Goodbye Migraines

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Read this Star McDougaller online: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jun/beth.htm

 

Star McDougaller: Beth Burns

“Goodbye to Migraines!”

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Dr. McDougall's Comments

Beth’s headaches ruled her life. We can only guess how

different her childhood and early adult years would have been if she

had, instead, lived pain-free. After searching and experimenting she

has found a way to cure her migraines and improve her overall

health—and it is a cost-free and side-effect-free method.

 

About 28 million Americans suffer from disabling headaches. When

the pain is very severe, they are often called migraines—whether or

not they truly are. Classically this kind of headache is preceded by

characteristic symptoms called an aura. The aura is commonly

visual disturbances, described as zig-zag lines and impairment of

vision, but numbness and tingling of the face and arms, and speech

disturbances also occur. These symptoms develop over a few minutes,

usually last for less than 1 hour, and disappear before the headache

begins. The headache pain is intense and throbbing and usually

restricted to one side of the head—and lasting from minutes to days.

The brain tissue has no pain fibers, but the blood vessels to the

brain do have these sensory nerves. The migraine aura is believed to

be caused by constriction of the blood vessels in the brain (cerebral

vasoconstriction) and the headache by the dilation of the blood

vessels that follows (reactive vasodilatation).

 

Worldwide, migraine headaches are reported more commonly in

countries where people consume the Western diet.1 Obesity is also

associated with the frequency and severity of migraines.2 These

observations have led to the idea that rich foods play an important

role in migraine headaches. As with many Western diseases (type-2

diabetes, heart disease, etc.), the large amount of fat people consume

is suspect, and for good reason. Saturated fat (animal fat) causes

blood-clotting elements called platelets to aggregate, and causes the

activation of tiny hormones called prostaglandins. These fat-induced

changes constrict and dilate the blood vessels.

A low-fat diet treatment used at Loma Linda University has been

found to be highly effective for migraine sufferers. In their

published study, 54 patients were taught a diet containing 20 grams of

fat.3 There was no calorie restriction and the diet was primarily made

of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, in other words, a low-fat,

vegan, diet. Their daily fat intake actually decreased among

participants from an average of 66 grams to 28 grams daily. The

results reported after 4 weeks on the diet were statistically

significant decreases in headache frequency, intensity, duration, and

medication use.

In addition to changes in fat content, there are other reasons a

plant-based diet, like the McDougall diet, may help people with

migraine headaches. Since 1913, allergic reactions have been found to

cause migraine headaches in children and adults. Treatments with

simple diets that avoid foods known to commonly cause allergies, such

as dairy, wheat, and corn, have been highly effective at providing

relief.4-6 (If the basic McDougall diet without wheat and corn

fails to give relief then a highly effective elimination diet, found

in my December 2002 newsletter, should be tried before food is

discounted.)

Most people suffer from pain in the head area, but rarely do they

make a connection between their headache and their food—other than

the well-recognized sufferings that result from too much alcohol and

caffeine withdrawal. Since diet has such a profound effect on every

part of the body, food should be carefully looked at early on when the

cause of headaches is being investigated. The benefits of a change in

diet are not limited to migraine patients. I usually see complete

relief of headaches of most kinds—even those with no name or

identified cause—within days after a change in diet. So as Beth

says, “just try the McDougall diet for 12 days.”

1) Morillo LE. Migraine headache. Am Fam Physician.

2002 May 1;65(9):1871-3.

2) Bigal ME, Liberman JN, Lipton RB. Obesity and migraine: a

population study. Neurology. 2006 Feb 28;66(4):545-50.

3) Bic Z, Blix GG, Hopp HP, Leslie FM, Schell MJ. The

influence of a low-fat diet on incidence and severity of migraine

headaches. J Womens Health Gend Based Med. 1999 Jun;8(5):623-30.

4) Egger J, Carter CH, Soothill JF, Wilson J. Effect of

diet treatment on enuresis in children with migraine or hyperkinetic

behavior. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1992 May;31(5):302-7.

5) Egger J, Carter CM, Wilson J, Turner MW, Soothill JF. Is

migraine food allergy? A double-blind controlled trial of

oligoantigenic diet treatment. Lancet. 1983 Oct

15;2(8355):865-9.

6) Monro J, Carini C, Brostoff J. Migraine is a

food-allergic disease. Lancet. 1984 Sep 29;2(8405):719-21.

 

 

 

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I started

having migraine headaches when I was four years old. My mom called

them “hungry headaches,” and every time I got one she fed me. I

quickly learned to associate food with easing my pain. The problem,

though, was that eating never made my headaches go away. I would

continue to cry in pain, which only made things worse.

While growing up in Michigan, my dad struggled throughout most of

my childhood to find work to provide for our family of seven. My mom

was always a loving person, and giving and serving is how she showed

her love to us kids. Since we didn’t have money for the things other

kids had, my mom gave to us by baking and cooking. She was really good

at it, and I was really good at eating whatever she made. If we said

we didn’t like something or if we said we were full, you could see

the pain on her face. So I ate everything.

I can remember my mom’s can of fat on the back of the stove.

She would save the drippings from the meats she cooked for the evening

meal (hamburgers, bacon, pork chops) and would use it the next day to

fry the eggs for breakfast. Thursdays were baking day, and all that

fat on the stove would go into mom’s cookies, cakes, breads and

pies.

Although my mom did what she could to serve her family, she spent

much of my childhood in bed. It seems like her head hurt all the time.

I can remember she would often ask me to bring her a handful of

aspirin—literally a handful. While the other kids in the

neighborhood were running and playing outdoors, I, like my mom, was

often lying in a dark room with an icepack on my head. Each of my

migraines ended with violent vomiting and then several hours of

exhausted sleep.

When I was twelve years old I contracted meningitis, the symptoms

of which were very similar to what I experienced during my headaches.

My parents didn’t realize I was sick because they were so used to me

being in pain from the headaches. By the time my dad decided to take

me to the emergency room, I almost died. I spent a week in the

hospital suffering from severe pain, dehydration and

hallucinations.

Alone with the pain

In school, even though I was academically advanced, my teachers

often accused me of using headaches to get out of doing my work and to

avoid participation in gym class. The truth is, I loved to run and

play, it was just so hard to do with an almost constant headache. My

siblings accused me in the same way, saying it was convenient for me

to have a headache whenever it was time for chores (although, I have

to admit, I liked getting out of chores).

By 10th grade my headaches were a daily event. I was taking

prescription narcotics and had to have my teachers' permission to be

in their classes. It didn’t matter that I pulled straight A’s, the

school secretary would still roll her eyes every time I asked to go

home because of a headache. In college my migraines grew even worse.

While the campus doctor told me that “some people are just prone to

headaches”—a very discouraging comment—some of my professors

were worried that there might be something else wrong besides “just

migraines,” as if that’s not enough.

My heart was broken, and I lost hope of ever being normal. From

this point I started a long trip down the road of depression. I

didn’t want to get out of bed for class. I didn’t want to

participate in campus activities. I didn’t even want to live. And by

now, it wasn’t just the migraine pain that was out of control, so

was my eating.

After college, when I started my career as a Worship Pastor, I

decided it was time to take control of my migraine pain. After dozens

of doctor visits, tests and drugs, I still had migraines at least

three times a week. I also developed gastro-intestinal issues, such as

constipation, diarrhea and acid reflux, which were thought to be the

result of all the medications over so many years. My doctor also

suggested I was allergic to tomatoes, wheat and garlic, so I cut these

things out of my diet, plus sugar and caffeine. But I still continued

to have migraines.

On two separate occasions I was in a serious dating relationship

that was headed toward marriage. Both men, however, felt that they

couldn’t commit to someone who may or may not ever be free of the

migraine pain. By this time my depression was affecting my work and it

was suggested that I seek counseling, which I did. My migraines

improved somewhat but I still had one or two a week. If you've ever

had a migraine headache you know that even one is too many.

I eventually got a job as a counselor in that same office. But I

hated that clients were counting on me to help them with their

problems; meanwhile I would often have to cancel appointments because

my head hurt so much. At this point, it was clear that migraines

controlled my life, not me. I spent a lot of money going in for shots

to help relieve the pain when I just couldn’t bear it any longer.

But generally I resigned myself to the pain and decided not to fight

it so hard anymore.

Finally, relief

In addition to living with migraines, I also wanted to lose some

weight. One day while talking to a friend about how I wanted to eat

healthier in order to shed some pounds, she recommended The McDougall

Program and gave me The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. After

reading the book and some other information from the McDougall

website, I decided it was not going to work because everyone else out

there (the media, other health authorities and authors, etc.) was

saying that carbohydrates are bad. I figured I would just get

fatter.

But I started following the program anyway because my friend had

been so nice to give me the book. I kept telling myself, “It’s

only 12 days—if it doesn't work I can stop.” The funny thing is,

my migraines disappeared! I also began to lose weight, especially

after reading The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss.

Within a week, because my blood pressure was so low (in other

words it was now normal), I had to stop taking the beta blocker my

doctor had prescribed as a migraine preventative. My migraines became

fewer and farther between. They appeared once a week, once a month,

once in a while, and then they completely disappeared. The last time I

had a migraine headache was October 2006 when I was 31 years old. GI

problems became a thing of the past, and I was able to eat tomatoes

and wheat (although garlic still disagrees with me).

On and off the wagon

In November 2007 my mom died unexpectedly from Coronary Artery

Atherosclerosis. At this time I had gotten away from eating McDougall

style for various reasons and was starting to see a return of the

headaches, although they were not yet migraines. My mom was only 64.

Sitting at her funeral I realized that if I continued in my mom’s

footsteps, at 32 years old I have already lived half of my life. That

was a sobering thought.

So I explored other diet programs that allowed for the

consumption of meat and dairy (I missed them) and, once again, daily

headaches became routine. But I kept going because, after all, they

weren’t migraines. In May 2008 I had my first migraine headache in

almost two years. It scared me enough to bring me back to eating

McDougall style. Within two weeks I was once again free of migraines.

So what if I miss meat and dairy; it’s better than returning to a

life of migraine pain.

I now take no cholesterol meds, no blood pressure meds and, most

importantly, no headache meds! Now I can hike, bike, walk, travel,

work, read and go to the movies. All of the things that used to

trigger migraines are the things I now enjoy the most.

My advice to others who are looking for change is to just try the

McDougall diet for 12 days; even if you have to tell yourself the same

thing I did: “It’s only 12 days—if it doesn’t work I can

stop.” But once the 12 days are up you will probably not want to

stop.

Don’t worry if you fall off the wagon, you’ll eventually get

sick of feeling sick and won’t care about missing the taste of meat

and dairy foods. You will discover a host of new fruits, vegetables,

grains and spices while still being able to enjoy healthier and

delicious versions of your old favorite dishes, such as spaghetti and

baked potatoes.

Before, on the standard American diet, I never felt full until I

was so stuffed I felt sick. But on the McDougall diet I finally know

what satisfied feels like, and it feels good!

Beth Burns

Saranac, Michigan

June 2008

 

 

 

2008 John McDougall ed

McDougall Wellness Center P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA

95402

http://www.drmcdougall.com