through a traumatic episode with my parents that caused me a lot of distress and the two years of good eating and all the gains I made were dramatically reversed as I gorged myself on comfort foods to help numb my emotional pain. I had done what was best for me emotionally in the long term and have worked through most of the bad feelings but at at the time the emotional fallout from family members sent me into a negative tailspin and I gained 25 pounds in less than 2 months and kept it on for over a year.

About a month ago I began eating the PB way (75 - 80%) A couple of days ago I decided to just go for it - no more grains at all, and only cream and raw honey for my tea. I'm 95% primal now. I'm eating salads like crazy after finding a vinaigrette recipe I love - it contains a small amount of raw honey and it's DELICIOUS!) I thought I'd never be able to eat a salad that didn't have blue cheese in it (blue cheese triggers migraines for me so it's OUT) so thank heaven for this recipe.

The results are already showing.

This was the first month I have not had a yeast infection before my period and I'm feeling strong and satisfied with the lovely, fatty proteins I've been preparing. I have more energy (especially this morning after having suffered 2 days with a migraine) and I'm slimming down again.

I'm really hoping to experience fewer migraines in the coming months. From what I've been reading, eating those good fats do much to regulate hormones and I'm looking forward to more positive results.

I'm so grateful to MDA for providing such amazing information. The success stories on this site are SO inspiring! To all you fellow seekers of knowledge, I'm looking forward to hearing your stories and here's to our combined success!

[Aliophile]

March 2, 2012

Woke up with a slight headache this morning which I still have after a breakfast of onions sauteed in butter, three eggs and four strips of uncured bacon + tea w tbsn raw honey and organic cream. Forgot to take any magnesium last night so taking some now.

For anybody else taking magnesium - make sure it's magnesium citrate and not oxide. Oxide isn't processed by the body very well at all.

Will be heading out for a long walk in Golden Gate Park shortly.

Abdominal tenderness but it is officially the fourth day of my period, even though bleeding stopped after day two.

[Danielle5690]

Have you read the "Iodine Anyone?" thread yet? You have several symptoms of severe iodine deficiency (endometriosis, painful periods, migraines, low energy).

Also, have you ever tried an elimination diet to figure out what your migraine triggers are? There are some fairly universal ones, like MSG and tannic acid, but everyone is different. I have a family member whose migraine triggers are nightshades and dairy.

[Aliophile]

Woke up this morning feeling great with no headache to start my day. Have put the most amazing beef stew in the slow cooker for later. Here are the steps:
1. Sautee a bunch of sage leafs in pan until crispy - put in Slow Cooker
2. Brown grass fed stew meat cubes in butter - into SC
3. Sautee about 6 cloves of diced garlic in butter - throw into SC
4. Add a half bottle red wine into sautee pan to deglaze it and add 2tbsps tomato paste - scrape sautee pan of all tasty bits as you stir then pour into SC
5. Quarter 2cups button mushrooms - toss into SC
6. Core and cube a small butternut squash (save seeds for toasting) toss squash into SC
7. Peel and slice 2 carrots - into SC
8. Peel and slice 2 parsnips - into SC
9. Wash and cube 4 small fed potatoes - into SC
10. Peel and quarter 1-2 onions - toss into SC
11. Add 1-2 cups beef bone broth to SC
Set SC to High and let it come to a boil (about one hour). Then reduce heat to low and let it cook all morning. Before serving taste and add sea salt and pepper accordingly.

The flavors in this beef stew are simple INCREDIBLE! I can't wait to have a big bowl later today : )

[Aliophile]

Thanks for the reply, Danielle

I'll def check out the iodine thread. I've been following Dr. Buchholz's migraine protocol and have eliminated all foods and chemicals, including MSG, on his list. I know I have specific triggers that get me every time, like blue cheese, all alcohol, oranges, balsamic vinegar, raw onions and garlic and dark chocolate - I know! All super tasty stuff and I no longer eat them. I'm also careful not to get dehydrated. I'm going to use the primal diet as my elimination diet since I'm eating nothing but meats, fats and vegetables with the occasional fruit thrown in. i'm beginning to think that up and down blood sugar is the primary culprit.

I've got some iodine and thyroid support supplements and will add those to the mix and let you know how I feel : )


[QUOTE=Danielle5690;737898]Have you read the "Iodine Anyone?" thread yet? You have several symptoms of severe iodine deficiency (endometriosis, painful periods, migraines, low energy).[QUOTE]

[jammies]

What type of magnesium do you take?

[Aliophile]

hey jammies

I'm taking Magnesium citrate. I've read a lot of Dr. Mark hyman's stuff and he states that our bodies don't process magnesium oxide which is what you'll find on the shelves of most drug stores. I get mine from the vitamin shoppe, their private label.

What type of magnesium do you take?

[Analog6]

Migraines can be a symptom of gluten intolerance. I had them all my life to age 53 when I went on ATkins and after 5 days was migraine free. Subsequent investigations of my various problems led to a diagnosis of probable coeliac disease, but at the very least severe gluten intolerance. I was not prepared to go back to eating wheat to see if I did have it, or to have the very invasive (IMHO) exploratory biopsy operation.

Prior to giving up gluten proucts I suffered from the following symptoms, now all disappeared apart from a clicky/slightly arthritic knee, probably due to age as much as anything.

• Migraines (had them all my life 2-3 p/wk - last one was Sept 2005!)
• Recurring bloating, gas, or abdominal pain
• Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• Bone or joint pain (incredibly painful ankles/knees/hips every morning)
• Behavior changes/depression/irritability
• Vitamin K Deficiency
• Fatigue, weakness or lack of energy
• Missed menstrual periods
• Infertility male & female
• Canker sores inside the mouth
• Tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
• Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH) Skin Rash (a skin manifestation of celiac disease characterized by blistering and intensely itchy skin. The rash has a symmetrical distribution and is most frequently found on the face, elbows, knees and buttocks. DH patients can also have gastrointestinal damage without perceptible symptoms.)

[diving diva]

All I can say is stick with it , I too suffer migraines caused by stress and some foods , gluten being the worst culprit , when I eat clean I don't get migraines , if I have alcohol or bread etc I do . The magnesium seemed to help me too .
I have gone from 2 to 3 migraines a week which always involved me throwing up and then sleeping them off to 0 !!
Good luck

[Aliophile]

Thanks, Analog & Diva!

I'm looking forward to no headaches eventually on the primal lifestyle! The success stories on MDA really give me hope. I'm tired of my " story" being a woman with a terrible quality of life because of migraines! I want my story to be a vibrant woman who feels amazing every day and has the energy to achieve all her dreams! Much better, yes?