Migraine Remedies...from a nutritionist to a nurse

Ever had that feeling when you just want to bang your head on the wall to just divert the pain a little? Ever felt needles being stuck on your brain? Or has your vision gone nuts and everything is a blur. Me, I felt like there were little people playing bowling on my head. phew!

photo courtesy of geeksontheinside.wordpress.com


It started occurring way back 2001. I'd get this bouts of pain on my head starting from the neck up to the frontal lobe. Like everybody else battling with it, I wanted a cure fast. But since painkillers don't work for me anymore, I decided to look for alternatives.

Here's my list of what worked for me.
It has been a year since my last migraine attack. :) Consider it progress number 1, my progress with hives (see labels on cures) is progress number 2...so read on, tell me what you think, and hope this helps you or someone else you love


1. Choosing Food Wisely

chocolates, though considered to be good brain food have been my number 1 migraine trigger. I still get a bite every now and then, but prefer the dark chocolate ones than the sweet milky bars. Load up on fruits and vegetables, steer clear from msg (monosodium glutamate) and use as little portions of butter as much as possible. In short, eat more food grown from plants not manufactured from plants.

2. Nutritionist advice: garlic, honey, and philippine lemon/ lemon
I got this from my aunt who is a vegetarian and is a nutritionist. Here's the concoction.
-2 cloves raw garlic (finely chopped to small pieces)
-1 tbsp of honey
-1 tsp of lemon juice
mix and drink.

(note: the garlic induces sleep, don't take if you're going to travel or going to work) then rest and get some sleep. wake up happy.:) note: for sore throat and colds, roast the garlic then drizzle honey and lemon juice. for cough: add fresh washed oregano leaves to the concoction.

3. Nurse advice: Grab your hair gently from the ends
My best friend connie used to do this to my head way back college.

It feels good and at the same time calms you down. This massages your scalp and at the same time relaxes your nerve endings. Don't grab your hair too strongly though. :)

4. De-stress
Go away for awhile by yourself and just enjoy nature tripping or going on a vacation.
Drink a cup of green tea
Get a massage.
Laugh more, worry less.

I am not a doctor just a hypochondriac trying to solve my health problems one problem at a time.

If this helps, or if you have anything else to add, feel free to do so, it might help some people too.

note: I am not against manufactured medicines, I'm just a little bit cautious about the side effects... :)

Of Getting Thin and Diets

I was born 6 pounds but 26 years later now weigh 63 kilos.


Like majority of women in the world who are more happy loosing weight than gaining money (no pun intended), I am one of those who look at the mirror and see the flabby thighs and the muffin top oozing out of my hips.

A Kid's Dilemma

Since I was young, I had this hate and love relationship with food.

When I was five and forced to do those little beauty pageants parents love entering their kids into, I was asked just one question during the final round, "What is your favorite food?" . I looked around and saw the audience smiling, thought it was best to answer what I know and answered with confidence "anything as long as it is edible". Then the audience burst into laughter and I cried on stage thinking I got it all wrong.

3 years later at school, I saw a fat kid with a double chin. Upon going home, I barely touched my food and told my mom the food on the table would make me loose my neck. It was then and there that I promised to strain my neck every morning and check it daily on the mirror just in case the food I ate made it disappear...phew!

Teenage Angst
During adolescence, the fat disappeared and some curves began to show. But still, my legs were not shapely like everybody else's and I had a waistline of 27cm. At that time, the only ideal waistline was a 23 or a 24. Bigger than that, you're a walking flabby girl.

Now 26 years later, after countless diets of varied types, I have outlined which have worked for me and which didn't. Some were easy to stick to, some were a little bit more daunting.

1. The Oatmeal Diet
date tested: Feb 2005 in preparation for a College Ball
reason: needed to fit into that dress
plan: 1 week of nothing but oatmeal and brown bread with tuna.
result: lost 2 cm off my waist
sustainability: only good for instant and short term weight loss
and might lead to vitamin or nutrient deficiency if continued



2. The Muffin Top Diet
date tested: September 2010
reason: get rid of the muffin top and save on medication for allergies
plan: not to eat anything that can be a potential allergen for 1 week
result: 1 cm off my waist, 2kg off the scales
sustainability: unless you can thrive on water then do this
didn't help much with my chronic hives either (now I developed new allergies on new food I wasn't allergic to before)

3. The Water Therapy Diet
date tested: January 2008
reason: loose weight and pass my urinalysis exam
plan: not to eat anything with MSG or preservatives, drink up on the coconut water and plain water
result: white urine, a passed urinalysis exam, and some dark circles underneath my eyes, 2kg in one week, 2cm off the waist
sustainability: just good for medical check-ups...hehe

4. The Vegan Diet
date tested: May 2005
reason: detox, cleansing, loose weight
plan: no meat, dairy or seafood for 1 month , big heavy breakfast, fiber packed lunch, no dinner
result: frequent bathroom trips, lesser pimple breakouts, pinkish glow on the cheeks, 4cm off the waist, 5kg in one month
sustainability: high budget (imagine oil has to be olive oil and not plain vegetable oil) , everything has to be organic, can lead
to late night sneaking on the fridge for something to eat

5. The Pink Pill Diet / Hokkaido Diet
date tested: December 2010 to present
reason: loose out the weight I gained after going to Dubai
plan: 2 tablets before breakfast daily
result: less puffier face in 1 week, lost some fat in the abdomen and leg areas, still under observation
sustainability: depends on the result after finishing one bottle
fears: side-effects?

6. The Badminton Work-out
date tested: August 2010
reason: loose weight
plan: 2-3h badminton every night
result: 2kg in 3 days with controlled diet and lots of water
sustainability: due to muscle strain and my face drying out at the Dubai humidity, I kept at it for only a week
note: felt good afterwards but you wake up to pain on your arms or legs if you do not have a proper work-out.

7. The French Diet
date tested: July 2007
reason: loose weight but still eat what I want
plan: eat smaller portions, smell and savor the food before swallowing it
result: 3kg in 2 weeks
sustainability: good but can be destroyed once you go out with friends or family
note: without exercise, I lost weight and did not feel guilty even though I nibbled on my favorites every now and then

That may not be much of a diet list but I do hope I have altered your perceptions on things. There are quick fixes, like what I am doing right now. But you can also choose those which your lifestyle would complement. In the end, it would come back to why you want to loose weight. Me, it makes me feel good. I am not hoping to be like those Victoria Secret Models or those ramping it up on the runway, I just want to feel healthy and good about myself.

If I achieve my ideal weight and stick to it, I feel light and I feel less sickly.
It's not just about fearing I'd loose my neck. It's now more of me wanting to live longer and take control.



Now, can we eat a slice of cake? (wink)

My Cheapest Hives Cure Ever

It has been two years since the elevated itchy red bumps on my skin first came out.

At first glance, I thought it was some sort of insect bite from bed bugs or mosquitoes. Being a self confessed hypochondriac, I searched the web for immediate cures and creams to the so-calle insect bite. I applied Caladryl and even hydrocortisone. The bumps then became less protruding, but after eating meals, it came back out again. This time on other parts of my body even on my face and lips.

That was when I realized I had some sort of allergy which was probably triggered by my vacation to Pampanga. Either it was the dust, the stress, the "laing" (taro leaves with coconut milk) or just the weather. But then nonetheless, I was completely clueless as to how it started.

I then was diagnosed with having chronic hives. And I was having reactions to not just one but multiple food items. I could not and was not allowed to eat poultry, eggs, dairy, cheese, seafood, pork, anything with too much artificial preservatives, canned food items, dried fish, pineapples, mangoes, eggplants, okras, and even some spices.

With my hives being chronic, it meant I had it for life. I got frustrated, stressed, and at the same time, wondered if the Good Lord wanted me to go on a forced diet. But since the food items listed on my "not to eat" list was alot, I refused to follow it. And so the bumps came and became ugly elevated wheals.

I told myself, that's what medicines are for right? For me to still eat what i want to eat.

But before going the easy way with meds, I tried natural methods. I went on a strict 1 week detox diet which consisted of a detox formula my nutritionist aunt made, half a cup of Virgin Coconut oil, and no white rice, no meat stuff. Everything was organic, had fiber or was meant for me to go to the toilet every 2 hours. After flushing everything out, I felt good and the bumps went away, but then each time I ate, the bumps still returned. It was then that I found out I was allergic to seaweed, oats, and even whole grain too. Phew!

Since detox didn't work. There was only one option left and that was steroids to control the inflammation.

I had been drinking Celestamine, Betamethasone, and even Dextramethasone for the allergies. Every time the red bumps showed, the drugs forced my immune system to go back to normal. But it only controlled the external manifestation of the hives. Deep down, my immune system was still making unexpected reactions to food thinking it is there to harm my body.
After two years of consuming steroids, and after noticing that I am beginning to slouch like an old lady and tend to accumulate fat fast I decided to search for other cures.

I tried a chinese cream which worked at first but only lasted for an hour. The hives then showed on other body parts, and it was like playing chase the hives or something that I soon got frustrated and decided to look for other means.

After 4 hours of searching the net and realizing that hives is sometimes triggered by stress, I thought to myself, if I could control the stress it would probably go away.

Then came the options, either I go get a massage or try a cup of tea.

I preferred the cheaper way, A cup of green tea every morning at breakfast. At first, the bumps became less elevated, then it slowly disappeared. And voila, the hives did not and have not been coming out for two weeks now. I ate eggs and even chicken and still no red bumps.




So there, my cheapest hives cure ever. I am not sure how this works, or why it worked for me, but I surely did save myself from side-effects and a slouched back.

Till here then, the cup of tea at the counter is running cold. I do hope this works for other people too. :) And if it does for you too, please let me know. :) Oh and before I forget, only green tea works for me. The other kinds have no effect.

a poem called flu

holding back a sniffle or two
believing there is
a cure for you

i wipe my nose dry
only to see
you have come
back
again for me

i tried to calm myself
to breathe in
breathe out
i try to relax
left no room
for doubt
that you'd soon go away
you'd soon let me be
you'd leave me to sleep
peacefully and free

but then you stayed
like an incessant prick
i am feeling worst
i am feeling sick

and so am left with no choice
but to
sneeze you out
bad virus called
flu