Confession: Headaches and Migraines aren’t an issue I’ve struggled with very much. Until 3 years ago, I’d only had 2 migraines, and a handful of headaches. Then Menopause hit, or rather the tail end of Peri Menopause, and wow, I got a serious taste of some serious headaches.
For me, it was a matter of getting my hormones tested, and getting on some bio-identical estrogen and progesterone for a year. The headaches stopped immediately. After a year, I went off both because subsequent testing showed that my hormones levels had gone from way too low to way too high. I went cold turkey on the hormones out of fear, got on some great herbs, and all was well,…for a while. Then the headaches came back.
A hormone test (January 2015) showed that my high levels had plummeted way back down to those of old Mother Hubbard, so this time I went on a natural progesterone cream(February, 2015), and added flax (oil and seed) very consistently to my diet to up my estrogen level naturally. I’m due for another test soon, and I’ll let you know what my results are, but I haven’t had a headache since February.
Point of my story: my headaches were hormone related.
What causes yours and what can you do about them? You’re gonna need to put on your detective hat, because this is a condition that has so many causes and triggers. Drugs are a bandaid at best, as they often don’t even work well with migraines; they don’t eliminate the cause of the pain, and they come with too many side effects to ignore.
Those side effects are real and scary. It’s worth the time and effort to figure out your migraine and headache causes, and then experiment with different solutions.
You already have my hormone/headache story. If your headaches are completely centered around your cycle, no matter your age, then you can assume it has something to do with your hormones. This doesn’t mean – at all – that you need to start taking hormones! That’s something for you and your doctor to figure out.
There’s other responses that could be triggering the headache (and cravings and PMS too): low B vitamins, and low magnesium. Both of which get depleted during our period. (or I should say, your period) B6 and B12 are the most commonly sited Bs when it comes to our hormones shifting and symptoms, but I recommend a good B Complex to every woman I work with. Magnesium too; as a matter of fact, Magnesium deficiency is very common. Studies show that at least 56% of our population is Magnesium deficient, but my point with Magnesium and female cycles, is that it’s easy to become deficient right before your period, even if you aren’t usually.
Next, look at your life style patterns. Do you sleep enough? Do you drink alcohol? What drugs are you on? Trigger, trigger, trigger.
Here’s a biggie: do you eat gluten, or a high refined carbohydrate diet? Both can be HUGE headache/migraine triggers. For a one stop shop on this, check out the Wheat Belly blog.
MSG, artificial colors, flavor enhancers, histamine containing foods, artificial sweeteners, these can all be triggers.
Even healthy foods can trigger headaches for certain people; foods like eggs, dairy, nuts, …..pretty common allergens, and allergens can cause headaches.
One of my favorite go-to’s is America’s Pharmacist, Suzy Cohen. That woman’s awesome, and prolific with both her free advice and books, so let’s start there.
Resources: Her book, called Headache Free. A podcast where she dispenses all sorts of great advice, here. Her response to a question about tension headaches, here. Her blog, here. And finally, a great article kind of wrapping up a whole bunch of her advice on headaches, here.
One last trick to try when it comes to headaches, a Liver Detox. If you work with me, you know that I believe in always “loving my liver”. I’m constantly taking dandelion or milk thistle, or doing a Biotics liver detox or taking Herb Pharm Liver tincture. I also make sure to eat plenty of liver loving foods every single day.
If our liver is so overwhelmed with chemicals and toxins and sludge from high fructose corn syrup or trans fats or SUGAR, then of course it’s unable to perform perfectly. One of the results from that would be toxins circulating through our brain and causing headaches.
If you think this might be your problem, get in touch with me.
You don’t have to suffer! What I said in the beginning is true: become a detective. Headache meds are band aides with side effects. Figure out your causes, and then work on natural and healthy ways to eliminate them.
86% of our health care expenses are spent on Life Style Diseases, like headaches and migraines. That’s actually great news, because we can fix our life style and positively effect our health.
I LOVE Essential Oils! From Skin Care to Fighting Virus and Bacteria, They’re Fantastic.
August 16, 2015 / Debbie / Comments Off on I LOVE Essential Oils! From Skin Care to Fighting Virus and Bacteria, They’re Fantastic.
We’re living in a world of rampant illness; 70% of us are are both overweight, and on at least one medication. 70%. The good news: 86% of those meds (and the money spent on them), are for Life Style Conditions. That means we could reverse or at least lessen the condition through Life Style.
Because we can control our life style; we have tremendous power to improve our immunity, our mood, our energy, and our weight with the steps we take to be healthy every single day.
Here’s the thing: good health isn’t going to fall on our heads like rain, we have to pursue it. Essential oils (EOs) are a great tool in that pursuit. Here’s how my family and I use EOs.
Mea Culpa: a couple of years ago, way after I was deeply into real whole foods, stress management, and using herbs and supplements instead of drugs, I was a total skeptic when it came to essential oils. I knew nothing about them – I’M STILL LEARNING/NOT AN EXPERT AT ALL.
I’m not a doctor, and I’m not pretending to be one. My General Practitioner probably wouldn’t use an Essential Oil if you paid him. But I do.
And I love them! EO’s are amazing!! The more I read and learn and use them, the more convinced I am that we sure veered off track when somehow we believed that pharmaceutical medications, with all their side effects and placebo effects and risks, were the only way to treat our ills.
They’re not, much of the world uses essential oils, and has for thousands of years. The Magi brought frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus. How exceptional is that?
Is there research on them? Oh yeah! More and more regular MDs are promoting and using them; here’s both examples and resources for you to use if you’re interested in EO’s for your health.
Wintergreen Oil for pain relief: why? wintergreen oil contains compounds called “methyl salicylate”; menthyl salicylate is an integral ingredient of nearly every anti-arthritic and analgesic balm for muscle and joint pain that is currently available on the market.
From a Dr. Jon Barron newsletter: One reason for wintergreen oil’s analgesic effect is because the methyl salicylate found in the herb is a substance that is similar to aspirin. Did you know that one teaspoon (5 mL) of wintergreen oil is equivalent to approximately 7000 mg of salicylate or 21.5 adult aspirin tablets? That just might explain why it is used in high concentrations in deep liniments such as Bengay to help treat joint and muscular pain. Studies have shown, however, that it is more effective for acute rather than chronic pain.
Here’s a study from Pub Med showing methyl salicylate’s incredibly similar effects to aspirin in an anti-platelet (blood thinning) study for heart disease sufferers. Wow! Aspirin’s really rough on the stomach, how wonderful to have an alternative that’s not.
Yesterday morning I sliced my hands in 2 places cutting peaches. We were planning on spending the whole afternoon in the Shenandoah River, paddle boarding. I applied oregano oil before we left to each cut, and brought it with me in a cooler with an ice pack, so I could apply it again after we got out. The river’s full of bacteria, so I protected myself.
For more science on Oregano oil, go here, and here. That second link is to 33 Pub Med studies on Oregano oil and it’s effectiveness on everything from bacteria to candida to encouraging liver regeneration after hepatitis. Seriously!
Cinnamon oil , Ginger oil, and Peppermint Oil, have huge anti-inflammatory and pro-digestion properties.
Shelby tends to get stomach aches and nausea; ginger oil has become our #1 go to for it. We dose it 2 ways: rubbing some on her stomach, or putting a little swipe of the oil on the inside of her cheek. It’s fast and it works. Ginger chews and real ginger are fantastic also, but when you’re nauseous, it can be hard to get that stuff down.
Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their stance on ear infections? That’s because most ear infections are viral, not bacterial.
Girlfriends, if your mom argues with you about this, tell her the rules have changed since her kids were young.
Anyway, what to do when your child has an ear ache? Garlic oil and tea tree oil. We used these last year on Shelby and they worked FAST. Check out Dr. Axe’s protocol here.
Hopefully I’ve piqued your interest, and if you’ve clicked on any of the links, you’ll see that Essential Oils aren’t woo-woo, at all. I really really encourage you to learn as much as possible about them, because I’m barely scratching the surface in this Post.
Let me wrap it up with my Skin Care Routine, which is ALL about the essential oils and other fats.
I’m 50, I went through Menopause about a year and a half ago; I spend a lot of time outside. Preface: I’m not saying this because I’m proud, I’m saying this because I’m pleased: my skin looks pretty good. I think it’s because I quit using soap and all conventional products years ago, and just started washing my face with an organic scrub once a day, and using only organic lotions. I think not slathering chemicals on my skin was a good start. But two winters ago, I began getting little lines on my lips and checks; panic sunk in. I quit the organic lotions and started using homemade coconut oil/shea butter/cocoa butter/olive oil and Essential Oils.
What I use after my homemade lotion: Rose Hip Serum, Clary Sage, Geranium Oil, and Frankincense. I use the serum every night, but the oils I rotate nightly. I’ve also used Carrot oil, and Myrrh. I’ll probably change this up as I continue to age, and learn more. But right now, it’s totally working for me. If you want to read more about skin and EO’s, check here, and here, and here.
Again, I want to say I’m just scratching the surface, but Essential Oils are so fun and effective and – for myself and my girls – addicting! I’ve made sure all my daughters have their own Essential Oil stockpiles for both home, school, and travel, and that they know how to use them. The more we learn and use them, the more we want to learn and use them.
What brand do I recommend? A bunch. I started with DoTerra, which along with Young Living are the two biggest names in EO’s. However, they’re not the only names. I buy from my local health food store, Natural Market, whom I trust to examine their vendors authenticity; but I have other brands I trust also. Right now, Plant Guru is one of my favs.
If you’re interested, learn more! I am. There was an Essential Oil Summit earlier this summer, you can find access to it here. Order some books; look at all the links I provided in this Post.
Take your health into your own hands! We spend more money on our health through medications and doctors and surgery’s and procedures THAN ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND YET WE’RE THE SICKEST AND THE FATTEST – IN. THE. WORLD.
To me, that means it’s time for a change. Besides, who doesn’t want to look and feel better?