Good news!

I remain totally migraine free !!!!

Can you believe that I ended my cycle without that recurrent catastrophe, and even feel well now?

I kept expecting it to happen any time, I watched and waited, had everything prepared....but it didn't.

Conclusion: I must be doing something right, but I'm not sure which thing it is?

What I did this month

1.  I do not even touch the right side of my head, face or neck, let alone rest my head in my hand anymore - never, never again!

2.  I'm taking 800mg of Magnesium with B6, morning and night.

3.  I take 2 Rhodiola Rosea a day, with lunch.

4.  I only permit myself a couple of sips of water, every hour or so, and no more (I can drink my 1 cup of tea, 1 glass of fruit juice and 1 cup of morning coffee a little faster).
5.  I've been clearing my blocked Eustachian tubes regularly because I recall that for the last 2 really bad migraines, I woke up with them blocked and with a blocked nose - but no onset of a cold followed.  When I realised this I did some quick searches on a possible link between 'nasal passages and migraine' and came up with this link from the BBC:

Nasal surgery hope for migraine sufferers


This bit of research was really a follow-on from my first encounter with the idea that your nose may be involved in a migraine that I gleaned from this article by M:

Migraine Home Remedies: 15 Ways to Help a Migraine

Looking specifically at "Migraine remedy number 4 - stick a Q-tip up your nose".  

6.  I kept extremely tight control of my stress levels.  To do this I kind of zoned-out and imagined myself as very isolated with my disease and thus 'protected' from stressful influences.  I convinced myself if I didn't control the stress, it would probably, eventually kill me?


So, somewhere in there is the answer, but I'm not sure if its one thing or a combination of a few or a combination of all of them?

All I know is, I'm going to keep doing these things.

Its very weird because even though I didn't get a migraine, if I take the time, I can actually make out subtle sensations that seem to suggest a possible mechanism for migraine  because they seem to travel along the same route?

By that I mean, I've managed to notice tiny isolated biological events that take place along the pathway of pain.  

These 'twinges' or sensations are comparatively gentle, unobtrusive and strangely self-calming in their end-phase.  The really weird result is, that what starts as a rush of blood, or slight throb around my head and neck, ebbs away and ends up strangely soothing (?).

Like this morning.  When I woke up and realised there was no headache, I didn't rush around like a madman, instead I took things slowly and eventually did a lot of lifting of heavy mattresses and bedding.  (The dog won't sleep alone anymore so DH camps with him in the living room!).

After lifting all that stuff, I noticed my face was flushed, I felt the blood rush up my carotid artery, then end up to the top of my head.  At that point, I felt about 4, very slow and deliberate pulsations of blood in the top right side of my head.  

I stood waiting in case this was it, really concentrating on the feeling, then, I was aware that after the last pulsation, a strange calmness moved across my head.  I haven't had that sensation in my entire life because usually if the blood pumps to my brain too fast, I get an unpleasant head-rush feeling, that's often accompanied by quite a sharp pain.    

This 'strange calmness' is totally shocking really, with all that has been happening in my head lately, I wonder why the previous bruising didn't react?  Why didn't my head's blood vessels spasm? Why didn't I have that agonising full-blown horrendous inflammation response?

No need for ice packs; neck massagers; 500mg of soluble paracetamol; vomiting or even head-banging.

The only thing that was a bit weird was that before the end- of-cycle arrived, I had a very urgent bout of diarrhoea.  

Well you know, if I really think about my symptoms over the years, this diarrhoea business is no surprise.  This is exactly how my periods used to be when I was about 15 years younger.  My legs would go numb, I would become really pale, get diarrhoea and then things would finally kick in.

Then for the last 10 years, I've probably been borderline hypothyroidism.   Now the trouble with that condition is that you get very constipated, 99% of the time.  

I'm no expert, (or even medically trained) but I have a sneaking suspicion that my migraines actually begin in my bowels for some reason??  By that I mean, the mechanism that starts the period must be like a radar and somehow or other it detects that my bowels are blocked and sends a panic message to my brain, possibly??

Either that, or it has something to do with stale, old *serotonin being at odds with hormone levels??  

Maybe this sounds outrageous, but I have a feeling that when you vomit or have diarrhoea, you are ejecting older serotonin to replace it with a whole batch of new, fresh stuff.  Because remember, 95% of serotonin is produced in the guts...  

Anyone following this diary from the start, will recall that I said the last 4 years of horrendous migraines have been connected to constipation and only when that problem gets solved, does the migraine subside.  

This has to be linked to the relief a lot of people get by vomiting during a migraine, as it somehow ends the headache too?   

Isn't it funny how, my need to expel stuff, happens..um lower down?

Another thing I noticed before this menses was that for about 4 days prior, I suffered pretty bad insomnia.  I forgot to mention that and put it down to life, but as I'm sleeping fine again now, I know it was 'cyclically induced'.  

It turns out that insomnia is the classic 'first phase' of a drop in serotonin levels, as discussed a very helpful article I've linked to here called a:

Guidebook for Preventing Migraine Headaches, Depression, Insomnia, and Bipolar Syndrome  By Dr. John A. Allocca  

(For some reason, the article doesn't appear until half way down the page, so you'll have to scroll down.)  

Its a very interesting piece of writing and I'm particularly interested in the discussion about the link between insomnia, sugar cravings, depression, migraine and bi-polar.  

I should mention at this point that because of my pronounced mood swings during my cycle, I've often  wondered over the years whether I might be borderline bi-polar?  The tendency to speak very fast has always been something that precedes a drop in my mood.  Also, my dear family are quite sceptical whenever I'm 'very happy' as they often say 'watch out, she's headed for a slump'.  

If I am, I must be borderline because I'm quite evened-out most of the time?  Rhodiola Rosea is certainly helping smooth out my highs and lows, as well as increasing my concentration levels.  Its pretty expensive stuff but I tell you, I plan to continue taking it till I drop dead.

* A quick search on wikipedia (loosely paraphrased here) describes the mechanism of vomiting as not being properly understood, but having a lot to do with levels of dopamine and serotonin - among others.