LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Headache, Migraine and Seizure Cures

Natural Remedies for Headaches: It’s Not in Your Head

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By now, if your neurologist has not discussed a link between your chronic migraine headaches and your heart, it might be time to find a new one.

This is not a new link, but it seems like the headache treatment community has been attempting to keep it secret.  Or worse, they are so disconnected from the medical literature that they are still telling their migraine patients that we don’t know what causes migraines.  Before we get to the meat of this article, we do need to bring up the blood vessel theory of migraine headaches.  Long ago headache specialists believed that chronic migraine headaches were caused by an event that led to constriction of the blood vessels (the cutting off of blood to certain regions of the brain from this constriction was believed to cause the aura associated with the headache).  The body then counteracted the constriction by forcing the blood vessels open again, leading to rebound dilation of the blood vessels.  This overexpansion of the blood vessels pressing on nerves in the brain was believed to cause the pounding headache of a migraine.

From this theory, the development of drugs of the 5-HT agonist class (drugs like the triptans used heavily to control the pain of migraines–notice I did not say “treat…”) that helps to shrink the blood vessels back down again.

With this history in mind, when I mention that chronic migraine headaches are strongly linked to problems with the blood vessels, I am NOT talking about the theory noted above.  Rather, I am talking about vascular health.  The inside lining of the blood vessels of your body is called the endothelium.  Endothelial dysfunction refers to a condition where the blood vessels no longer react the way they should.  In general, there is an imbalance between substances that help open and close the blood vessels when needed.  This begins to disrupt the normal functions like clotting, immune function and ability to control the diameter of the blood vessel.

Poor vascular health is the precursor to, and begins years and years before, heart disease, stroke and dementia.  And, most importantly, this is a process that occurs in ALL of the blood vessels, not just the blood vessels of the heart or just the vessels of your pinky finger.  Or, relevant to this article, the brain.

THIS is why migraines are not, and have never been, a problem in the head.  This is just where you feel the most notable symptom first.  Let poor vascular health leading to chronic migraine headaches go on for years and heart attacks, strokes or dementia are sure to follow.

Any headache specialist who does not understand this is NOT a headache specialist.  They are, most likely, an expert in using medication to alleviate the pain of a migraine.

And just in case you think I’m surely mistaken because you’re never heard of this relationship before, I present this particular study.  Researchers compared the blood flow in the heart of 40 patients with migraine to 35 healthy volunteers. Here’s what they found:

  1. In the chronic migraine headache patients, the blood flow reserve in the heart was about 1/3 less.
  2. In addition, blood flow through the left ventricle was reduced in the migraine group.

Basically, the endothelial dysfunction was causing problems with the blood flow through the heart.  This is not a cardiac problem and it is not a headache problem; IT IS A BLOOD VESSEL PROBLEM.  Until we begin to view chronic migraine headaches through this lens, we will never fix the problem.  We will just manage it.

For those migraine sufferers looking for natural remedies for headaches via better vascular health, the most bang for your buck is going to be an anti-diabetic lifestyle.  Diabetes and prediabetes destroys the blood vessels, contributing to endothelial dysfunction.  For a more complete review, consider my Chronic Migraine Relief eBook or my Migraines and Seizures eBook, both available through Amazon.

 

Natural Remedies for Seizures: At the Heart of the Problem

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Ahh.  Mitochondria.  Darn near my favorite word.  And the key to natural remedies for seizures and chronic migraines.

This is certainly not the first time I’ve written about my favorite organelle, and to some, it may seem like I attribute mitochondrial dysfunction to just about all that is evil in human physiology.  Lest you think I’ve turned into a broken record, you need to remember what the mitochondria do in each and every one of the cells of your body.

Deep inside every cell, at the electron microscopic level, cells are very busy little things.  Thousands upon thousands of reactions occur every second inside each and every cell.  Some cells have more going on than other cells, like the nervous system, muscle, heart and other organs.  Each and every thing that gets done requires energy in the form of ATP, and that ATP comes from healthy functioning mitochondria.

It’s at the core of what we are, and the breakdown of this process can wreak havoc on every single cell in your body, but likely beginning with the high energy demand cells like those just mentioned.  But for the purpose of this article, we’ll stick with the brain.

Due to the massive energy demand, each brain cell has thousands of mitochondria floating around in the cytosol.  You see, in order for a brain cell to NOT fire, it requires constant energy to keep levels of sodium and potassium on opposite sides of the cell membrane.  Without a constant pumping action shifting leaky sodium back out of the cell, the brain cell would no longer be able to keep an electrical gradient and the cell would fire before it’s supposed to.  Kind of like 10 strong men holding up a heavy boulder—if half of them decide they all have to go to the bathroom at the same time, the remaining five will likely leave the boulder to collapse to the ground suddenly.

With seizures, the same thing happens.  Without enough energy in the form of ATP from the mitochondria, a brain cell may fire before it’s supposed to, triggering a seizure (for a more detailed overview, feel free to purchase my Migraines and Epilepsy eBook by clicking here).

What’s worse is that this firing of a brain cell before it is supposed to actually causes connecting cells to fire (monkey see, monkey do).  This depletes the energy in the brain further, leading to a bad situation.  The brain cells affected by this surge of firing become sick, leading to an increased risk of future seizures.

When this process happens after a very first seizure, it can set up the stage for the development of future seizures, a process called epileptogenesis.  This particular article sets up the stage for looking into mitochondrial dysfunction as the root of the progression to epilepsy and using interventions geared towards the mitochondria to slow or stop this progression.

Unfortunately, mainstream medicine has been slow to adopt this mechanism as it relates to seizures.  Maybe slow isn’t the word.  Sloth speed in quicksand may fit better.

Current approaches to seizures and epilepsy take no thought into protecting the brain from further damage.  NONE of the anti-epileptic medications will improve mitochondrial function and some have been shown to worsen it.  Neurologists and epileptologists think their job ends when the seizures are controlled, but all the medications do is completely numb down the neurons so they can’t communicate effectively.  Worse, when the seizures are intractable and don’t response to a single medication (which happens in some 70% of seizures), multiple medications are used to numb the brain further.

Until we take a stand and accept that the mitochondria are THE critical element in seizures, epileptics will not be fully served by the physicians pledged to protect them.

Chronic Migraine Headaches in Kids – Could This Be Why?

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Headaches in children are one of the hardest things for parents to deal with.  You want to help, but instead you end up feeling helpless.  But what if “helping” is not what you’re doing?

Sounds crazy.  What could a parent do to deliberately cause his or her child to have headaches?

According, to this particular study, everything.

Researchers looked at the relationship between childhood obesity and the likelihood that an obese child would suffer from chronic migraine headaches.  The results are not good:

  • If a child was obese or overweight, they were 237% and 229% more likely to be diagnosed with migraine headaches, respectively.
  • For girls alone, the risk was a massive 493% higher.
  • Overall, a higher BMI was associated with increased risk of any type of headache frequency and disability.

As a parent of an obese child, you are not going to want to hear this, but the blame lies squarely on your shoulders, with only a very few exceptions.  It is your behaviors and your choices that determine the weight of your child.  I have written about this in previous blog articles that can be read by clicking here.

Going back to this study, if your child is experiencing migraine headaches, especially your daughter, his or her weight may be a major contributing factor.  Here is the even greater concern: migraine headaches are caused by vascular problems and this means that your child, at this young age, is already having problems with blood vessels that ARE going to lead to heart disease, stroke and dementia.

This is not to say that optimal weight children do not develop migraines.  I have one in mind right now that is of optimal weight, but still has significant headaches.  For him, stress is THE trigger and requires a different tool set to manage and overcome.

But if your child does experience chronic migraine headaches and he or she is overweight, than the medications given by the pediatrician or neurologist are not the answer.  Taking a good hard look at the lifestyle your family is living and making appropriate changes is the only correct path.

If this seems too difficult, remember that the next time you sit by helplessly as your overweight child cries from a chronic migraine headache.

Did Your Neurologist Recommend Natural Remedies for Seizures?

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Seizures will impact your life.  Period.  Uncontrollable, or refractory, seizures can destroy it.

I have certainly covered non-pharmacological therapies for seizures in past blog articles.  The list of things known to help improve brain health in seizure patients is quite long.  If you’d like to read through past blog articles on these approaches you can begin by clicking here.

How many of these approaches has your neurologist discussed with you?

If the answer is “none,” then it’s probably time to find a new one.

In the meantime, we can add to the list of things that are good for your brain and subsequently, your seizures.  This particular article reviews the power of exercise as an adjunct to the treatment of seizures.  I remember a colleague telling me about a friend who had a Boston terrier who was epileptic.  The owner found that, by throwing the dog on the treadmill every day, the dog remained seizure free.

Even if you’re not a canine, exercise has multiple benefits to seizure patients:

  1. Many anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) will cause low bone loss.  Exercise can help counteract this bone loss.
  2. Stress is devastating to the brain and will increase seizure risk.  Exercise can clearly reduce stress levels.  This may be the most powerful effect of exercise.
  3. The Bhadori Leanness program consists of a short fast combined with exercise and has been suggested as a strong neuroprotective approach.

Overall, it is clear that exercise needs to be a critical part of the care plan for any patient with seizures.  I have written frequently on the benefits of short burst aerobic exercise.  You can read more about these this type of approach by clicking here.

Here’s the beauty.  There is no interaction between any anti-epiliptic drug and exercise, with the exception of an increased risk of falls from the imbalance from some of the medications.  So, if you’re not already exercising, what are you waiting for?

Will Your Infant Develop Migraines? 2 Things to Look For

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My near-mantra is that migraines are not a problem in the head. Rather, these headaches are a sign that something is wrong with your overall health. The evidence supporting this position is plentiful and some of this research can be found in a recent blog post that refers to migraines as a “progressive brain disorder.”

While migraines can begin at any age, it is not unusual to have them start as a toddler.  I recently had a patient whose migraines began as early as 2 years of age.  As a parent, I can think of few things more achingly painful than watching your innocent child suffer the debilitating pain of a migraine while all you can do is watch helplessly.  No wonder some parents who seek help from pediatric neurologists resort to neurotransmitter-altering medications given at a time when the brain is undergoing some of the most dramatic changes of his or her lifespan.

But what if there is another answer? What if there was an early warning sign that something was wrong with your little one’s system?

What if you could change it THEN, possibly derailing the chance that your small child will suffer with migraines?

As you can guess, I wouldn’t bring this up unless there was an answer.

This particular study looks at the relationship between an infant who experienced infantile colic and his or her later risk of developing chronic migraine headaches. Here’s what they found:

  • Children with migraine were 661% more likely to have had infantile colic.
  • If the child had migraine without aura the risk was still massive at 701%.
  • Migraine with aura 573% .
  • However, this association was not present with tension-type headaches.

In other words, somewhere there is an incredibly strong connection between infantile colic and migraines. There are several mechanisms that might explain the association.

One possible explanation is that the gut produces a very high level of neurotransmitters, which is why the gut is frequently referred to as the “second brain.”  An alteration in the production of these neurotransmitters in the gut could clearly affect brain function.

As an example, 2/3 of the body’s serotonin comes from the gut.  When the gut is inflamed, it will produce even more serotonin.  This could result in the infant’s brain being bathed in an unnaturally high level of serotonin, resulting in a lifetime of a sort of serotonin deficency. Serotonin clearly has an influence on the brain and some migraine medications (like amytriptaline) are used to treat migraines.

The other explanation can start with a personal story.  When my little Keegan was an infant, he experienced colic. As any parent can tell you, colic can be heartbreaking and frustrating, especially in the middle of the night when the parent is going on virtually no sleep.

While most cases of colic are said to last about 3 months, Keegan’s was handled in about 4 weeks through a combination of probiotics, a visit to a pediatric chiropractor and cutting dairy out of mom’s diet while she continued to nurse.

Food allergies.

There is absolutely NO doubt that food allergies can contribute to chronic migraine headaches.  The changes made for Keegan were designed to shift his immune system back into balance (probiotics for Th1 stimulation, allergen avoidance to tone down Th2 pathways).  An altered immune system can produce inflammation that is bad for the brain and bad for the blood vessels leading to the brain.

This study can give us further insight into what might cause migraines later in life. It may be that, in those who suffer from chronic migraine headaches AND had infantile colic, the identification and avoidance of food allergies and calming any inflammation in the gut may be a critical piece to the puzzle of solving migraine headaches for you or someone you care about.

Acute Valproate Administration Impairs Methionine Metabolism in Rats – (09-19-02)

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Acute Valproate Administration Impairs Methionine Metabolism in Rats

Valproate is a drug commonly used to control seizures and has many potentially severe side effects. While many patients with seizures would probably have good results with lifestyle changes geared towards reducing seizure activity (i.e. stress reduction, high does fish oils to stabilize cellular membranes…), many patients need this medication. Here we see research beginning to elucidate the physiology behind the side effects. Unfortunately, it will be decades yet before high dose (most likely in the gram-dosage range) folic acid along with SAM-e and betaine will be standard recommendation.

Nutrition.org — Abstracts: Úbeda et al. 132 (9): 2737

Read entire article here

Chronic Migraine Headaches as a Progressive Brain Disorder?

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chronic migraines as a progressive brain disorder
Chronic migraines as a progressive brain disorder

Sounds like a scary title, huh? Good, because if you suffer from migraines, you NEED to understand how serious this truly is.

And it is not about controlling the headache.  Although this may be the immediate need, this limited approach does nothing for protecting your brain.  And make no mistake–migraine sufferers have a greatly increased risk for things like heart disease, stroke and dementia.  Masking the headache with medication does not change your increased risk–it’s still going to happen unless you do something about it.

The current research on migraines follow two related pathways:  mitochondrial dysfunction and vascular dysfunction.  Both share aspects in common, but the best thing is that lifestyle changes to improve one also effects the other.  Here’s the basics.

The mitochondrial dysfunction model begins with, shockingly, the mitochondria.  Think way back to your high school biology class and the anatomy of a cell when you first learned about the mitochondria.  The little “powerhouse of the cell.”  That little organelle within the cell that helps to generate energy for a cell.  And the “energy currency” for every cell is adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.  There are some billion or so reactions that occur in our body EVERY SECOND, and each one of these requires a molecule of ATP to get the job done.  Some tissues, like fat, use very little energy.  Others, like the heart, our muscles and our brain, use much more.  At rest, the nervous system, which includes our brain, is the greatest utilizer of ATP in the body.  Once we start moving, the muscles take over and have the greatest need.

Imagine that.  As you sit here reading this, your brain is requiring mass amounts of energy just to process the information.  So what does this mean?  It means that each cell of the nervous system requires thousands of mitochondria just to generate the energy needed for a brain cell just to perform its basic functions.  And each of these mitochondria are little factories churning out ATP for the brain cell to use at an enormous rate.  Evidence has been present for several decades that the protection and nutritional support of the mitochondria needs to be an integral part of avoiding, reducing the severity of and reducing the long-term ramifications of migraines and seizures.

With this model, anything that harms the mitochondria and interferes with a brain cell’s ability to make energy will contribute to chronic migraine headaches.  Anything that helps the mitochondria can provide chronic migraine relief.

In the vascular dysfunction model, problems with the blood vessels, especially the very tiny blood vessels that feed the tissues of the brain, lead to the headaches.  Imagine the flow through a blood vessel becoming rapidly choked off or the flow at least becoming more turbulent and restricted.  The brain cells that depend on this blood flow are going to get pretty pissed off when it is cut off.  With this model, an anti-cardiovascular disease lifestyle is the best option.  Ironically, this lifestyle will also improve mitochondrial dysfunction.

With either model, typical medications used to treat migraine headaches do not fix anything.  And yet most of the migraine-oriented websites and online communities are still funded by drug companies and never promote real discussions about underlying pathology or how to improve brain function.  Without this open conversation about these two models of migraine headaches, migraine sufferers will continue to be at long term risk of cognitive decline, stroke and heart disease.  This particular article delves into the concept that chronic migraine headaches are a progressive brain disorder and should be addressed as such.

We need to wake up and start to realize that migraines CAN be improved or cured with the right lifestyle changes.

Natural Remedies for Seizures That Don’t Respond to Medications

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For those of you not familiar with the jargon, a refractory seizure is one that does not respond to medication.

Unfortunately, this is not a tiny fraction of epileptics.  Rather, upwards of 1/3 of epileptics have seizures that do not respond to any medication that is used.  The options that mainstream medicine have at this point are not pleasant.  Vagal nerve stimulators embedded in your neck.  Surgery to remove a part of your brain.  Or, just deal with it.

The impact on the lives of these patients is severe.  Restricted driving, inability to work and social isolation can be the result.

However, I have long felt that mainstream medicine’s approach to seizures is an inherently faulty one.  In almost all cases, the initial, and sometimes only, goal is to use medication to control the seizure.  If this doesn’t work, a different medication is used or they are used in combination.  Statistically, if the first doesn’t work at controlling your seizures, the likelihood of being able to control your seizures with medication just goes down from there.

But there is rarely the thought to heal the brain and restore the way it is supposed to function.  The medications do not do this (in some cases it is actually worsening brain cell function), rather, they are designed to keep one sick brain cell from communicating with its neighbor.  Ramp up the suppression strong enough and hopefully you can stop the seizures.  But you haven’t fixed the sick neuron that started the mess in the first place.

Which brings us to this particular article.

My book, Migraines and Epilepsy, How to Find Relief, Live Well and Protect Your Brian, has a strong focus on the mitochondrial aspect of both migraines and epilepsy.  In a nutshell, when your brain cells cannot produce the energy they need to function optimally, things break down.  Chronic migraine headaches and seizures can result.  While it’s not that simple, this is the basic concept.

When you understand the mitochondria and the role it plays, you can better understand the factors that contribute to migraines and seizures as well as the natural remedies for seizures and migraines that improve brain cell function.

As mentioned by the author, treatments geared towards improving energy needs of the brain cells are “untapped.”  This is probably an understatement, but you begin to see the point.

Overall, by NOT looking at natural remedies for seizures and migraines, researchers have might have missed out on therapies that are more effective and far safer than current medications.  The difference is that this type of an approach to treatment works on healing the brain at it’s most fundamental level–the energy needs of the cell.

Stay tuned…