Migraine Heroes
Chris leans over Jessica as they laugh together, both smiling against a plain white background.
Subscribe onBy subscribing to the Migraine Heroes Podcast on Apple or Spotify, you will receive episodes twice a week with fresh evidence-based insights.

Jessica & Chris

27 years old, New Zealand / USA

35 min

In this heartwarming episode, we meet Chris and Jessica, a vibrant couple living on the stunning east coast of New Zealand. From their adventurous move from North Carolina to their journey navigating migraine and pregnancy, their story is filled with resilience, love, and growth. Jessica shares her experience managing migraine during pivotal moments, while Chris reflects on the empathy and patience required to support a loved one. Please tune in to hear their unique perspective on life, family, and finding balance amidst the challenges.

This is one episode you won’t want to miss!🎧 💡 Episode Highlights: 1️⃣ How migraine strengthened their relationship instead of tearing it apart. 2️⃣ Tips for supporting a partner through chronic illness. 3️⃣ Life lessons learned from living by the ocean. 4️⃣ Jessica’s reflections on motherhood and resilience. 5️⃣ Finding joy in small moments during life’s toughest challenges.

00:00
-35:00
Transcript

[00:00]

Welcome to the Migraine Heroes podcast, a podcast where we share real stories from real

[00:07]

people suffering and battling with migraine disease.

[00:12]

In this podcast, we seek to provide support, hope, holistic health, advocacy and inspiration

[00:19]

for those who suffer from migraine disease.

[00:23]

In this podcast, I exchange with Chris and Jessica.

[00:27]

I first met Chris as I was coding the app and starting to code the backend to figure

[00:32]

out which foods to allocate for whom.

[00:36]

And Chris was patiently listening to me and patiently problem-solving with me how to structure

[00:42]

my backend.

[00:44]

As we were working together, Chris little by little puzzled that his wife, Jessica,

[00:50]

was not just having random headaches that were more and more intense, but that she was

[00:55]

most likely suffering from migraines.

[00:58]

And in this podcast, we discuss how Jessica goes from an ectopic pregnancy when I meet

[01:04]

with her to no more migraines and full fertility and is now 39 weeks pregnant as we discussed

[01:11]

together.

[01:13]

And as they are living the life, surfing on the East Coast of New Zealand, being from

[01:19]

the U.S. and both having and embracing digital technologies and digital work, a warm welcome

[01:27]

to Chris and Jessica.

[01:29]

Hello, Chris.

[01:30]

Hello, Jessica.

[01:32]

I am so, so happy to have you with me today.

[01:35]

It's good to be here.

[01:37]

Thanks, Diana.

[01:38]

Thanks for having us.

[01:40]

So this is really special because I know both Chris and Jessica in very different ways.

[01:46]

And so do you want to first share a bit with us who you are, where you live and where you're

[01:54]

from?

[01:55]

Yeah, sure.

[01:56]

So we live in Ngamonganui in New Zealand.

[01:59]

We're both American.

[02:00]

We're from North Carolina on the East Coast of the U.S. and we've been here for about

[02:06]

coming up on 10 years, actually.

[02:08]

So we've been here, we came here on a holiday, six month holiday, and we've just kept extending

[02:13]

our stay.

[02:15]

I know it's been almost 10 years.

[02:18]

Yeah, there's just the two of us over here.

[02:20]

We've got most of our family back home, but we do actually have another member joining

[02:25]

us very soon.

[02:27]

Very nice.

[02:28]

Yes.

[02:29]

Yeah.

[02:30]

Jessica is pregnant.

[02:31]

And so how many weeks are you, Jessica, now?

[02:34]

39 plus some number of days.

[02:39]

We massively thank Jessica for making it.

[02:43]

I'm so, so glad we're able to do this.

[02:46]

Thank you so much for taking the time.

[02:49]

And so we have to precise, for the ones who are not New Zealanders and who are listening

[02:54]

to us, you are living on the coast next to the ocean.

[02:57]

Yeah, that's right.

[02:58]

So we live in, I'll say it's sort of a smallish beach town slash city on the East Coast of

[03:05]

the North Island.

[03:07]

And Jess and I are both big surfers, which is actually what brought us to New Zealand

[03:10]

and why we always live by the coast.

[03:12]

So it's a nice little town that we live in.

[03:14]

You have quite the life.

[03:16]

It's a very modern life.

[03:17]

Can you comment on both of your activities?

[03:20]

I think people will have an even better picture.

[03:27]

So Chris, you code?

[03:29]

Yeah.

[03:30]

Yeah.

[03:31]

I've got a background in development, doing development, which is actually how we've met.

[03:36]

I'm not actually coding so much anymore.

[03:38]

I'm doing more design work and that sort of thing.

[03:42]

But yeah, that's kind of how I started my career, doing iPhone apps and kind of have

[03:47]

stuck doing that, just shifted, I guess, my focus and what sort of problems I work on

[03:54]

in that area.

[03:55]

But yeah, it's always an exciting industry.

[03:57]

The tech industry has a lot of different things happening and it's always changing and lots

[04:01]

of variety.

[04:02]

Yeah.

[04:03]

Completely, completely.

[04:04]

And Jessica?

[04:05]

Yes.

[04:06]

My background is actually as a photographer.

[04:08]

So I am a commercial photographer.

[04:10]

I also, since COVID, picked up another, some more work doing content marketing.

[04:16]

So I split my time between content marketing and doing some commercial photography work.

[04:20]

Quite the modern couple, I have to say.

[04:22]

I think I'm the coolest surfing in the beautiful part of the world and, you know, surfing the

[04:28]

digital wave at the same time to be able to live whatever suits.

[04:32]

So yeah, very modern life.

[04:34]

I think a lot of the listeners really, you know, it will resonate and will make a few

[04:39]

people envious.

[04:40]

Chris, you and I met initially and we met, you know, in a development capacity.

[04:46]

Do you want to comment a little bit on how that happened?

[04:48]

I don't know if you remember roughly, you know, how we met and how we started to exchange.

[04:52]

Yeah.

[04:53]

Yeah, I can speak to that.

[04:55]

I do remember how we've met.

[04:57]

It was through a freelancer website that I think you posted some sort of job ad looking

[05:03]

for someone.

[05:04]

I remember you said, I need a creative problem solver.

[05:07]

And I saw that and I go, oh, that's me.

[05:09]

I want to get in on that.

[05:10]

So I immediately jumped on the ad knowing that it was going to be fun and interesting

[05:15]

and dynamic.

[05:16]

And yeah, I've kind of got a broad range of skills, which I enjoy employing in different

[05:22]

ways.

[05:23]

So yeah, that's how I remember it.

[05:24]

I don't know.

[05:25]

Is that how you remember it?

[05:26]

No.

[05:27]

So it was a platform called the Unicorn Factory, which Conor Finlayson had started.

[05:33]

And it was in the early days of NoCode and he had set it up all in NoCode.

[05:37]

I found him by coincidence and I was really happy with his work and his platform.

[05:42]

And then indeed, I was trying to put a job title, but I didn't really know, okay, how

[05:48]

to formulate this because this is quite unusual, we're going to be coding for food and migraines

[05:55]

and I'm not quite sure how to position this.

[05:57]

So I'm going to need someone who's very creative, very open-minded, has a lot of empathy, a

[06:02]

lot of patience and a lot of kindness to hear all of the crazy stuff I have to say and the

[06:11]

crazier stuff I have to ask.

[06:15]

And so I remember that we hit it off pretty fast and then we worked together on multiple

[06:22]

occasions for probably, I mean, months, if not a few years, right?

[06:28]

It was probably a few years altogether, off and on for a few years.

[06:31]

Exactly.

[06:32]

Because we would start on a project and then I would use it for a while and then we would

[06:39]

make refinements and you would always have that incredible patience.

[06:43]

So do you want to comment, and these are my recollections, and we would meet, yeah, during

[06:49]

the day it was perfect because, you know, same time zone.

[06:51]

And yeah, we would meet and I would explain to you the crazy things I had in my mind and

[06:57]

you would help me structure them.

[07:00]

Yeah.

[07:01]

Yeah.

[07:02]

I like how you put that.

[07:03]

Because that is kind of what I enjoy doing is taking, trying to understand what people

[07:07]

are saying and basically translate that into some sort of end result, whether that's through

[07:13]

some like coding or no code or design work or something along those lines.

[07:18]

It's just, yeah, taking the ambiguous and understanding it and massaging it and trying

[07:23]

to make it a little bit more concrete.

[07:25]

And yeah, you definitely threw some interesting things at me and, but yeah, it was fun.

[07:30]

And very, it's really like tailor made because at that time I was given in certain systems

[07:36]

and you were embracing them and you were also helping me build tools that I could use and,

[07:41]

you know, press on certain buttons and trigger lists for women and observe them and also

[07:47]

find them where I was using them.

[07:51]

You know, you can do something that is, you can be asked something and just implement

[07:56]

it, but then it doesn't really work because at the time I was also not really understanding

[07:59]

what I was after.

[08:00]

So there was a lot of problem solving on, on you helping me clarify what was on my mind

[08:06]

and you helping to make a solution that would fit inside, you know, my backend and would

[08:14]

show up, you know, on, on the web app at the time later.

[08:19]

That was, you know, yeah.

[08:20]

And so I was extremely grateful because I really needed that patience, that handholding

[08:25]

and that problem solving and someone to listen, not necessarily interrupt, but also restructure

[08:32]

my thoughts, you know, with a lot of data in a very detailed way.

[08:37]

And I think you did that remarkably.

[08:39]

Yeah.

[08:40]

Oh, that's nice to hear.

[08:41]

Yeah.

[08:42]

Because I, to be honest for me, it's just, just maybe how I operate, but it's nice to

[08:46]

hear that it was what you needed at the time.

[08:49]

So, yeah.

[08:50]

I mean, at the time, there's a whole, hold on, because you're probably not aware on the

[08:54]

latest development.

[08:55]

We have an app store, wait a minute, we have an app in the app store on Apple podcast and

[09:02]

on, um, on Google play and, uh, we have a whole system and what you've built is still

[09:09]

inside.

[09:10]

It's still is your code.

[09:12]

It's the last iterations that you've done.

[09:14]

We've done probably three or four iterations together and not because as I was going forward,

[09:19]

I was more understanding how to put those lists together.

[09:23]

So for the background, I, you know, put this together for women who suffer from migraines

[09:27]

and I was, uh, refining how to make them in the best way possible.

[09:32]

So that's the, it's really smooth for the woman and she can have less and less migraines.

[09:36]

And at the same time, it's hyper tailored to her.

[09:39]

So as I was understanding my intellectual process, you would translate that into, you

[09:44]

know, computer power, which I was really appreciative of.

[09:46]

So if we give you one example, one of the things Chris helped me do was, you know, when

[09:51]

I select foods, I need to filter out those foods that will counter medications, will

[09:56]

mess up with medications.

[09:57]

I need to respect the medication, leave it on the side.

[09:59]

Once the woman is a lot better, she can herself with her doctor review the need for medication.

[10:04]

My role is meanwhile to respect it and to function alongside by side peacefully.

[10:09]

And so your algorithms were making that.

[10:11]

And so, do you know, Chris, like to this day, it's still your algorithms inside still now.

[10:17]

And still I use them every single day.

[10:19]

If you remember that blue button I have, I click on that blue button every, you know,

[10:26]

every, every, every day, actually multiple times a day.

[10:30]

Wow.

[10:31]

That's cool.

[10:32]

Yeah.

[10:33]

So it is.

[10:34]

I'm sure we'll get into this, but I'm curious how that's been impacting the women that you

[10:38]

work with.

[10:39]

I mean, in ways that are extraordinary, because, you know, when we met, I was at the beginning

[10:47]

and I had success cases often, but not always.

[10:51]

And part of it is sometimes you lose someone because things are difficult.

[10:56]

And between WhatsApp and a web app, you know, things can be more clumsy.

[11:00]

But now we're really at scale where every single day we get in the community of the

[11:05]

app, in the chat of the app, like massive gratitude messages.

[11:09]

So we have something called hashtag team victory.

[11:11]

And so each time we have like a beautiful message inside the chat, we anonymize it and

[11:15]

we share it among the team members.

[11:17]

And that massively motivates everyone.

[11:19]

And so, and so, yes, we've made more discoveries, but the way you structure the algorithms have

[11:26]

allowed to welcome additional discoveries, so additional medications, additional conditions.

[11:32]

The database, when we started had 56 foods, if you remember, it now has 700.

[11:40]

And so we've been able to scale all of that with, you know, and it's really a moment of

[11:45]

actually massive gratitude for being on my way in those moments, for listening, for taking

[11:51]

me seriously, for when I was asking things that would not have made sense for most people,

[11:57]

for acknowledging, you know, my work and the way my brain was functioning or asking you

[12:02]

something and how you would translate it because it has by now had impact on, you know, probably

[12:09]

at this stage about, you know, probably we're maybe at more than a thousand people and really

[12:14]

profound way that changes their lives drastically.

[12:18]

And so, and so it's really, really, really special.

[12:21]

So from the bottom of my heart is also a moment of thank you and of gratitude because

[12:25]

it's, it's still there.

[12:27]

This is the core, you know, the rest, you know, yes, there's an app and yes, there's

[12:31]

a community and yes, there's chats and there's all of these other things that allow us to

[12:35]

track a person.

[12:36]

Yes, the daily tracker is much, you know, with more data and more complete and we have

[12:41]

even a migraine now button now, but at the core of everything is that first set of algorithms

[12:47]

that we've written together and they still beat that drum while we expand foods, while

[12:53]

we expand conditions, while we expand the number of crazy things that we've seen.

[12:57]

And so, so it's a first, a huge shout out to say thank you and a shout out to your son.

[13:03]

If you listen to that, your dad is or has changed the life of a lot of people on this

[13:08]

planet and is about to do even more.

[13:11]

So this is the context of our relationship and so there's just a massive gratitude and

[13:16]

if you're listening to that, if you've benefited our services, some of you really owe it to,

[13:21]

I mean, all of you owe it to Chris because Chris has had that patient, those listening

[13:25]

skills that I would say most, certainly the vast majority of developers are not necessarily

[13:31]

equipped with or is not there for it.

[13:33]

Wow, that's really nice.

[13:35]

Thank you, Diane.

[13:35]

That's really nice to hear.

[13:36]

Yeah, I really mean it.

[13:37]

I really mean it.

[13:38]

And so, so we worked together for quite a bit of time.

[13:42]

I don't know, like first set of a couple of weeks or months and then, then I said,

[13:46]

oh, Chris, I need to work with those algorithms and see, would I say the same as the computer

[13:51]

would say and help and support me and then we find them and then we would iterate.

[13:56]

Then after the second or third, maybe even fourth iterations, you started to talk about

[14:01]

your wife, like in the, maybe the second or third iteration, you started to talk about

[14:04]

Jessica and then one day you said, I think you should see my wife.

[14:09]

That went through your mind?

[14:11]

Yeah.

[14:12]

Yeah.

[14:13]

I mean, you speak to this a little bit more detail, but yeah, I mean, cause you were having

[14:18]

some headaches, right.

[14:20]

And they were, they were off and on and eventually it started becoming more and more common.

[14:26]

And I think that was what it was.

[14:27]

I actually can't remember exactly, but you know, from my understanding, I didn't really

[14:33]

know anything about migraines until working with you.

[14:36]

And the more that you were, you were teaching me about migraines, the more and more I was

[14:41]

just reflecting on that and kind of going, oh, I wonder if Jess actually is having migraines

[14:46]

and it's not just a headache that pops up every now and then, you know, became more

[14:51]

and more regular.

[14:52]

And eventually, I mean, I'll let you speak to this.

[14:54]

I think there was a, there was probably, I work with people that kind of just like denies

[14:59]

being like sick or like, I'm fine.

[15:01]

This is like, I'm fine.

[15:02]

It's not a big deal.

[15:03]

Yeah.

[15:04]

So I think there was a few things that was maybe going on and he probably was getting

[15:07]

really tired of hearing me complain about it.

[15:13]

But there was a, I think when you guys started talking.

[15:16]

No, I mean, honestly, if I got just a second, I will interrupt here.

[15:19]

No, you should never complain about it.

[15:22]

Thank you.

[15:27]

With migraine disease, we only have each other to make a difference.

[15:32]

If you know of someone suffering from migraine attacks, share this podcast with them.

[15:37]

Also, just like in your work, Chris, I think you took a lot of consideration on, let me

[15:41]

fully hear what she says.

[15:43]

Let's me iterate this.

[15:44]

Yes, it is what it says.

[15:46]

Like I think, you know, before drawing that conclusion, you waited to have enough data

[15:50]

points on, oh, I see all of the symptoms.

[15:53]

Yes, this is, this is very similar to what is the, so yeah.

[15:56]

So no, he was not bored and he was not, you know.

[16:01]

I mean, I was complaining and I think he was kind of picking up on that.

[16:05]

But I think, yeah, there was a couple of things going on and I think right around the time

[16:10]

that you both started working together, do you remember what year that was?

[16:14]

Was that 2021?

[16:15]

Yeah, it was around then.

[16:18]

Yeah.

[16:19]

I was kind of going, experiencing burnout from having tried to start a business and

[16:27]

then, you know, everything and like all of my energy burnt myself out to the ground.

[16:32]

And then the roll on effects of that started to catch up with me.

[16:36]

And so there was, I think there was when we, when we decided to stop operating that business,

[16:44]

I was having, every day I had to like lay on the floor from like starting at like 1

[16:49]

PM because my head hurts so bad, my head and neck hurts so bad.

[16:53]

I could not, yeah, I just couldn't function.

[16:56]

And so that's probably where it started from because I couldn't socialize, I couldn't do

[17:00]

anything that was really impacting me and I never had that before.

[17:04]

Yeah.

[17:05]

Yeah.

[17:06]

It was like, it was like what seemed like would be a headache.

[17:09]

And then eventually it became to a point where it was actually like affecting your day to

[17:14]

day.

[17:15]

Yeah.

[17:16]

And it was like my, it was like my neck and my eyes and everything.

[17:19]

And I had started off going to a chiropractor and that, that took the edge off of it to

[17:25]

start with.

[17:27]

I think I'd been seeing the chiropractor for a year by the time I started to see you, Dan.

[17:30]

And so that helped start kind of kick things off.

[17:34]

And then when we saw, when I started seeing you, it was because I had just, we had an

[17:39]

ectopic pregnancy and I got put on antibiotics and I had some, my body just reacted not well

[17:50]

after that.

[17:51]

Yeah.

[17:52]

So it was, and I was still having headaches.

[17:53]

My headaches had been better.

[17:54]

I wasn't getting them every single day, but I'd probably get them at least three to four

[17:58]

times a week and varying, you know, degrees or severity.

[18:02]

So yeah, I, that was kind of the triggering part.

[18:07]

Like I had, I knew what you had, were doing, but I was having, I think that was a true,

[18:12]

the triggering point for me to kind of like, yeah, because it was causing a skin problems.

[18:19]

I still had my headaches and it was still affecting my day to day kind of.

[18:24]

Yeah.

[18:25]

I do remember from you, a lot of fatigue, skin, and then a lot of fogginess and a really

[18:32]

low energy.

[18:33]

Yeah.

[18:34]

That's right.

[18:35]

Remember you were very, very exhausted.

[18:36]

Yeah.

[18:37]

Very exhausted, very tired.

[18:38]

Yeah.

[18:39]

And I couldn't, I still couldn't really socialize.

[18:40]

Like I could socialize a little bit, but it just took so much out of me.

[18:45]

Very true.

[18:46]

I remember, and this is a long time ago, so I still have you in my mind.

[18:49]

I remember for you, socializing was a huge trigger indeed.

[18:53]

And then flying was also a huge trigger.

[18:55]

Yeah.

[18:56]

Yeah.

[18:57]

Yeah.

[18:58]

Yeah.

[18:59]

Definitely.

[19:00]

Because I remember prepping you to go on a trip to visit your family in the US.

[19:02]

Yeah.

[19:03]

Yeah.

[19:04]

You were really doing that.

[19:05]

And I knew that we would get you quite ready, but you would also get a bit depleted from

[19:12]

those two triggers for a sustained amount of time.

[19:15]

So both the flying and the socializing.

[19:17]

But you ended up doing quite decent.

[19:19]

Yeah.

[19:20]

Yeah.

[19:21]

I did.

[19:22]

I think I did get a, I like, I had a little, I think I'd only been working with you for

[19:25]

about a month when we left to go to the States.

[19:28]

So I did get a headache, but it wasn't that bad.

[19:31]

And I had the Goji berries.

[19:34]

I brought Goji berries with me to have the Goji berry party and was able to kind of make

[19:40]

it through that.

[19:41]

And then I remember when we came back, I didn't get a headache at all on the way back.

[19:47]

Yeah.

[19:48]

And I mean, I think like Chris says, I think, you know, initially when you started, you

[19:52]

were having headaches.

[19:53]

When we met you, it was pretty intense and it was very often.

[19:56]

I think women oftentimes really, really decrease their pain.

[20:02]

The one thing, you know, in the test, I asked how many migraine attacks do you suffer a

[20:05]

month?

[20:06]

And he replied, I don't know, two or three.

[20:07]

Then you see like 20 different ones there.

[20:10]

Yeah.

[20:11]

He's, you know, a mild headache, if not above.

[20:15]

And so I've learned over the years to discard that stat, clearly that I'm paying it or not

[20:22]

self-aware because the pain is so present.

[20:25]

She's trying not to focus on it too much.

[20:29]

Yeah.

[20:30]

That's right.

[20:31]

But I do remember that you were, you know, quite a lot of pain and that sort of fogginess

[20:37]

and tiredness and therefore the mood, you know, lower if you're really tired and you

[20:41]

can't socialize well, you know, it quite impacts you physically.

[20:47]

And Chris being so caring was quite, you know, sad about the situation because it's hard,

[20:54]

you know, if you can't help your spouse, you feel a bit nervous, but also a bit helpless

[20:58]

at the same time.

[20:59]

Yeah.

[21:00]

I would agree with that.

[21:01]

Yeah.

[21:02]

I mean, it's hard, right?

[21:03]

It's really hard.

[21:04]

It's like you're frustrated and you can't help, so you have empathy, but it's, you don't

[21:09]

know what to do.

[21:11]

And so I remember when he connected the dots, I was like, oh yeah, that would, yes, that

[21:16]

would be what I do.

[21:18]

Yeah.

[21:19]

That's exactly right.

[21:20]

And what I loved in that moment is that you, I mean, it brought us even, I would say, further

[21:26]

together, Chris, because now you could really understand and follow the process and see

[21:31]

the result of your work directly on your wife, which, trust me, no one, we're the only

[21:38]

one in the world who has that.

[21:40]

Yeah.

[21:41]

Yeah.

[21:42]

That was really cool, actually being able to see the total other side of it because

[21:47]

you and I had always been working in, you know, the back end and what actually happens,

[21:52]

I'll say, under the hood a little bit.

[21:55]

And then I got to see, yeah, the complete other side of it day to day, you know, day

[22:00]

in, day out, what was happening, the foods that she was eating and how, yeah, using the

[22:09]

tracker, using the app on the phone, on your phone and just the progress that you were

[22:17]

making.

[22:18]

Yeah.

[22:19]

It was really cool.

[22:20]

It was really, really cool.

[22:21]

Yeah.

[22:22]

It's quite special.

[22:23]

And so you're in a very unique position.

[22:24]

That's why when you texted me, I thought, oh, I'd love to have your voice because you've

[22:29]

been such a key component of everything.

[22:33]

And you know, and of all of that stars, and I tell you, it's still there, it still beats

[22:39]

the drum and it still, you know, changes a lot of lives like the one of Jess and a lot

[22:46]

of women are pregnant, unfortunately, with really good and really stable pregnancies,

[22:55]

very peaceful ones too.

[22:56]

And so, yeah, so that was really, really special.

[23:00]

Yeah.

[23:01]

And you went reasonably fast.

[23:03]

I can't remember exactly.

[23:04]

We had a bit of a longer tail end, but reasonably fast.

[23:07]

Yeah.

[23:08]

Yeah.

[23:09]

I think we worked together for like eight months because it was like, I think it was

[23:13]

maybe either August to May or something like that.

[23:17]

And look, you get a lot of results fast and then sometimes you search for a few last answers

[23:22]

and we've become really good at finding things very fast, but sometimes you're like, okay,

[23:26]

there's something missing.

[23:27]

There's still something that's making a bit of noise.

[23:29]

Oh, and I remember, I remember I got COVID during that time as well.

[23:34]

So I was navigating that after, and then that kind of set me back because that was like...

[23:42]

You remember back in the days in the app, there was the habits and the triggers.

[23:46]

And now we have added something called the regressors and COVID is a regressor and we're

[23:53]

telling women, look, if you catch COVID or a cold or a flu, or you have a toxic bust

[23:58]

or, you know, please let us know immediately as these things will slow you down.

[24:05]

And so we want to always go as fast as we can.

[24:07]

We always like, we try to be fast and faster and so try to intervene immediately.

[24:14]

And so now we're like, okay, if that happens to you, inform us immediately and we change

[24:17]

your lists to adapt to that, to hopefully, you know, like circumvent it and not get into

[24:25]

it.

[24:26]

Yeah.

[24:27]

Yeah.

[24:28]

I remember that.

[24:29]

And I also remember the first food list that you put me on was like the blood list and

[24:32]

that I felt it was like an immediate, like energizer and I did it, I was after a week,

[24:38]

I was like, wow, I feel so good eating these foods.

[24:43]

Which is therefore, I don't know how you felt it, but therefore a lot harder if you catch

[24:48]

COVID later because you're like, oh my God, I felt so good and now I'm back to square

[24:52]

one.

[24:53]

Yeah.

[24:54]

Yeah.

[24:55]

Yeah, that's right.

[24:56]

Yeah.

[24:57]

And it feels quite, that's also why we put the regressors.

[24:58]

We're like, well, you're going to feel like you're square one.

[25:00]

You're not technically because you'd bounce back a lot faster, but still we have to take

[25:04]

that seriously and help you through.

[25:06]

And if you hadn't done it, chances are you would have gone backwards by a lot.

[25:11]

And this is how people go from episodic to chronic for many.

[25:16]

And then you decided to start a family.

[25:19]

I'm going to jump forward, but this is where I'm like going in unknown territory.

[25:25]

We can edit if we need to.

[25:29]

But how did that come about?

[25:33]

Well, I think, okay, so obviously my health hadn't been that great before I started working

[25:39]

with you.

[25:40]

And I didn't really quite realize how bad it was until, until I started working with

[25:45]

you.

[25:46]

And it kind of made me more aware of like, because when you do that tracker every day,

[25:50]

it really forces you to consider how you're feeling instead of just like glazing over

[25:54]

it just so you can get through the day.

[25:56]

Yeah.

[25:57]

You know?

[25:58]

And so it really forced me to take time to consider where I was at and to work on that.

[26:05]

And from that journey, I really did see an improvement in the way that I was feeling.

[26:11]

And I think it was just a matter of like, when do we finish?

[26:13]

We finished in 2023, April, May 2023 together, I think.

[26:17]

And then I went on a trip to Japan, which was a bucket list trip for myself that I wanted

[26:23]

to do forever.

[26:24]

And it kind of was like, like I got well enough to be able to do this trip.

[26:27]

And then like from there I was like, okay, I don't know how to describe it, but that

[26:32]

was sort of like the catalyst, I'd say.

[26:34]

Yeah.

[26:35]

And I think, I mean, we always had plans to do it one day.

[26:38]

It was always a one day sort of thing.

[26:40]

I'm like, oh, we'll do that.

[26:41]

You know, we'll do that one day.

[26:42]

Yeah.

[26:43]

And then you mentioned the ectopic.

[26:45]

I think that was the first time where, and that was totally unexpected because we weren't

[26:49]

even trying.

[26:51]

And I don't know how personal you want to get here, but there was, you know, we were

[26:55]

on a proper IUD, so it was never meant to happen.

[27:00]

And it did happen.

[27:01]

Yeah.

[27:02]

And I think during that period, it kind of made us just reflect a bit like, you know,

[27:07]

are we sad that we didn't have a baby coming?

[27:10]

You know?

[27:11]

And then I think that's when it kind of, it opened the door a little bit for us.

[27:16]

Yeah.

[27:17]

And it was like, okay, let's do this Japan trip.

[27:20]

Let's, you're working on your health.

[27:22]

Yeah.

[27:23]

So kind of those things got ironed out.

[27:25]

And I think following Japan, it was like, all right, let's see what happens now.

[27:29]

Yeah.

[27:30]

And I love that you did that.

[27:31]

I think those things are so, so, so important.

[27:36]

And I think, you know, through the work that we do and thanks to you, Kristen, thanks to

[27:43]

you and Jessica, because by, you know, each time we were working with women, we were improving

[27:47]

the way you were working.

[27:49]

We got really good with fertility and I always encourage women, I'm like, hold off, hold

[27:53]

off, please.

[27:54]

Just a little bit.

[27:55]

A tiny bit.

[27:56]

The moment I give you a green light, you're pregnant, just that it's a stable pregnancy.

[28:01]

No one needs, you know, like to go through difficult times.

[28:05]

And I love that you took that time for yourself to, you know, being a mom is a huge transition.

[28:12]

If you've had your mom back at least, and your mom immune, and you have your body by

[28:19]

your side, you know, everything's just so much smoother.

[28:22]

Yeah.

[28:23]

And I thought, I think just from seeing some friends go through pregnancy, I was aware

[28:27]

how much of a toll it takes on your body.

[28:30]

And so, yeah, I really wanted to make sure that I was as healthy as I could be.

[28:35]

Plus I'd had surgery for the ectopic, so just making sure I was like really recovered from

[28:41]

that too.

[28:42]

Yeah.

[28:43]

Yeah, completely, which we would have done because I always work on that, like always,

[28:47]

like the uterus needs to be a temple of love and blood and needs to always be cushy and

[28:52]

comfortable for the woman to have a beautiful face, age really beautifully, you know, have

[28:58]

a place of vulnerability for us.

[29:00]

So like, you know, keeping things in order for, you know, whenever we decided to be parents

[29:06]

or just for ourselves that, you know, we carry health for really long.

[29:12]

And so how was your pregnancy so far?

[29:13]

Yeah, it's been, I feel, I honestly feel so grateful and lucky because I have had a really

[29:20]

smooth pregnancy.

[29:22]

It's been, you know, I had a little bit of morning sickness at the start, minor, I actually

[29:27]

ended up getting COVID again at the start of my pregnancy.

[29:30]

And the only time I was like throwing up was, was when I had COVID, so, but once I caught

[29:36]

up through that, I have, it's been smooth sailing.

[29:40]

So yeah, I've been feeling pretty good in my body.

[29:44]

You know, a little bit of aches and pains, but I worked with my same chiropractor and

[29:47]

she just, she's got like spidey senses and she just looks at you and she's like, we need

[29:52]

it.

[29:53]

I can see what we need to do.

[29:54]

And just like, just a little tweak here and a little tweak there.

[29:56]

You know what we do for our listeners, for the ones who are in your region, we add her

[30:02]

contact details in case someone's in your region.

[30:05]

Yeah.

[30:06]

Natural Chiropractic is her.

[30:08]

As a thank you for all of the beautiful work.

[30:12]

She is amazing.

[30:13]

And I think, you know, I think having some sort of like body worker in that way, because

[30:18]

your body is changing so much and just like to make sure that it's like your body's in

[30:22]

alignment and that's facilitating you to have like the best transition.

[30:27]

Your skull is changing.

[30:29]

Everything's changing.

[30:30]

Right.

[30:31]

So yeah, that is really, that's, that's probably my number one thing that's helped me so much.

[30:34]

And otherwise I just, I don't know, it's just been like, yeah, pretty smooth I'd say.

[30:40]

So pretty and so beautiful.

[30:41]

Thank you.

[30:42]

You know, like if for the listeners who can't see Jess, like she has a glow, she's gorgeous

[30:48]

for you.

[30:49]

Your hair is gorgeous.

[30:50]

If you hadn't told me you're not pregnant at 39 weeks, you could still see it.

[30:54]

And I just, I would have no idea.

[30:56]

Gotta love Zoom.

[30:58]

Yeah.

[30:59]

Oh, that's beautiful.

[31:01]

That's really, really beautiful.

[31:04]

And so, yeah.

[31:06]

So what are, well, I mean, the plans, I guess, are quite, you know, settled a bit for the

[31:11]

time being and becoming a family.

[31:13]

Yeah.

[31:14]

We don't have any major plans at this point.

[31:16]

We do have some family coming, coming over to visit, which will be nice.

[31:21]

And I'm sure we'll appreciate the support as well.

[31:24]

And yeah, we're just going to be trying to make the most of the transition that we're

[31:28]

about to go through.

[31:29]

Yeah.

[31:30]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[31:31]

Doing the most of maternity leave.

[31:32]

Oh, we can.

[31:33]

But as early as well I can.

[31:36]

Absolutely.

[31:37]

Well, look, I want to say just a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart for you two,

[31:42]

for you three, just being who you are and being such great listeners, you know, listeners

[31:48]

of each other and of your buddies, of your own selves.

[31:51]

And then for accepting the challenge, Chris, a couple of years ago to work together and

[31:56]

to beat that drum.

[31:57]

It was quite special from this end.

[31:59]

So it's a huge thank you.

[32:01]

Okay.

[32:02]

Yeah.

[32:03]

Well, thank you.

[32:04]

I mean, we've enjoyed it as well.

[32:05]

I know we said this already at the start, but it was fun being part of that journey.

[32:09]

And it was also great to see the other side of it.

[32:12]

And thank you for what you've done for us and for Jess and getting things back on track

[32:17]

here.

[32:18]

Yeah.

[32:19]

No more headaches.

[32:20]

Yay.

[32:21]

It is better without.

[32:24]

But meanwhile, it's useful.

[32:27]

Meanwhile, I find it really, really useful.

[32:29]

It's a tool for longevity.

[32:31]

And I have recently found a great article from a professor at Harvard called Elizabeth

[32:35]

Loder.

[32:36]

And she talks about how it's a gene that is part of evolution for a reason.

[32:40]

And she poses a couple of hypotheses on how protective that gene is for population.

[32:45]

And that's why so many people who carry that gene survived for millions of years is because

[32:50]

it's so useful.

[32:51]

And so I think in your case, your buddy was saying, hey, enough with the fatigue, enough

[32:54]

with the fogginess, enough with the lack of socializing, like just, you know, please take

[32:59]

care of yourself.

[33:00]

And one of my friends, she said, your children are your best teachers.

[33:03]

And I think before they come to the world, they try to teach us all the lesson is like,

[33:07]

hey, if you're going to take care of me, can you please make sure you take care of yourself?

[33:11]

That's so true.

[33:12]

Right.

[33:13]

That's so true.

[33:14]

It's like those airplane commercials or, you know, where they're like, put your, you got

[33:17]

to put your own air mask on first in order to help other people.

[33:21]

And that's so true.

[33:22]

Yeah.

[33:23]

Yeah.

[33:24]

This is really the first step, you know, in we're becoming moms before we even are pregnant.

[33:28]

It's like just preparing the whole, everything so that things can be smooth and nice and

[33:33]

happy just the way you have a glow and are ready to welcome, you know, a new life in

[33:39]

your lives.

[33:40]

Well, a huge thank you to you three.

[33:43]

And we look forward to, I look forward to the picture and the reveal of it.

[33:47]

We look forward to sharing it, so we'll keep you posted.

[33:53]

Yeah.

[33:54]

Thanks a lot, Diane.

[33:55]

Please do.

[33:56]

Thank you.

[33:58]

The content in this podcast should not be considered a substitute for medical professional

[34:03]

advice, diagnosis or treatment.

[34:07]

Always consult with your health care provider for any health related concerns.

[34:11]

And remember, everyone and every situation is unique.

[34:17]

Remember sharing is caring.

[34:20]

Share your story with me.

[34:22]

Take my free test and let's connect to help you gain a deeper understanding of your migraine

[34:27]

profile.

[34:29]

Learn about the underlying imbalances that could be contributing to your genetic predisposition

[34:33]

for migraines.

[34:35]

Join our community of Migraine Heroes.

[34:37]

All the links in the description below.

[34:41]

If you're looking for a community, we'd love to have you join us in our Facebook groups.

[34:47]

Migraine Heroes is a community all about creative expression and open conversations around migraine.

[34:54]

We have a second group called Migraine and Comorbidities, where we support each other

[34:59]

through the unique challenges of living with migraine alongside things like IBS, ADHD and

[35:06]

much more.

[35:08]

Just check the links in this description.

[35:10]

We'd be very happy to welcome you there.

Originally published November 2024

Don’t miss an episode

Subscribe to the Migraine Heroes Podcast on your favorite platform and get evidence-based insights twice a week.

Back to Member Stories

Curious about the Migraine Heroes approach?

Discover your unique Migraine Profile—a clear picture of why recovery has been difficult. This report will shed light on the complexity of your migraines and reveal your healing potential.

Take Your Free Migraine Assessment