Case Study: Migraines And Reflux

Linda visited my clinic seeking help for chronic migraines. She is 48 and has been experiencing migraines since her early 20s. They varied in intensity and duration. Some were fairly mild and enabled her to keep working, while others were accompanied by nausea, vomiting and severe throbbing pain. Acid reflux was another of her problems. This started during her third pregnancy and never left. She took one Nexium tablet each evening and was seeking a natural solution.

Over the years, Linda suffered with hundreds of headaches and had used considerable quantities of analgesics, which had made her tired and irritable. She was worried about the side effects of medication and also worried about her brain health and whether she was at higher risk of having a stroke when she was older. Linda found that the headaches were often heralded by nausea and visual disturbances which were quite frightening. She had been unable to tolerate very much alcohol and if she indulged in several drinks with her friends on a weekend she would get the inevitable headache the next day.

Occasionally, if she caught the headache very early, forcing herself to drink several glasses of water could abort it. Unfortunately the headaches often developed during the night, and she woke at 4:30 or 5am with severe pain. This ruined her day and Linda admitted this had caused her to sink into a long term depression. Her own doctor had ordered an MRI scan of her brain, and fortunately nothing abnormal was detected. I think Linda’s gut and liver health were the biggest triggering factors for her headaches, as well as potential food intolerance.

My recommendations for my patient

• I asked Linda to begin regular raw vegetable juicing and told her to use celery, cucumber, cabbage, radish, parsley, mint and ginger. She was instructed to drink one large glass of this juice every morning.
• I asked Linda to remove gluten, dairy products, sugar and legumes from her diet. These foods are common reflux triggers. I also asked her to remove garlic, onion, cauliflower and fruit from her diet. Those foods are high in fermentable carbohydrates and can aggravate reflux or heartburn in people with an overgrowth of bad gut bugs. I gave her Bactoclear capsules to kill the bad bugs in her gut. They contain the essential oils of oregano, clove and thyme, plus berberine. They all act as a disinfectant for the gut. I gave her Gut Health powder and asked her to take one teaspoon in a little water after each meal. The glutamine, slippery elm plus other ingredients heal, soothe and protect the lining of the stomach and esophagus from harsh stomach acid.
• A magnesium supplement is essential for migraine sufferers. Magnesium must be taken daily in such cases to gradually build up the magnesium levels in the body. Magnesium is very effective in reducing migraine and vascular headaches, as it relaxes the arteries which supply the head with oxygenated blood. This prevents the arteries from becoming constricted and narrowed, which is the genesis of migraine headaches.
• My liver tonic Livatone Plus contains the ingredients that make liver cells more efficient at detoxification. Nausea and vomiting are classic symptoms of a poorly functioning liver. I asked Linda to take 2 capsules with breakfast and 2 with dinner.

My patient’s progress

After two months on this program Linda was very happy, as her headaches had become much less frequent and less severe. Instead of getting 3 or 4 headaches a week, she got two a month. She was able to reintroduce fruit, cauliflower and some dairy products into her diet. She found that garlic and onion still upset her digestive system a lot. She no longer needed to take Nexium. I plan to see Linda again in 6 weeks.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.