I hadn't planned to write about migraines, which of course was because I was not planning to get a migraine......and yet here we are.
Yesterday I had a migraine. This is the second one I have had in about 15 years, of the true migraine style headaches with visual disturbances and that whole body experience. I used to be plagued by migraines many years ago and worked really hard at all of the pieces. And this is another fall out from covid. My migraines are very histamine in nature. They have probably always been triggered by foods, smells, or something that causes a whole load of histamine on my system. This is the main thing I notice from Covid, and what I was most afraid of. And......I have a heck of a lot more skills and wisdom than I did 26 years ago. Still doesn't make it fun.
I know exactly why I got this. I didn't listen to that little voice. It went something like this........my kids wanted chips. I said that I would like chips too. I have been on a carnivore diet for at least a month and as long as I adhere to that. I feel pretty good. I had a stressful couple of days, so thought I deserved some chips.........haha........I also proclaimed that I didnt want just any chips, I wanted something new. So after carefully reading the label, we choose one together. I didnt see any MSG on it, so thought I would be good
Boy was I hugely mistaken.
Turns out something called torula yeast was an ingredient and I had no clue what this was, but yeast sounded harmless enough. Turns out torula is essentially MSG......or acts in the same way. It is a by product of the paper and wood industry and is from a fungus grown on that wood in a solution of sulfite liquid waste. It's used in dog foods. It's now in many human foods - if we can call them foods.
Within 10 minutes of eating a handful, my field of vision was missing pieces. I knew a migraine was on the way. Within 10 minutes more, I was in excruciating pain and filled with nausea. Within another 5 minutes, my cognitive ability was impaired, I couldn't form coherent sentences, nor could I understand anything I was reading....I could see words...I knew they were familiar..but they were suddenly void of meaning. This is scary. Had I not had such an intimate history with migraines, I would have thought I was having as stroke.
Now given I have such an intimate history....I knew some measures to take and also know the measures to take for the aftermath that I am dealing with today. These are the things I would like to share with you, as I think they may be helpful.
When I first noticed the aura, which looked like a zig zag chunk of my field of vision that was zebra striped, sparkling, and wavy like water......I drank a cup of cold coffee. Coffee can dilate blood vessels and also has antihistamine properties. I then took lobelia. Lobelia can relax the whole system and further relax tension. I used about 5 drops. I had my son make me a cup of ginger root tea - grated fresh ginger with boiling water poured over it. I also took a charcoal capsule as I know the offender was food, and I was aiming to help absorb what I could. Then, I went and laid down on the couch. I put a heating pad on my neck, a pillow over my face and invited my dog to cuddle up with me. I laid therefor about 45 minute and the pain and weirdness started passing a bit.
After this I took more lobelia and my mast cell activation herbs which help with. histamine.
I went to bed early and slept through the night. I also want add that I hydrated well.
In the morning I still felt sore and nauseas. I did still drink my morning coffee, because I adore it....and it did help a bit. I then drank ginger tea.
Now with a migraine, dopamine levels drop. I could see this in my thought process and behavior. Serotonin also gets wonky. Today I have been using a dopaminergic formula that I have adjusted from Sean Donogue's formulation. Sometimes the bacopa is too much for me, but today it wasn't. I needed that L-Dopa kick and the damiana to slow the uptake of dopamine through my system. I also worked again with the MCAS blend along with some rosemary tincture.
None of these measures completely resolved the migraine. I still have it., It will likely be another day or two until it completely dissipates. And it is a bit more manageable with the support of the herbs and the rest.
There are many other tools and herbal allies that may work for folks. These are just the handful that I reached for this time. And I will continue with the histamine reduction and all the things I know how to do.........and I will listen better........because that little voice is always looking out for me......;)
Always listen to that little voice.
Unless of course you feel you need the lesson again.
Then eat the chips. haha......really,,,,probably don't.
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