Does anyone have advice for dealing with the migranes that accompany my indigestion & other digestive woes? I've been suffering from both issues for 5 years. Like many of you, I'm very limited in what I can eat & therefore I am very thin. Does anyone know if certain probiotic strains can help with migranes & if so, which? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, Ann

Hi, Ann.

I don't know off the top of my head if probiotics would help with migraines, specifically.

Let me ask you a few questions and I'll think about it and do some research.

Have you noticed any pattern to the migraines, as far as their frequency and/or severity?

What do you yourself think/feel as far as the connection between the migraines and your IBS? What I mean is, do you feel that one symptom precedes (causes or contributes to) the other or do you feel that they commence simultaneously?

As far as foods that you've eliminated, did you eliminate them based on intestinal symptoms being aggravated, migraines being aggravated or both?

I'll look for your answers.

All the best,
Nicole

I just did some reading on migraines, the herb feverfew has a real good track record for preventing migraine headaches, do some google research and see what you find out.

Also just read a cool thing that works for headaches in general and TMJ pains. Peppermint oil! Get some health food store variety essential oil and rub it on your forehead and areas that hurt. Peppermint is a muscle relaxer and within about a half hour the pain will subside as it relaxes the tension. It was tested clinically to be as effective as two Tylenol pills in Germany where its in common useage.

Hi Nicole, Thanks so much for responding to my questions. The migranes are always in conjunction with a really bad flare up (indigestion/reflux), though they tend to see-saw in severity. That is to say, the migrane will be skull-splitting & then taper a bit while the indigestion becomes more intense. I have never had a migrane without indigestion, but I have frequently had indigestion without a migrane. In general, the migranes are most intense during days 5-15 of my menstrual cycle. I feel there may be a hormonal component (possibly progestrone decline?) to my migranes & possibly my indigestion. I am currently taking over a tablespoon of Megadophilus/day & 1/8 teaspoon of Bifido/day (since this is all I can tolerate at the moment due to intense cramping, bloating & gas.) I also tried Digesta-Lac but it brought on some really horrific indigestion & a migrane. I began the probiotics after a stool sample came back positive for high levels of Klebsiella. I've eliminated most food due to both the indigestion & headaches. Thanks again & I look forward to hearing from you. Ann

Dear Possum, Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely try the peppermint oil. Unfortunately I can't tolerate the Feverfew at this point.

If nothing else it will ease the tension for awhile. When you put it on just get the skin wet with it, no need to massage it in. the stuff I have is Aura Cacia essential oil from Fred Meyer health foods section. It will get real cool a bit after you put it on, then it takes about half an hour for the muscle relaxing effect to kick in. Its kind of like super menthol, will probably make your eyes water, but it sure smells good. Worth a try.....also works on any muscle aches and pains....

If your migraines are from toxic overload you might try activated charcoal pills, these are used to soak up toxins and work pretty well, google around for more info. CNC nutrition centers or any health food place has them, read the directions.....

Hi, Ann.

I'm sorry I've taken so long to get back to you.

You already did get some good ideas from others. (If you use peppermint essential oil directly on your skin, though, make sure to dilute it in a carrier oil and make sure none gets in your eyes. Same is true for almost every essential oil; very few are mild enough to be used directly on the skin undiluted.)

Sometimes when things are so complicated, it helps to deliberately simplify them.

To put it in its simplest, anything that you do to support your overall well-being is going to benefit all of you - including the digestion and the migraines - everything's connected. The reverse is also true.

Particularly if you've tested positive for an overgrowth of klebsiella, have you considered Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol? That is your fastest way to rebalance the gut flora.

Listen to Your Gut is the best all-around book I have read about holistic healing because it covers all of the facets that you need to address. So many books just talk about diet, or just talk about stress, etc. Listen to Your Gut talks about them all. So if you don't already have it, I encourage you to consider it.

When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate has an excellent chapter about IBS. Sometimes we get hints about ourselves and how we can tweak what we're doing by learning about other people's experiences.

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause is an excellent reference about hormone balance. (Actually, it has some great information about overall life balance, too!)

You could absolutely be on to something with the hormone balance; that sounds very much worth exploring, especially as your symptoms worsen in a fairly predictable cycle. Here's another discussion thread that might provide some helpful information on the subject:

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=156

I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to write back with any further questions and I'll try hard not to take so long next time!

All the best,
Nicole

Hi Nicole,
I sent an email to you yesterday, but I have a feeling it was never received (if you did receive it, please disregard this email.) Is it possible to get rid of klebsiella through probiotics alone? Though I've read Jini's book several times, as well as Natasha Trenev's books, I'm wondering if you could give me a protocol to follow as far as the W.O.W. & probiotics to specifically eliminate the klebsiella? Once again, I'm presently taking in excess of 2 tablespoons of Megadophilus (which is helping my indigestion tremendously) & 1/8 teaspoon of Bifido Factor (which is all I can tolerate at this point) per day. I've tried the Digesta Lac & Healthy Start II as well. Both products caused an immediate die-off & resulted in my getting a migrane & horrible indigestion. My naturopath gave me several products by Metagenics to get rid of the bad bacteria in my gut & repopulate the good bacteria in my gut, but after six months I'm still struggling. Any help you could provide would be much appreciated. Sincerely, Ann

Hi, Ann.

No, I didn't receive it, I'm afraid.

To be honest, I don't really don't have a definitive answer to that.

It makes intuitive sense to me that over time, high-dosage, high-potency probiotics would help rebalance your gut flora, however, almost regardless of the infectious agent causing your problems. And there are plenty of studies to show that high-dose, high-potency probiotics do help a gamut of digestive disorders.

I think you would get the fastest results possible, however, by following Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol. (Although even then, expect to spend several months cycling between the various phases according to your symptoms.) My only concern with that, though, is that so far, you're only able to tolerate a very small dosage of bacteria that reside in the colon. So it would probably be best to wait until you've been able to work up to the full recommended dose of the Bifido Factor before starting the Wild Oregano Protocol, actually.

You might also see what the probiotics consultants at Natren suggest.

This might sound like a totally unrelated question, but I came across something in my reading recently that made me think of your migraines. Do you have normal vision or do you use glasses or contact lenses?

I know it seems like a long road and sometimes you wonder if you're ever going to see a light at the end of the tunnel when you're following a holistic path to healing. (I've been there.) And I know that your family goes through it with you. (Been there, too.) And that sometimes, it can all be pretty depressing. (Yup. Been there.) But it is so, so worth it in the end.

Even if it takes you two or three years to fully overcome your physical issues, you'll be so much farther ahead than if you never pursued healing.

All the best,
Nicole

Hi Nicole,
Thanks so much for your insights, kind words & info. My husband & I both felt that the W.O.O. might be too challenging without sufficient beneficial bacteria in my colon. I will follow your suggestions & try to gradually increase the Bifido Factor prior to following Jini's W.O.O. protocol. Since I can tolerate the Megadophilus, can I safely assume that my upper g.i. is rather healthy, so to speak? Are there any other products you would suggest I try in an effort to rebalance my system? My energy level is so low, I find it difficult to make it through the day. Lastly, I've had very poor eyesight (primarily due to a significant astigmatism) since I was four year's old. Thanks again & best wishes in 2008! Ann

Hi, Ann.

As far as energy, there are a few routes you can go, all based on the underlying principle of treating infection and bolstering overall health with superb nutrition.

First, if you don't already have it, consider purchasing a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions and gradually incorporate the dietary principles contained within (customized to your particular food tolerances). Start out with the stocks, which are wonderfully fortifying.

If you can tolerate dairy, there are a number of recipes (including smoothies) for fermented dairy products, to which you could add some stevia and Udo's Oil for a whole-foods approximation of Absorb Plus.

If you cannot tolerate dairy, consider supplementing with one Absorb Plus shake per day, so that you know you have one very easily absorbed source of nutrition daily.

I don't know if you are anemic, but if you are, my own personal experience leads me to suggest that you wait to supplement with iron until you are quite sure you are not dealing with an infection any longer. Concentrate, instead, of optimizing your nutrition (including iron-rich foods, like liver) and later, if you still need to, supplement with Ferrasorb.

I remained anemic for a long time, even though I was supplementing with Ferrasorb. I wonder now if it wasn't "doing much good" for a long time (not improving my anemia) because I first had to treat my infection. It was when I was able to start and finish Phase Three of Jini's Wild Oregano Oil without having to cycle back to Phase One due to symptoms reappearing (indicating that I was no longer dealing with any infection in my gut), that my anemia healed. Interestingly, fatigue became much less of a problem following The IBD Remission Diet (Absorb Plus only) and subsequent wholehearted effort to stick to wholesome foods, even though I was still technically anemic.

Here's a fairly short and not too technical article that also sheds some light on my experience:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12708088&dopt=AbstractPlus

(You'll have to copy and paste that in two different sections into your browser; I had to insert a return as the link was too long.)

If you do only one thing, diet-wise, eliminate sugar, refined carbohydrates and trans-fats from your diet, as far as possible.

The reason I asked about your eyesight was because of an experience I read about in the book Relearning to See by Thomas Quackenbush of a woman who no longer suffered from migraines after mastering the Bates Method of eyesight improvement explained in this book. (I've just started implementing these principles of eyesight myself; I've worn quite strong glasses for near-sightedness since third grade.) Anyway, there are a number of principles in this book that go hand-in-hand with Listen to Your Gut. In particular, a wonderful chapter on natural healing in general (not just pertaining to eyesight), is Chapter Twenty, entitled "The Two Sides of Health and Healing".

Here's just one small excerpt:

Education and understanding may be the most important part of natural healing. When one identifies and uses true, natural modalities of healing, the healing aggravations from those modalities can be regarded as correct. If healing aggravations (Nicole: Jini called them healing crises in LTYG) are suppressed, the illness can continue and become worse.

Of course, a person must not allow a serious symptom to go unattended when it is not part of a healing aggravation. This is where the study of holistic books can be helpful, along with consulting experienced natural health practitioners.

In regard to long-term health issues, I have come to the conclusion that:

-With conventional approaches to health problems, a person often feels better right away (due to the suppression of symptoms), but becomes less healthy in the long term.

-With natural approaches to health problems, a person often feels worse right away (due to a healing aggravation), but becomes more healthy in the long term.

So this is another approach you might take, because the underlying principles of the Bates Method will only complement anything you do in implementing strategies from Listen to Your Gut.

Finally, consider using some of the immune system strengtheners listed on pages 94-98 of LTYG. Just don't forget that they are supplements and cannot take the place of your taking care of yourself - they can only complement it. See my article in the upcoming issue of Good Health is Real Wealth for more on this.

I hope this helps!

All the best,
Nicole

I would definitely have a test for food allergies. I used LEAP, they are a company in Florida. They were very thorough. They will guide you through an exclusion or rotation diet based on results of a blood test. For immediate relief, if you have not already done it, stop eating wheat, dairy products, red wine, coffee.

Thanks for replying! Six months ago I had the same allergy test done. (In fact, there are few tests I haven't done:) The results showed I had intolerances to many foods, but not lactose or wheat. Ironically, when I went gluten & lactose-free I started feeling better. And now that I'm able to tolerate more of the Natren probiotics, I'm starting to tolerate more & more foods. Unfortunately the headaches haven't abated at the same pace, but I'm very hopeful considering the successes I've had of recent. If you have any other suggestions regarding migranes, please write again! Ann

The Traditions book is killer, alot of good information and myth busting. Unfortunately there's some out of date info in it too, like vegetarians need to eat rice with beans, medical science busted that myth some time ago.

I am giving up vegetarianism because of that book, going slowly at it but its helping me, the protein slows down intestinal transit time for me which is a good thing and I am not getting as many glycemic sugar crashes. I'm also staying away from gluten products for a month or two to see how that effects me.

Another really great book and a recommended author by the author of the Traditions book is Wild Fermentations by Sandor Katz, a cool gay guy who lives in a self sufficient gay commune type setting out in the boonies. Anyway, I am making sauerkraut and my own yogurt. Sauerkraut is a powerful healing food with the benefits of cabbage's digestive tract healing properties and lactobacillus cultures. The book has all kinds of cool stuff to make from wine to dairy products etc. etc. A fun read and fun to do.....