Book Review - Natural Cures for Headaches

I finally finished reading Natural Cures for Headaches by Dr. Cass Ingram. I loved that it focused on the CAUSE of headaches - a few examples are food allergies/intolerances, infections, hormonal disturbances, chemical sensitivity, muscle tension, high blood pressure, hypohyroidism, adrenal gland disorders, abscesses and brain tumors. The book even has questionnaires for some of these conditions to see if you might have them.

Here are my personal takeaways from the book, which of course I'm going to talk to my neurologist about before taking any action:

- Food Inolerance Test. The UNC neurologist still hasn't called me back, but I'm hoping to keep calling nutritionists to see if anyone has heard of it. Not now though, because my insurance would no cover this test or nutritionist visits.

- Migraten. I did a google search, and apparently there's also something out there called MigraTen, but this is a drug concoction and is different from Migraten. Migraten is made from natural spices and the way Dr. Ingram describes it, it's pretty much a miracle drug for headaches and migraines.

- Diet. The book says to try cutting carbs, refined sugars, white sugar and white flour. I realize that this is virtually impossible, but others have tried this and are alive to tell about it (if you have, please tell me how you did it!). I probably won't be able to cut everything, but I am going to try to cut down on sugar and eat only whole wheat pastas/breads, brown rice, etc. Note that wheat is a common allergy/headache trigger, so be careful if you do try this. Also, I plan on buying more organic foods like milk. The book says to cut processed foods and those with MSG - I avoid MSG since it makes me sick, and although I try not to eat processed foods, I'm not 100% there yet, so I'm going to work on that as well.

Other updates: I've decided to stick with my neurologist (more about that in a future post). The Naproxen was giving me rebound headaches so I called the neuro and he said I could go off it. I did it somewhat gradually and decided that the last one I'd take was yesterday morning. I thought the withdrawal headaches would be a nightmare, but they actually weren't any worse than the rebound headaches I was having. Now I'm just about headache-free! The only drug I'm on now is Bystolic (and my Mirena IUD, and a women's daily multivitamin).

Food Intolerance Test - Natural Cures for Headaches

I've been reading this book which I checked out at the library, and I'm about half way through. The beginning mentioned a Food Intolerance Test that you can take to see if certain foods might trigger reactions such as migraines or headaches. I'm not sure who Dr. Cass Ingram is; the library sticker is over his bio, but according to my google search, "Dr. Ingram holds a Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences" (osteopathy - musculoskeletal manipulation, holistic, blah blah blah - I wikipedia'd it and still don't really get it) talks specifically about how food intolerances/allergies are the number one cause of headaches, and he goes into specifics about this test - it's a blood test that's 80% accurate, costs $2 for each food you test, etc. However, I'm beginning to think he made up this test. Google searches bring up a few lab companies and then other related tests like ELISA, which Dr. Ingram mentions and says it's not as accurate.

I first asked my neurologist about it, who said it wouldn't tell me anything because my headaches are more like tension headaches (I get neck pain sometimes and my headaches are more of a dull pain). But I wanted to try it, so I called a nutritionist, but she only did weight-loss-type stuff. The one nutritionist my insurance covers was a diabetes specialist. My insurance doesn't cover food intolerance testing. Then I tried an allergist, and they only do food allergy testing (which, if I understand it correctly, is different from food intolerance because food allergies cause swelling, shortness of breath, etc.).

On a quick side note, I'm intolerant to MSG, which gives me flu symptoms, but I found that out from going to a nutritionist and keeping a food diary, and I get so many headaches that it wouldn't help to keep a food diary. I could do an elimination diet, but I want to avoid that because of the time and trouble and plus I don't want to fast and then eat one thing at a time for a while. I might change my mind and try it eventually though if I have to.

Going back to the doctors though, so I finally tried calling UNC Hospitals to see if they had heard of the test. The sent me to different units who sent me back to the main receptionist, and finally I asked to be transferred to the neurology department. The person who answered the phone couldn't help but she transferred me to a neurologist, and he ended up saying that he hadn't heard of it but he'd talk to another neuro who specializes in headaches and would get back to me this morning. When I apologized for the trouble he said it was a learning experience for him and he was glad to help.

Unfortunately, he did not call back this morning, but I'm hoping he didn't forget about me and will call me next week.

If I don't hear from him, I might give up on the alleged Food Intolerance Test.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

I have a headache, so this is a quick post. Just wanted to say I'm looking into getting a Food Intolerance Test done, even though my neurologist said he didn't think it would show anything because my headaches seem to be muscle-tension related. But I still want to try it, assuming insurance covers it, which I need to find out. I hope to have more info soon.

Have a wonderful, relaxing and headache-free Labor Day weekend!