Chiropractic Care for Migraine Headaches
One week I started feeling as if I was getting the flu. It began with some stomach cramping for a few hours, which led to vomiting for 12 hours every 5-15 minutes. As if these symptoms weren’t enough in themselves, a severe headache followed these hours of misery. I had to lay in bed for three days with lights off and as little sound as possible. I couldn’t wait to get over this flu. I was a college student with a full schedule and I was missing classes, work, study sessions, and a much-valued social life.
When my symptoms finally cleared, I was still tired and achy, but was ready to return to my normal routine. Finally, life was back to normal, or so I thought. Five weeks after my recovery the same symptoms came flooding back. Another three days of misery. I couldn’t believe I had the flu again.
I was overjoyed when I reached recovery once again. I returned to classes and all the assignments and notes I had missed. I was able to catch up on all the work and be on the same pace as my classes when my symptoms set in again another five weeks later. This time I knew I was dealing with much more than a case of the flu. After this round ended, I made an appointment with my medical doctor. I explained the stomach cramps, sensitivity to light and sound, and the continuous vomiting. My doctor diagnosed these symptoms as a migraine. I was given a list of trigger foods to avoid and a prescription. The medication would stop the full migraine from coming on if taken on the onset of symptoms.
I had the opportunity to put this prescription to the test five weeks later. The pill failed to keep all the symptoms and the full-blown migraine at bay. By the time any symptoms set in, it was too late because the pills escaped through all the vomiting I endured. So, after round four we made another appointment with my doctor, hoping to receive a better solution that would end the five-week cycles for good. This time I was given a new prescription. It was for high blood pressure. I didn’t have high blood pressure, but it was suppose to regulate my body in a way that would prevent the migraines from ever coming. The thought of no more migraines was very appealing, but there was still something unsettling to me about this plan. I discussed these findings with my mother, who also felt uncomfortable with this solution. She urged me not to take the pills.
I returned to my doctor again where I found another choice would be to give myself a shot when I felt a migraine was coming. The medicine would stay in my system even if I began vomiting. I was hoping for an answer that would stop the migraine before it got to that point. I declined this idea and left feeling hopeless. I hated these interruptions on my life. My schoolwork was being affected. My paycheck was being affected. And of course, my social life was affected.
My mom hated to see me suffer and she suggested something that would change my life. She thought I needed to find a good chiropractor. My sister suffered severely with asthma as a child, and through chiropractic care she was able to regain health and end all medications she was on. I made an appointment that afternoon.
I began receiving low-force chiropractic adjustments three times a week. After three months of getting adjusted every week, I began feeling discouraged again because every five weeks I was still getting a migraine. I could schedule them in my planner and live life accordingly. I was a fashion major in college and since I had a “scheduled” migraine I had to miss a class trip to “Fashion Week” in Chicago. This lifestyle was really wearing on me.
I talked to my chiropractor about my concerns and frustrations. She asked me to stick with chiropractic. It had taken years for my body to develop migraines, so it was going to take time to for my body to return to a healthy state. A month later I missed the next scheduled migraine. I then became a firm believer in chiropractic. I continued to get adjusted and continued to miss the migraines every five weeks.
It is five years later and I am still migraine free without taking any medication. It is my desire to remain this way, so I still get adjusted three to four times a month. If I had never given chiropractic care a try, I would most likely still be getting migraines every five weeks. Thanks to a chiropractor turning on my body’s own innate intelligence, I am migraine free and living life according to my own schedule.
