Journey to Migraine Free

I am no longer a migraine sufferer. I was … for almost 20 years. Two years ago, I made the decision to pierce my daith, in both ears, to relieve my migraines. I began having migraines when I was 17 after being in 2 car accidents in 3 weeks time.  I remember stepping out of the shower, flipping my head over to wrap my hair in a towel, and buckling in pain. My head throbbed so hard, I just knew something horrible was happening. My Mom also had migraines, so she knew exactly what to do to relieve the pain. That was my first migraine. It was scary, but after that I knew how to treat them, and at that point they were infrequent and came on if I didn’t sleep well, or if I over stressed my body (as teenagers tend to do).

As I got older, the migraines came mainly with my period and hormone fluctuations. In my early 20s I began taking a prescription similar to Excedrine, but a more fast acting pill. I began to feel like I had the upper hand and more control over the migraine. I would go months without a single migraine.

When I was pregnant though, the migraines came intermittently, then for months I didn’t have one at all! I thought maybe they were gone forever … hoped and  prayed they were gone forever. After I stopped nursing my son, the migraines came back, violently. This was the first time I had vomiting with my migraine.

Within a few years, I was having crazy symptoms before my migraines came on. In the beginning, when I was a teenager, my neck would ache then my head would begin to throb.  In my 20s, I would feel the neck ache, along with nausea. Sometimes my eyes would feel sensitive to light, or my hearing would be ultra sensitive. My whole body began feeling the migraine as it came on. I spent months tracking the foods I ate, the amount of exercise I had, the stresses I felt, to try to pinpoint the cause.  Ibuprofen and acetaminophen were constant parts of my diet.

My worst migraine was January 2, 2012. I was in a deep sleep and rolled over, suddenly my head felt like I was being stabbed from both sides with hot knives. I was rushed to the hospital and had to be treated in the waiting room. This was the first time I had the “migraine cocktail”, a mixture of diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Compazine, and Toradol. The pain was gone almost instantly. I thought this was going to be my new treatment, since this migraine was the worst I ever had.

As I got into my 30s, my symptoms were bloody nose, then instant migraine. A few months after that started, I began smelling different things, like bleach, paint, and car exhaust before getting a nose bleed, leading to a migraine. I experienced sudden blind spots in both my eyes and once had my pupil spasm for about 20 minutes. I began to worry. My father was epileptic and I started thinking the increased symptoms could be signs of seizures.  I contacted my OB/GYN and got a referral to a Neurologist.

At my first visit I was prescribed Rizatriptan to take as I felt a migraine coming on, and Amitriptyline (originally used as an antidepressant) to take nightly as a preventative. I was also scheduled for a sleep deprivation EEG and an MRI. They both came back clear. The neurologist told me I was an anomaly because I was having every migraine symptom and then some.

During my 6 month follow up appointment my blood pressure was 180/110. They made me stay for an hour so they could monitor my blood pressure. The neurologist told me she could prescribe a blood pressure pill that would possibly relieve my migraines and if not we would Perdue other options. That was it for me! The only change I had in my life was starting the prescriptions. I wasn’t about to add more pills to my life. My migraines were at their peak. I was having anywhere from 10-30 days of migraines each month. Some lasting 3-4 days at time.

I had been researching daith piercing for about 2 years, and as I walked out of my follow up I decided that was probably my last resort before ending up on pills for the rest of my life.

I had my ears pierced on July 23, 2017. I went in with a slight headache that felt like the beginning of a cluster migraine. As soon as the piercing was in a felt instant relief where the cluster migraine was. I was still slightly skeptical, thinking that maybe I had imagined it and that the headache would come back any second. It didn’t.

After the initial pain of being pierced wore off I could tell something was different. I went several weeks without taking a single pill. The first headache I had after getting my ears pierced was quickly relieved with two 200mg ibuprofen. I was elated! After years of having to take 800 mg of ibuprofen just to take the edge off, I was having what I called “regular headaches”.

At 4 months of having my piercings I had a full blown migraine. Luckily I had a couple rizatriptan pills left and took one to relieve my pain. That was the last time I used a prescription for my headaches.

Today I have had my piercings for 19 months. I have had a total of 4 migraines, which I’m recognizing have been caused by fluctuations in the weather and barometric pressure.

I am so pleased to be migraine free! Life was so limited before getting my piercings. I felt guilty every time I told my son I couldn’t play because I was having a migraine. I hated how many days I missed time with my family because I couldn’t handle even a sliver of light or quiet sounds.

Natural alternatives have given me my life back!

If you’re considering daith piercing I recommend researching it first. I would love if every migraine sufferer could find relief as I have from a daith piercing. In my research, I found that the study of war pressure points is called auriculotherapy. There are many resources out there that will help you make an informed decision.