[00:00]
I just remember like I couldn't see like I lost my vision
[00:04]
I was like feeling my way down the hall and it was very extreme. Like why am I getting migraines again? I
[00:11]
Would just have to shut myself in the room just sleep extra keep the light away kind of thing. That was my deal. I
[00:19]
Heard you on a podcast and I was like 30 bucks. Let's give this a try. I'm like, what do I have to lose?
[00:26]
Like this sounds great and
[00:28]
So I took that quiz and then I was like, wow, and so it actually gave me some hope
[00:34]
So like it's just consistently every single time been getting better and better at the last ones. Yeah
[00:39]
Yeah, and with no migraine, which is beautiful
[00:43]
And my biggest tip is just do not lose hope. Oh, there's always hope and there's always progress
[00:48]
Hello Jessica, thank you so much for being with me today. Thanks for having me
[00:52]
So today we want to talk about your story and your life
[00:55]
Do you want to say a few words about where you are located?
[00:58]
What do you do in life so people can situate you in your home? Sure. I am in Ontario
[01:05]
Canada currently I am self-employed. I have financial planning practice with my husband
[01:10]
We have a seven-year-old son. So let's go into migraine history. How did it start in the first place?
[01:15]
So my first memory of migraine was my mom was saying it was like I was around four or five and my first memory is just
[01:22]
Yeah intense pain. I'd have to go to my room lie in bed
[01:25]
I would be pretty much stripped down to like my underwear and undershirt
[01:28]
I'd have a cold washcloth on my forehead
[01:30]
My mom would have to tape the sides of the blinds closed so that no light could get in
[01:36]
I would wear sunglasses on my eyes and
[01:40]
I still remember the taste of like a little bit chewable children's Tylenol
[01:44]
that she would give me because my mom was like she didn't know what else to do and then how often
[01:50]
did they occur at that age? I do have those memories so I assume it occurred often enough that I would have that that memory pretty ingrained in my head that that's oh, this is what we do when this happens
[02:00]
And so did it sometimes happen in bizarre situations?
[02:04]
You know what was a huge trigger for me is my family like we we didn't go out for meals very often or to a restaurant but when we did it was way back in the day where there were smoking sections and non-smoking sections and cigarette smoke was a huge trigger for me and so I do recall that like oh no, you know there's people smoking and the non-smoking sections and I was like oh my god, I don't want to go out and smoke
[02:24]
And so I remember a lot of times like having to leave the restaurant or just getting sick while we were trying to have a nice family meal out that we rarely did so it was a special occasion.
[02:48]
What happens next?
[02:50]
I did want to share my mom told me a story that when I was in grade one she went to a parent-teacher interview and my grade one teacher was a little bit concerned because like if I did an activity or assignment or drawing whatever it might be if it wasn't perfect or according to my standards I would just like ball it up and throw it on the floor and I would just you know do that multiple times like I've always been a very driven perfectionist kind of personality
[03:16]
and I know that that can sometimes go hand in hand with chronic pain symptoms and so I've been learning a lot and I'm just kind of putting some of the puzzle pieces together and like oh okay that makes sense you know and I do remember I think it was my first the first time I got my menses I remember I think I was 12 like it was a fairly normal age to get it.
[03:34]
I was in the bathroom and then I just remember like I couldn't see like I lost my vision I was like feeling my way down the hall and I remember a man I don't know if it was the janitor or another father or teacher just like are you okay and I was just like I just didn't know what to do and I remember just like my mom had to come and pick me up from school because I was just you know I had a lot I don't know if that's a migraine symptom like I don't recall like having extreme pain but I know like the visual thing was yeah.
[04:03]
It was very extreme.
[04:05]
Can you describe the visual thing?
[04:07]
I just I couldn't really see like I I had lost a I don't know if it was just like lights in my eyes or what but I just remember I literally had to like feel down the hallway in order to get to like the school office because I couldn't really see.
[04:23]
So what happens next is more so my symptom kind of turned into a an eating disorder so I developed an eating disorder in high school but during that time I didn't really have migraines I think because my body's like okay you're distracted enough with this eating disorder we don't also have to give you a migraine you're okay right and so that kind of traveled with me kind of into university a little bit as well.
[04:49]
I also lost my period during that time so I had hypothalamic amenorrhea.
[04:56]
I remember vividly in our first call when I when I did the introductory call with you as you had mentioned you know there's a genetic component but then when it's before kind of the age of menses like when it's in childhood there's a strong trauma component and that's where it kind of clicked for me.
[05:14]
I had never put those two things together until you said it and I was like oh my goodness this makes so much sense now that's kind of where I was like huh there's something to this.
[05:24]
Oh yes and now I understand what you mean yes which is super important I think over the years we've realized if there was childhood trauma which we ask again as a really important question we really needed to help and the vagus nerve restores normal function of dress and digest there was a default mode to being a fright or flight in that super tense situation so what you describe of perfectionism that just being constantly on edge your body learns to cope with being constantly under pressure.
[05:53]
And so you move forward in your life and then and then the migraine come back.
[05:58]
So I got married and but because I had not changed sort of be over exercising my circadian rhythm was totally off and so I remember the doctor saying you know what exercise is healthy you know we can give you these shots and do these things and so I told my husband I'm like okay just give me six months I'm gonna sort this out I want to figure this out before we go down this road because clearly something's wrong like having your period is a vital sign right and something's not right.
[06:22]
And something's not going on with my body and so I actually found this book and so I read it and it was basically yeah you need to stop exercising so hard and you need to eat some fat in your diet because I also grew up in the low fat craze it's like to eat healthy is to eat low fat and so I was over exercising and under eating fat.
[06:42]
So of course my body couldn't produce sex hormones right and so I did that and my cycle returned like two months later and then I got one more cycle after that and then I got pregnant.
[06:54]
And so that was beautiful and then I breastfed for quite a while so my period again didn't return quickly but then eventually I started I kind of actually I sort of went keto carnivore for a while and it actually got my cycle back but then with my cycle coming back the migraines came back and so that's kind of where this whole thing precipitated again like oh crap like why am I getting migraines again.
[07:19]
Like I do remember before getting pregnant I would get the odd like migraine.
[07:25]
My migraine is typically when it does shift here and there but typically especially before I started the Migraine Heroes program and actually you know trying to be strategic about it all.
[07:37]
It was typically a right eye migraine for three days.
[07:41]
I would just have to shut myself in the room just sleep extra keep the light away kind of thing that was my deal.
[07:48]
So I would have that maybe like while I was not having a period before all of this like maybe once a quarter if that maybe a couple times a year like it would still rear its head once in a while but it wasn't like hindering my life if you could say that in a way that was you know really interfering.
[08:05]
But then once I got my period back after stopping breastfeeding and all of that then that's when they became more frequent.
[08:12]
And again I have the type A I've always like other than obviously eating disorder is very unhealthy but I've always lived the quote-unquote healthy lifestyle like I've always you know eaten well I've exercised even when I dialed it down to a healthy level I've still always maintained that.
[08:30]
I'm like why am I still getting migraines like this doesn't make sense.
[08:34]
And so that's sort of when I heard you on a podcast and I was like okay like 30 bucks let's give this a try.
[08:42]
I'm like what do I have to lose like this sounds great.
[08:46]
And so I took that quiz and when I took the quiz I literally it felt like you were reading my mail.
[08:52]
I was like how does she know all of these different symptoms and all of these different things I've experienced and I was like wow.
[09:00]
And so it actually gave me some hope too because and especially after talking with you I just knew I needed guidance I tried for so long to fix things on my own whether it's migraine or anything I've always been very independent.
[09:14]
I can do it I'm going to figure it out and I just realized that you know what I need some outside independent help.
[09:20]
Actually one of the biggest changes I made when I started the program I think for a couple months I still turned a little bit to some of the over-the-counter pain medications just at night to help me sleep.
[09:30]
I did like the foot baths that you recommended like I will there was those were lovely actually was so cute my seven-year-old son.
[09:36]
I'd be like hey mommy's gonna do a foot soak he'd grab his little chair he'd lift up his pants and he'd like put his feet in with me and we'd play chess.
[09:44]
Oh that's so cute.
[09:45]
Yeah and he would he'd get right all into it so yeah it was really sweet moments like that.
[09:51]
I have two questions for you one is oftentimes people just like numbers.
[09:56]
When your menstruation came back how often would you have migraine and then how long would you say it took you to have results?
[10:03]
I would probably get a migraine a month or six weeks because again my cycle was still regulating so typically it would be that right eye three-day migraine.
[10:14]
It did kind of transfer sometimes I would get like a left eye mostly coming on in the evenings that kind of shifted a little bit here and there.
[10:21]
But then once I started the program I did see progress.
[10:24]
I do feel that probably within the last six months is where I've seen the most progress.
[10:32]
I think actually in August I think I'm coming up on two years on the program.
[10:37]
So like it's just consistently every single time been getting better and better if the last ones yeah.
[10:43]
Yeah and with no migraine which is beautiful.
[10:45]
Okay so what single advice would you have for women who have migraine?
[10:49]
I would say for like just relaxing I think the fear of having a migraine is the worst thing that you can have because I would fear like if I even felt like a tinge I'm very in tune with my body.
[10:59]
If I even feel like a tinge somewhere like I'm like oh no is this a migraine coming on?
[11:04]
And so I would say just kind of you know yeah like wear it loosely like don't think don't catastrophize right away that this is like the start of something because even if it wasn't it might just because you're fearing it trying to yeah.
[11:19]
It's easier said than done like it's hard like just don't be afraid or don't you know just think safe thoughts.
[11:26]
Like it doesn't work that way I get it but if at all you can or get to know your body and your emotions and yeah and don't be afraid to try new foods.
[11:36]
They're actually usually tasty.
[11:39]
You know when I really think of you and I think it's always true it's like getting over the edge of migraine is usually a transformation.
[11:50]
It's a transformation of what's happening inside the body but also how you perceive and you feel with your external world and so having a big picture of you being truly you and not just a copy version of yourself of being who you're meant to be I think it's really beautiful.
[12:09]
That's the other wonderful part too of you know again I don't know what's going to happen in six months if I will like it you know who knows if it's the end of my migraine story but you know it is nice that when you mentioned just about the family.
[12:23]
It's like when you when you do have them in more frequent and you're kind of down for the count for two or three days like you kind of feel like which only adds fuel to the fire is like you feel like you're failing as a wife failing as a mother because you're not able to do the things you normally do or be attentive.
[12:37]
You kind of almost feel like you just have to be selfish for those few days just to get over it right and so yeah it's just to have that freedom now and yeah just to be fully present and just you know just live with gratitude because even if I was still experiencing them all the time there's always things to be grateful for.
[12:58]
And you know but I'm just so grateful for you and your team and just kind of the start to this whole journey and just finding the hope there and you know all of these things fell in place like I don't think it's a coincidence I think it's divine intervention and yet yeah I'm just so grateful for you guys.
[13:17]
The feeling is really reciprocal and a huge thank you for all of those people you're helping today.
[13:23]
I really really mean it.
[13:25]
Thank you so much.
[13:26]
And my biggest tip is just do not lose hope.
[13:28]
There's always hope and there's always progress.
