[00:00]
Hello, this is the Migraine Heroes podcast, a podcast where we share real stories from
[00:07]
real people suffering and battling with migraine disease.
[00:11]
In this podcast, we seek to provide support, hope, holistic health advocacy, and inspiration
[00:18]
for those who suffer from migraines.
[00:23]
The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered
[00:28]
a substitute for medical professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
[00:34]
Always consult with your health care provider for any health-related concerns.
[00:39]
And remember, everyone and every situation is unique.
[00:44]
Hello Jade, thank you so much for taking the time.
[00:49]
Thank you for being here.
[00:50]
No worries at all.
[00:51]
It's so great to be here.
[00:54]
So in this conversation, I'd love for you to share with us, with me, your entire migraine
[01:02]
I only know a little bit of it.
[01:05]
And so if you can share where you're from and how your migraines started in the first
[01:10]
So I'm in Melbourne, Australia.
[01:14]
I'm originally from Perth, but I've been in Melbourne for about nine years.
[01:18]
I've been having migraines since I was about 12 years old.
[01:25]
And they first came on as a dizziness and a loss of sight.
[01:30]
I get migraine with aura.
[01:33]
And from there, I experienced them probably maybe every few months.
[01:40]
And then they got worse as I got older.
[01:43]
I would get numbness.
[01:45]
Can you take us back to when you were 12?
[01:49]
Did you have a first really strong attack or did it start gradually?
[01:54]
My first attack was, it wasn't too strong.
[01:58]
It was more the vision was gone, which was really scary as a 12 year old, not really
[02:03]
knowing what was going on.
[02:05]
And my parents actually hadn't had migraines, so they weren't really aware of what was going
[02:14]
The second and third got really bad when I was younger.
[02:18]
I was hospitalized for probably two or three of them, maybe four.
[02:26]
Can you describe that?
[02:30]
It leads to one event.
[02:31]
Like, you know, what happens?
[02:32]
How do people take care of you?
[02:36]
So when we were still trying to get like medications and all of these things sorted, we would
[02:43]
be being told to do so many different things and it was quite overwhelming.
[02:46]
And I remember one of the attacks was, the vision went and then I get really dizzy and
[02:57]
then I lose sensation down one side of my face, which can appear quite a lot like a
[03:06]
And in this one, the pain, we couldn't get it under control to a point that I had to
[03:13]
And as soon as I tried to tip my head forward, maybe to have a drink or anything, I was like,
[03:19]
I was in so much agony.
[03:21]
I was a young girl and my family rang the ambulance and they were like, we'll come and
[03:27]
get her because I just, I literally couldn't move.
[03:29]
There was so much pain, like throbbing through my head if I tried to move at all.
[03:34]
And it had been, I reckon about 12 hours by this point.
[03:38]
So there was not really many other drugs that I could have from home.
[03:43]
And I remember the ambulance having to get me in and they tried to put me into a wheelchair,
[03:49]
but they couldn't.
[03:50]
I had to bring the bed in to actually get me out and then get me there to give me drugs
[03:55]
to try and like just manage the pain.
[03:57]
It was, it was so scary.
[04:01]
So they gave you pain medication immediately in the ambulance or they first took you back
[04:08]
They gave me, I had the Green Whistle.
[04:10]
That's how, that's how bad it was.
[04:12]
So I had that just for them to calm me down enough to get me in and because I was in so
[04:18]
much pain, I was hyperventilating a lot.
[04:20]
So the tingles and the loss of sensation was quite strong.
[04:25]
And then that, like that, the side.
[04:27]
Would you mind explaining for the listeners what is the Green Whistle?
[04:33]
The Green Whistle is, I think it's a morphine based drug and it's literally a little whistle
[04:38]
that they often give people if they've broken, like literally broken an arm in half.
[04:44]
It's like the first response to try and get your nervous system down because you're in
[04:48]
so much shock because you're in so much pain.
[04:51]
So yeah, it was for them to have to use that, like, yeah, to do that.
[04:59]
It was, yeah, I was in, I was in a lot of pain and it took a long time to get under
[05:04]
So, so then you get that Green Whistle, you're in the emergency room.
[05:09]
What happens then?
[05:10]
Like, you're still awake?
[05:11]
Are you conscious?
[05:13]
Yeah, I'm still conscious.
[05:15]
I remember it being like really blurry.
[05:17]
I could still feel the pain.
[05:19]
It wasn't as overwhelming, but it was there.
[05:24]
And so they had like blankets over my eyes.
[05:27]
They put me into a dark room and tried to, and I was, I was just moaning constantly.
[05:32]
I remember just like that constant moan as they were trying to get it under control.
[05:38]
But there was kind of nothing, we just had to ride it out.
[05:44]
And so you're, for the listeners who are not seeing you right now, you're pointing a lot
[05:48]
to your left side.
[05:49]
Was it on your left side?
[05:53]
So often we'll get one side weakness and at this time, I'm sure it was my left side.
[05:59]
It does sometimes change, so it's not always predictable, but yeah, yeah, that was one
[06:05]
of the signs that was quite scary.
[06:09]
And so you're in your bed, you're moaning, you have that blanket on top of your eyes
[06:13]
and on top of your face, then are you alone at that stage?
[06:18]
Do people leave you?
[06:19]
Do you, cause you can't fall asleep.
[06:20]
No, I can't fall asleep.
[06:21]
My mom was with me.
[06:24]
I was quite, I was still probably 13 or 14 at that age.
[06:28]
So my mom was with me along the way, cause I was still living in Perth, which it was,
[06:32]
it was nice to know she was there.
[06:35]
And she just sort of sat with me as, as I went through it.
[06:38]
I was there for quite a few hours, I think until it kind of subdued a little bit and
[06:44]
then they sort of packed me on my way.
[06:47]
It's kind of just a management at hospital, cause there's not really too much else once
[06:51]
it's there that, that I've been able to do.
[06:55]
And sort of when you were sort of functioning, did you receive any explanation?
[07:00]
Did you receive any medication to take with you home?
[07:03]
Yeah, we, explanation, no.
[07:07]
I had, I, they couldn't really, they said migraine, there was not really an explanation
[07:11]
as to like why or how or any background.
[07:15]
It was kind of like, this is a migraine.
[07:18]
We've given you these drugs and we're going to give you a script for these drugs, have
[07:23]
them every four to six hours, like rest, dark room.
[07:28]
And that was kind of the only guidance we really got.
[07:32]
And how did you, and did your mother feel with that explanation?
[07:36]
Did you feel, that is how, did you, did you believe that or how did you?
[07:41]
I think when I was younger, I didn't really understand as much, but I know that my mom
[07:45]
really struggled with it because if you can imagine your child going through that much
[07:49]
pain and not being able to help them in any way.
[07:58]
You know, my daughter is 11.
[07:59]
I just, I couldn't, you know, I mean, we'd be so in panic.
[08:08]
And we were talking about different doctors and different specialists and different, and
[08:12]
just trying everything that we could think of from a young age.
[08:16]
So can you, can you tell us a little bit about that?
[08:19]
Do you remember some of these encounters?
[08:23]
I remember a few, like I did have a really good GP.
[08:28]
So I guess the GP's role, as far as my experience has been, is just sort of going through the
[08:34]
different drugs that they have on their system to see what they can find that will work.
[08:40]
And then if they find something that works and sort of gives you a little bit of a bigger
[08:44]
gap before your next migraine, and then you get another one, then the dose goes up.
[08:48]
So that was kind of the help that I got from that side.
[08:53]
And then we started looking at, I went to like, I don't remember what type of healer
[09:01]
But I think that it opened my mom's eyes a little bit to the fact that there's like other
[09:06]
therapies out there.
[09:08]
So I was lucky that we did go see one healer who I think he could have been, he gave me
[09:14]
some sort of herbs and nutrients, but it was a lot financially to go through.
[09:21]
I have a younger brother and a younger sister.
[09:24]
So at that age, they would have been about three or four.
[09:28]
So for mom to juggle trying to get me to these appointments and also raising these
[09:33]
two young kids, it was a lot.
[09:35]
So we kind of had to just do what we could manage at the time.
[09:40]
And like over a long period of time, I started just working on my diet and like eliminating
[09:47]
certain trigger foods that you hear about.
[09:50]
And kind of that was the path that we took, which definitely paved the way for me to get
[09:56]
to where I am because I became interested in what was going on in my body.
[10:00]
But I think it wasn't until I was about 23 or 24 that I started to like experiment on
[10:09]
myself with those, like with different foods and things.
[10:11]
And then it wasn't until we properly talked that I worked on being able to find specific
[10:18]
foods that can actually help.
[10:22]
And so do you want to comment on that?
[10:23]
Because when you found me, it was very serendipitous.
[10:30]
So I also have polycystic ovary syndrome, and so I don't currently have a period.
[10:39]
And I was going for a walk and feeling I'd had a migraine recently.
[10:45]
I was in quite a stressful job and I was just feeling like absolutely lost.
[10:49]
It was one of those moments where you're like, I'm doing everything I can, everything
[10:55]
I can right now, and I'm not getting anywhere.
[10:59]
And I just felt lost and helpless and hopeless.
[11:02]
And I live near this very beautiful lake.
[11:07]
And so I just picked up my phone, I went to the podcast section, and the Polycystic Ovaries
[11:12]
Nutritionist podcast came up.
[11:14]
And I'd never listened to any of her episodes before, and I was like, right, this is going
[11:18]
to be what I try and tackle next.
[11:20]
And I just did a scroll like this with my finger, and it landed on this podcast.
[11:26]
And it was with Sienna.
[11:27]
And I was like, migraines and polycystic ovary syndrome?
[11:32]
This is fascinating that it was the first time that I'd seen the words together.
[11:37]
And I was like, wow.
[11:38]
And so I listened to it, and as soon as I listened, I felt heard and seen.
[11:46]
And there was this little glimmer of hope again.
[11:50]
And there was another avenue that I could try.
[11:53]
And so I literally did the hour walk around the lake and came home and put through my
[11:58]
little quiz for my Nectar and submitted it.
[12:03]
And that was kind of how I, yeah, we found each other.
[12:07]
And I remember at that time, and look, I grew up word of mouth for a couple of years.
[12:14]
And I met the PCOS nutritionist Claire Goodwin through the startup ecosystem.
[12:21]
And she said, oh, for what you do, you have to do podcasts.
[12:24]
And I received a lot of advice.
[12:25]
But I thought, okay, podcasts, I think I can do, you know, one-on-one relationships and
[12:30]
one-on-one discussions.
[12:31]
I could master more than one too many, where I'm like definitely out of my depth.
[12:37]
And we did one together, and I was amazed by the woman that came in the community and
[12:42]
the warmth and the incredible connections.
[12:46]
And I remember really connecting with you and saying, wow, that's just massive serendipity.
[12:52]
You know, like someone wishing you really well.
[12:54]
I think I almost probably say you probably have an angel somewhere.
[13:00]
You know, it's like the odds of this happening are, you know, slim.
[13:08]
I felt like I was definitely being supported at that stage.
[13:14]
I'm like, oh, wow.
[13:15]
You know, sometimes just, you know, sometimes you have to just pray or send good vibes and,
[13:19]
you know, people just, you know, come along.
[13:26]
So we meet, and do you, like, what was going on through your mind?
[13:33]
And you can be completely honest.
[13:38]
I remember this so well.
[13:39]
I remember being sent through the quiz and answered all these questions about my migraine
[13:45]
And it was, first of all, that process was amazing because it was so comprehensive.
[13:52]
And I just, again, like it came back to when I listened to that podcast with yourself and
[13:57]
Claire, and I felt like I was seen and heard this was these questions that people hadn't
[14:02]
asked me about my migraines before, which was just, yeah, it was great.
[14:07]
And then I got an email from you within like 24 hours, I think it was.
[14:12]
And it was, yeah, I was like, wow, like, you were right there.
[14:17]
And you were like, Jade, I've seen like seeing your application come through.
[14:22]
I like want to help you.
[14:24]
Let's talk like, when are you free?
[14:26]
And it was within the week that we were on a call.
[14:29]
And yeah, we scheduled it.
[14:31]
And yeah, I was still in that role.
[14:33]
And it was really stressful time.
[14:35]
But like, it was I just locked, we locked it in.
[14:38]
And I locked myself in my little office.
[14:41]
And we just talked about it.
[14:44]
And I yeah, and you gave me a straight away gave me some hints and tips as to where this
[14:50]
could have started for me and for my story.
[14:54]
And it just all landed so well.
[14:56]
And I was like, this is just I this this came to me and it's like we're together for a reason
[15:03]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[15:05]
These conversations, I personally love them, they energize me a ton, because I find it's
[15:10]
nice to explain to women, hey, you know what, it is actually going on in your body and you
[15:18]
And and this is rational.
[15:21]
And I don't know how you felt, but I'm like, you know what, actually, your body is making
[15:26]
Let me help you read that sense.
[15:29]
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
[15:31]
And yeah, you helped me understand that because after such a long time of trying to do so
[15:36]
many things to support your body, and nothing working, you think that you think it doesn't
[15:42]
And everything you read doesn't really land in you well.
[15:45]
And yeah, so to begin to realize that your body is a magic machine, and it's just doing
[15:53]
the best that it can, just doing the best that it can, and that my body was just doing
[15:59]
the best that it could.
[16:02]
And so I and so and so we start working together and then things take an unexpected turn.
[16:09]
You sent me a text, which went straight to my heart.
[16:14]
Do you want to comment on that?
[16:18]
So unfortunately, I lost my job and like one of the first I've had, I've had a migraine
[16:27]
between us meeting maybe one or two between us first meeting and working together and
[16:32]
then losing my job and I was so scared because I was like, I don't like I mean, anyone who's
[16:40]
gone through like a redundancy or losing a job and not knowing what's next.
[16:47]
And I reached out and I was like, I don't know how I'm going to continue to do this
[16:51]
with you, but I need to because I mean, like I'm stressed and I'm in a spot and you responded
[17:02]
I remember you calling and what really struck me was that it's also because of, you know,
[17:08]
because you're in pain, therefore you can't show up to work the same way as someone not
[17:15]
And I was really touched because I because I know statistically women do lose their job
[17:22]
and quit the workforce and therefore become financially very vulnerable.
[17:28]
And I could see, but I had never seen it at play.
[17:33]
So we were in this conversation you had started.
[17:34]
We had a great fit and you tell me, oh, you know, maybe I have to stop, I can no longer
[17:39]
afford your services.
[17:40]
So you had suggested we stop and I was like, you know, there is no way in the world we're
[17:46]
And I remember vividly.
[17:47]
I was in my living room.
[17:49]
I was next to my sofa.
[17:50]
And, you know, I told you, we're going to number one, we're going to get rid of your
[17:55]
You're going to stop paying me.
[17:56]
We're going to get rid of your migraines.
[17:57]
And then because you have no migraines and you have mental clarity, you find a work.
[18:01]
And then once you have found that, that's your piece, you know?
[18:08]
And I don't know what I would have done without that, like that support and having you there
[18:13]
when I was going through such a stressful time.
[18:16]
And like even just working with you and integrating the foods over that period, it gave me something
[18:23]
to focus on when I didn't really know what was going on in my life and having the flexibility
[18:29]
to have a payment plan was like life changing.
[18:34]
And like now I'm working full time and I'm like paying you back.
[18:39]
I've only got like a little bit to go and I haven't had a severe migraine in like quite
[18:47]
Like I have little, little days and we like nip it straight away.
[18:52]
But like an actual migraine, it's been a while.
[18:55]
So yeah, I can't, I can't explain it.
[19:00]
I should look at your profile.
[19:01]
I don't know by heart, but I know it's been a long time.
[19:05]
And so it's been phenomenal.
[19:07]
Because I could, you know, when I looked at the stats, there's nothing I can do about it.
[19:12]
But here we were, the two of us in that situation where life wasn't folding the way statistically
[19:19]
And I was like, you know what, for once in history, we can change the course and we can
[19:24]
do something different.
[19:25]
And yes, you're going to go back to work and yes, you're going to have a life and I help
[19:29]
women of all ages.
[19:30]
I love helping women who have, you always want to help women who have, you know,
[19:36]
you always have 100% of the rest of your life in front of you.
[19:40]
Here for you 100% is a long time.
[19:43]
And yeah, so I was very moved when you called me and very respectfully, you proposed to
[19:49]
withdraw and I was like, oh no, I'm not doing it, we're not stopping it.
[19:55]
I was surprised that you were like, oh no, no, no, no, no, like this, we, I'm here, we
[20:00]
are here, we are still doing this and I was like, oh, thank you.
[20:04]
Thank you so much.
[20:06]
And having this space to be able to actually work on things then was really quite a blessing
[20:14]
No, it's really, it's really good.
[20:15]
The last one dates back from the 22nd of August and we are the 14th of November.
[20:23]
So it's been, it's been a really happy journey and I find you found, you found work quite
[20:32]
So yeah, I took that bit of a break to figure out what I was doing and then I actually,
[20:40]
it came down to energy.
[20:41]
I remember we had a call one day and we were updating the food lists and I was like, oh,
[20:45]
I have low energy because I like, you know, that's just me and you're like, no, like we
[20:51]
Like, so we worked on building myself up and then over this period of me having no job
[20:56]
and me being able to continue focusing.
[20:59]
Me, that's going to be our alarm, we'll just pause for a minute.
[21:06]
It's my smoke alarms, but it's not actually, it's not actually a fire.
[21:11]
We've had painting done in the building.
[21:14]
And the paint teams are turning the fire alarms off.
[21:23]
And I was like, oh my God, I didn't hear the vacuum clean.
[21:28]
By the way Jade, I think women are going to love you so much, like love, like your testimonial
[21:35]
is just so beautiful because it exemplifies in a very tight window what people will experience
[21:44]
Like maybe not all of these things at the same time, but yeah, this is so valuable.
[21:51]
I was discussing with one of the women who said, you know, she said, she said to me a
[21:56]
few days into it, she's like, Diane, this is a life game changer.
[21:59]
I'm like crying of happiness.
[22:03]
And I've prayed so much and I feel your answer to my prayers.
[22:08]
And she says, my two sisters have them and I tried to tell them to come to you, but we
[22:15]
feel so targeted as people with migraines and we feel so vulnerable that they haven't
[22:21]
done it yet because they, and I'm like, send them to the podcast because it's very different
[22:27]
than they're like.
[22:30]
Then they can listen and it's in their own, like they process and listen and sort of it's
[22:34]
in their own time.
[22:36]
I hope this stops soon.
[22:41]
Do you remember where we were?
[22:42]
We were talking about, where were we up to?
[22:50]
I was about to talk about the space.
[22:54]
So you were having a lower energy than I told you.
[22:59]
I just, that's right.
[23:00]
I was talking about how I thought it was just normal.
[23:05]
I'm drinking my parsley infusion probably.
[23:13]
By the way, one thing I haven't told you, I just did another podcast with a woman and
[23:16]
she was mentioning her food, which for her is Genmaicha tea.
[23:18]
I don't know if you've ever had this one, Genmaicha.
[23:22]
And for her, it's like the thing that always solves it for her.
[23:25]
What solves it for everyone is completely different.
[23:28]
She also talked about the red dates and I'm like, well, red dates will give a foggy brain
[23:33]
So I usually, I usually just mention foods with a generic term because I think the last
[23:39]
thing I want is for people then to try a food and say, oh, see, it doesn't work.
[23:43]
I'm like, no, no, no, no.
[23:45]
Like the foods I'm giving are very normal.
[23:47]
It's just the intensity and the frequency.
[23:49]
And then what suits you in that migraine?
[23:52]
Because I think you saw also the evolution we were talking about earlier, like of the
[23:57]
I think you were, you were one of the first women on the app.
[24:01]
So initially it was a paper version and then a web version because I was like completely
[24:06]
Then I went on the app and so I think you were one of the first two women on the app.
[24:13]
It's been like such a journey to watch it evolve as well.
[24:18]
And the level of support that can be in your hand at any one stage, like a button to press
[24:23]
and then I get to talk to someone who's going to tell me what foods I should try to try
[24:28]
and relieve this kind of pain that's in my left temple or my right temple or behind depending
[24:34]
It's just, yeah, it's incredible.
[24:36]
And getting to put your little tracker in every day and going back to talking about
[24:41]
Like I remember the first time, because you track and you get to say how many stars out
[24:47]
of 10 your energy level is on that day.
[24:50]
And mine was always like four or five.
[24:53]
And I remember the first time I ticked 10 and I was like, I did it.
[24:57]
Like I actually, I'm on 10 stars, like I can't get any more energetic now.
[25:03]
So to have that little check in each day, yeah, it's just, it's incredible.
[25:09]
What you do is incredible.
[25:16]
And look, my experience is also like fertility is something that really follows because once
[25:20]
the body has everything that it needs, then what it wants is, you know, make love of itself.
[25:29]
So usually women get a warning email saying, careful, moving forward, your fertility increases.
[25:33]
If this is not part of your plan, you have to take more strict measures when it comes
[25:41]
Thank you so much, Jade, for taking the time out of your busy schedule, because, you know,
[25:47]
we tried to schedule this one a couple of times, but you know, it's quite intense these
[25:54]
Now that I can work, I am working quite a lot.
[25:59]
Even sometimes on weekends, that's right.
[26:00]
Like, it's quite full on and you seem really happy with your work.
[26:03]
So it's just a pleasure to see.
[26:04]
And so from the bottom of my heart and from the bottom of the hearts of women who feel
[26:11]
vulnerable and abused and lost, I just want to say a huge thank you.
[26:18]
You're so welcome.
[26:20]
Thank you for what you're doing for all of these women and what you've done for me.
[26:25]
I honestly can say that I wouldn't be where I am without your love and support.
[26:33]
It's been completely life changing to go through this with you and to know that I still have
[26:40]
you and the team right there to help every step of the way is just like, yeah, I just
[26:46]
wish I found you earlier, but I found you now.
[26:49]
Oh, look, I wish I had been there earlier, too, but I needed to also go through my own
[26:55]
life experiences to listen, you know, and be there for you.
[27:03]
Well, thank you so much.
[27:05]
And look, of course, to the audience, migraines are genetic.
[27:09]
And as you evolve in your phases as a woman, being pregnant, post-pregnancy, going through
[27:16]
second spring, which is perimenopause, like, of course, things will fluctuate.
[27:20]
And of course, your own fire alarm will go on whenever it needs something.
[27:26]
But I think now you and I both know, you know, it's just a matter of listening and attending
[27:31]
to the needs and adjusting because you do need different nutrition when you're pregnant
[27:34]
than when you are in perimenopause.
[27:37]
And just as long as that can be attended to, then you live a really happy and really healthy
[27:45]
and really long life.
[27:48]
It's a precious tool.
[27:49]
Embrace your genetics.
[27:51]
It's a precious tool for longevity, really.
[27:53]
That's what it is.
[27:54]
That's why it's still there, you know, millions of years later.
[27:58]
That's why your ancestors have made it so far.
[28:03]
It's doing its job.
[28:04]
It's doing its job.
[28:06]
You're so welcome.
[28:09]
Remember, sharing is caring.
[28:13]
Share your story with me.
[28:15]
Take my free test and let's connect to help you gain a deeper understanding of your migraine
[28:22]
Learn about the underlying imbalances that could be contributing to your genetic predisposition
[28:29]
Join our community of migraine heroes.
[28:32]
All the links in the description below.
