I feel as if to really paint a good picture for you all I need to give you a back story! So here she goes…
I was 14 when I got my first migraine, they started to occur around the same time Aunt Flow came to visit. (if you are of the male population you may not care to read this one), but totally up to you ❤
Anyways, I would know I was getting one because I would lose vision in my right eye and my vision would become very blurry, at this point I would rush to get home because I knew within 30 minutes the pain would hit. I had lots of freaky things happen, like half of my body would go numb, including my tongue. I would lose all sense of depth perception, I would vomit. Just sooo awful.
I quite obviously wanted to find a way to make them go away so my mom and I started on the never ending search for solutions. I started by using progesterone cream because we thought I was low in progesterone, didn’t work. Was super careful about what I ate, discovering when I ate eggs I would get a migraine, when I ate food with high amounts of MSG, etc, etc. But I would still getting them. We were at the point of feeling like we had tried it all, which looking back we really hadn’t but sometimes it is just easiest to take the path with the least resistance. So I welcomed the lovely Birth Control Pill into my life (so not lovely just to make that clear).
It stopped my migraines, it did so by taking over any natural hormone production and replaced it with synthetic hormones. AKA it came with a whole shit load of problems. Aunt flow would visit at sporadic times of the month, sometimes for a day sometimes for a month… Which made my doctor want to continue to try different brands to stop my body from bleeding through. We finally found one that seemed to be working, no migraines, monthly cycle was back on track, BUT! It was messing with my mental health something terrible.
We had finally found the pill that was working for me when I was 18. At first I didn’t realize the decline in my mental health was linked to the pill, I had just moved away to go to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I was chalking up the terrible anxiety attacks and depression to being stressed out and home sick. I then decided to come home and figure my life out, I booked myself in to see a couselor because it always helps to talk to someone that has a different perspective, but still nothing was changing, I was slipping deeper and deeper into my anxiety and depression. At this point my counselor had me looking into getting on anti-depressants and I was so relieved that something was finally going to help me, I wanted to feel like myself again so badly.
I know anti-depressants are the answer for a lot of people, but both my mom and I felt like it just wasn’t the answer for me. That is when I decided to try going off of the pill and see if I felt better mentally. I DID!! I seriously saw an improvements days after being off of it, I was so happy and felt like I could really start taking back control of my life.
But that also meant that my migraines started to come back, they weren’t as frequent, but looking back I think it was because my body still had a certain level of synthetic hormones left over from the pill that it kept them at bay.
When I was 20 I found out I was pregnant with little Miss Everly and I never had a migraine through my entire pregnancy, it was amazing!! I honestly kind of forgot that is was an issue. That is until I had her and BA BOOM, my hormones were a MESS postpartum. At this point I was so sleep deprived, stressed and really just in survival mode I didn’t know how to help myself start balancing my hormones, I had a tiny human to keep alive.
Fast forward a year and a bit and I am finally ready to really start healing myself from within and figuring out this migraine issue once and for all. I am a huge believer in intuition and I have had a voice in the back of my mind for months saying, “Marie, it is your hormones, get them back into balance ASAP”. I finally listened and I am excited to be taking the steps with a Naturopath to help my body get back into balance and have my hormones working optimally.
We are starting by helping my liver function better, because it directly effects my hormones. I am drinking a vegan protein powder that helps with liver function for breakfast and it is delicious!! I am also taking two types of supplements that help my body create healthy estrogen levels.
This is the very early stages of my journey with the naturopath, but I am so excited to not have to worry about a migraine taking me out for the day, especially now with Everly being so busy. I am also so excited to have more energy, have less mood swings and warmer feet 😉 just a couple signs of hormone imbalance.
Please know this is my unique story, not everyone reacts badly to birth control, not everyone is going to need to start with their liver when balancing their hormones, etc. But I am so glad I get to share my journey with you guys and if you have any questions, I am always here to chat.
Never allow yourself to feel alone in your struggles, there is always someone fighting their own struggles right around the corner! So much love for you ❤
Marie Stromsmoe 