New to board, migraine-free one year, sharing my story

[abaranowski]

I'm new to the board and eager to share my story. I suffered from debilitating migraines for 3 years after having my second baby. Compared to the stories I've read on here, my 3 years of hell seem like nothing. A couple of days ago, I celebrated one year of being migraine-free. And now I want to help as many people as I can get their lives back from this awful condition.

I know the migraine diagnosis is not simple. There are many symptoms, many causes, many treatments. This is such a baffling condition because it is so complex. I know that what worked for me won't work for everyone, but I do think it can help some of you on this board.

My issue was and is a hormone issue that was somehow triggered by having babies and perhaps by nursing. For some women, the trigger is puberty. For others, it is starting birth control. For others, it is entering peri-menopause or menopause. If your migraines started at a time in your life when you might also have been experiencing significant hormonal changes, I urge you to consider the possibility that you might have a hormonal imbalance that could be remedied by a natural (bio-identical) hormone solution that is considerably less expensive than all the triptans, beta blockers, anti-depressants, anti-convulsives, and other medications you've tried that may or may not have worked but cost you precious money and created unwanted side effects. I'm not talking about going on birth control pills. I tried that and it failed me. Doctors don't like to tell you that birth control pills are made with synthetic hormones that don't exactly replicate what your body naturally produces. I'm also not talking about starting hormone replacement like Premarin which also doesn't exactly replicate the hormones in a woman's body.

If you think this could be your answer, please consider reading my story and about my path to restored health, including recommended resources. I just found a way to publish it on the web inexpensively. I'm not selling anything. I'm trying to help others get their lives back. Paying it forward. Building some good karma.

For the men on this board: I think this hormone issue may apply to men as well, but I haven't researched that aspect yet and while women have their OBs, men don't have hormone doctors. Perhaps they should, because I think men are more affected by hormone issues than many of us realize.

I hope this helps someone on this board.

www.themigrainelink.com

My best,
Angela

[dcook60]

angela, welcome to the best forum on the web. you seem sincere in your desire to help others and share info.

speaking only for myself, my migraines started after what was probably lyme disease. they have never had anything at all to do with hormones.

i've been through a multiplicity of reeeeeally expensive treatments and methods in the past 41 years, including supposedly "bioidentical" hormones.

my question to you and others who swear by this is: how on earth can you call something made out of soybeans and/or mexican yams identical to anything occurring in a human being?

we are not plants. forgive me, but i just don't get it. dianne

[abaranowski]

Hi Dianne,

Thanks for responding to my post. I've been surprised to learn from recent research how many people suffer from migraines after Lyme Disease. I hope you find your cure.

I am not a chemist, pharmacist, or medical professional, but my understanding is that diosgenin is extracted from yams or soybeans and is then converted into bio-identical progesterone cream, or USP Progesterone (USP= United States Pharmacopeia ), with the aid of an enzyme not present in the human body. The United States Pharmacopeia sets and maintains standards for medicines, drug substances, and dietary supplements. The irony of making progesterone cream from soybeans is that raw soy actually promotes estrogen dominance. I think that contributes to much confusion about progesterone cream. However, the end-product is a completely different substance. I had similar concerns that I raised with my pharmacist and he allayed my concerns with a similar, although perhaps more sophisticated, explanation. Hope this helps.

Angela

[Jangel]

While I do appreciate your sincerity in wanting to perhaps help others in their quest for help with this migraine disease, migraines are not caused by an imbalance of hormones. Hormones can be a trigger, but migraine is a complex neurological disorder.

For sure, my migraines got signficantly worse about 4-5 years ago when peri-menopause began and I attribute that to hormones definitely playing a major role as a trigger, but certainly not the cause. The cause is neurological, pure and simple.

What makes it so much harder and puts so much stress on us migraneurs, is that there is always someone who just knows a treatment we should try because it cured them or their sister or someone they know. This puts a tremendous amount of stress on us; we are all different and we are all trying to cope with this illness.

I don't mean to sounds nasty or defensive, but I am trying to come to a place of radical acceptance about having migraine disease. I have spend thousands on conventional and alternative treatments - I have tried dozens; too many to even list here. Some help for a while and some don't, but I always end up with ebbs and flows of being in pain, no matter what I do. Migraine is a progressive disease.

Anyway, my Dr. has recommended I look into BioIdentical Hormones, so I do think you are onto something that may help many of us, but it really is only a piece of the puzzle.

The problem with having chronic migraines is that it is exhausting. So as soon as this bout of daily migraines subsides, maybe I'll have the strength to call the Dr who does the bioidentical hormones. Until then....trying to have radical acceptance.

Sorry to vent....
May we all be feeling better,
Jane

[dawn.binks]

thank you abaranowski for sharing, we ll need to be open to what treatment has worked in curing others not just coping with daily meds. its great to read your free of pain and have been for a year, well done. im very very happy for you. even if only one person on here manages to get their migs controlled by you sharing it is well worth it. thank you.

ONE PERSON IN THIS WORLD MAY NOT MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE BUT TO ONE PERSON YOU CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!

[Jangel]

I didn't mean at all to diminish the enormity of you finding something that has helped you Angela. Far from it. That is so wonderful that you have found success!

Please don't misinterpret my frustration as lack up support or lack of openess for what others are sharing. It is just that: my own deep frustration at hearing about yet another treatment that will be just the thing that will get rid of the migraines. I guess I just responded off the cuff.


After trying dozens of treatments, is it a wonder that I am feeling cynical. Anyway, nothing but blessings to all and hopes that everyone can find something that helps.

Namaste....
Jane

[pen]

I read your site Angela, it was exactly what I was told back in 2000 when I was under a very good thyroid dr.
He told me "your progesterone is shit". Well he was quite an outspoken man, but I figured he meant it,....

He put me on Serenity, but still the migraine came.
He couldn't balance my thyroid either.

That was 5 years before I finally hit menopause.
I never had a migraine in my life until peri menopause.

So now, 5 years in, I am worse than I was the, and I didnt think it could get worse.
I am pleased you have found such a change, but not sure if, when supposedly I now have no oestrogen, it would do the same for me?

Thanks for sharing.

pen

[abaranowski]

Hi Pen,
I had to look up Serenity. I see it's a bio-identical progesterone. Assuming your dose was high enough and knowing this didn't resolve your problem, I would guess maybe your continued migraines were because of your thyroid. How disappointing that your doc couldn't help you adequately. Not sure if you're still experiencing thyroid issues. For you or anyone else interested, www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has lots of insightful info on treating thyroid issues. Lots of discussion about Synthroid vs. Armour, etc.

Surprisingly, women can still be estrogen-dominant once in menopause if they are on HRT or are significantly overweight:

"During menopause, the amount of estrogen produced from the ovaries decreases, but not as drastically as another hormone the ovaries produce called androstenedione (a male hormone). Fat cells can convert androstenedione into estrogen. The amount of conversion in some people is enough to maintain a reasonable estrogen level in the body well into the 70s. The result of excessive estrogen and absolute deficiency in progesterone is clear - estrogen dominance." -- from http://www.drlam.com/articles/Estrogen_Dominance.asp

Hope this helps.
Angela

[Migrainegirl]

Angela

Thanks for sharing. I too got much relief from bio-identical projesterone. I don't know how they make it, I just know it works! However I am on a pill form not a cream. I also take magnesium, iodine for the thyroid, vitamin D, and Omega-3. I have not felt this good in years and like you I want to share this info with others who are as miserable as I was. I know nothing will work for everyone. Our body chemistry and situations may be slightly different. But if something this simple can work, it is most certainly worth at least a try. At the very least it is less likely to cause problems than all the drugs with their side effects.

See also: Www.migraine-headaches-information.com For more on this approach

[abaranowski]

Hi Migrainegirl,

It's so nice to learn of your success. Are you migraine-free now? How did you decide to go with the pill form rather than the cream form of progesterone? The only time I took the pill form was when I was pregnant with my second child and my progesterone levels tested too low. Apparently, this is a common cause for miscarriage. So my doctor gave me prometrium. I experienced lots of nausea with it and was glad when I got to stop taking it at some point during the third trimester.

Do you take progesterone as a preventive or just when you feel migraines coming on? From what I've read, the pills cause a spike and then a decline in progesterone and a lot of it goes unabsorbed. But this way of taking progesterone is recommended for preventing premenstrual migraines. Obviously, the important thing is to keep trying until you find what works. We are all different physiologically and this really is a balancing game.

Thanks for the website link, too.

Angela

[ajr]

I wish the was something that a 17 year old male could try for hormone therapy....my son had had his testosterone tested and it is "normal" according to the neuro, but still, i wonder if it could be some other hormone causing issues. Any ideas on the male side of it? There are lots of males who have migraines and they can't all be due to the same female hormone issues, obviously. I wish it were easier to try out ideas like this - but it is nearly impossible to get a doctor to look into the hormonal side of things for males.

[abaranowski]

The first person I ever knew to suffer from migraines was a 17-year old male in one of my high school classes. I thought of him often when I started having migraines myself, wondering how he kept up with school.

Here is a link to a booklet called Hormone Balance For Men, by John Lee, MD:

http://www.johnleemd.com/store/more_mens_hormones.html

I purchased this booklet with a desire to help my father who has prostate cancer, in the hope that he would consider progesterone therapy. He’s old school and pretty much laughed it off. His urologist and oncologist found a way to discount it. In the meantime, he is following traditional protocols for prostate cancer treatment and suffering all kinds of negative side effects. But I am digressing. My point is I’ve read the book and a lot of the discussion focuses on prostate cancer and prostate health. There is no mention of migraine.

However, the book discusses how men have estradiol, progesterone and testosterone, just as women do. It also says that men can be estrogen dominant, particularly if they are overweight. Dr. Lee admits that we don’t know nearly as much about male hormone balance as we do about female hormone balance.

Dr. Lee recommends saliva hormone testing for men as well, so if your son had the traditional blood hormone test, you may want to consider taking him to a compounding pharmacist (there’s a link to find one on my website) who consults on hormones and can work with you to complete saliva testing. It’s easy. All he has to do is follow a few restrictions and spit into some tubes. And what teenage guy doesn’t like to spit?

Dr. Lee also says that men’s progesterone levels should be 200 to 300 times what their estradiol levels are and that men’s testosterone levels should also be 200 to 300 times what their estradiol levels are. If ratios aren’t optimal, Dr. Lee recommends transdermal progesterone and/or transdermal testosterone. Unfortunately, Dr. Lee doesn't provide the basis for this recommendation in his booklet.

On the other hand, hormones may not be the culprit at all. However, if his migraines started around puberty, I would definitely consider a possible hormone link.

Angela

[ajr]

Thank you, Angela. That was very helpful. Actually, a lot of what you said could apply to him, I will look into that link. I appreciate your reply. I wish we had more doctors around me that were enlightened about this type of thing....I don't think there are many here in upstate NY that are. I could be wrong. Thanks again. I wonder if progesterone cream could ever help....

[Migrainegirl]

Actually the plan I am on has worked well for my brother too, minus the progesterone. He just takes the magnesium, iodine, omega 3, and vitamin D.

In my case I am not headache free. I still get them once or twice a month. But it is certainly better than it was. I will have to look into the cream. Not sure if it is really different or if it is a dosage issue. How much do you use?

[abaranowski]

Migrainegirl,

That's great about your brother. I know these things tend to run in families. My aunt suffered from migraines until she reached menopause.

My progesterone cream comes in this handy little bottle with a twisty thing on the bottom. Every click dispenses an exact amount (7.5 mg) and the container allows me to apply it without using my hands. Don't want to waste any and certainly don't want to get any on my 4 and 6 year old daughters. I take 15 mg per day on cycle days 1-10 and 30 mg per day for the rest of my cycle.

My pharmacist uses a base called Versabase cream. The second time he made it, he inadvertently switched the base to one that contained macadamia nut oil. So not good! It had a funky smell and I broke out in a rash within minutes where I'd applied it. So I rinsed it off and suffered through the day without it. Always be sure to ask what the inactive ingredients are.

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