Does This Sound Familiar?

🏃 Rushing from doctor to doctor with little to no change in symptoms…

💊 Trying new medications, but needing more medications to offset the side effects of the new medications…

🥹 Feeling like there is nowhere to turn because you’ve tried “all the therapies” Western medicine has to offer…

We’ve been naturally treating patients who suffer from migraine symptoms for 15+ years by addressing the root causes and helping people structurally, neurologically, and nutritionally.

And in this newsletter, we’re going to give you everything we’ve learned.

For Free. 

The Migraine Mentors

In Today’s Email:

•  🗞️ Migraine Media & Research

  • Helpful Tips from Around the Scientific Community

• 📜 This Week’s Top Article

  • The Downsides of Topamax

• 🥑 Migraine Take-Out

  • Meme of The Week

  • Habit of The Month

  • Migraine-Friendly Recipe of the Week

  • Menstrual Migraine Pro Tips

🗞️ MIGRAINE MEDIA & RESEARCH

_{What’s Happening in the Migraine World?}

• Are women who suffer migraines at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease? A cohort study published in the Journal of Neurology seems to have found the answer…

• If you’re still taking medications to prevent and manage your migraines, you’ll be pleased to find out that the cheaper ones work just as well as the expensive ones.

• We know diet and nutrition influence migraine attacks, but we still find ourselves asking”: “Which diet is the best?” It turns out that the ketogenic diet seems to be leading the pack.

• How to know when a migraine is life threatening… Read more HERE.

📜 TOP ARTICLE

The Downsides of Topamax…

Topamax (Topiramate) is one of the most widely distributed migraine medications globally, with over 8.2 million prescriptions written in 2022 alone.

And for most of you reading this, you’ve either taken it, heard of it, or had it cross your path while searching for answers to your migraine symptoms.

Topamax is primarily prescribed for seizures and is considered an anti-convulsant with a strong effect on modulating neurotransmitters in the brain to calm down the nervous system.

It’s also one of the most commonly prescribed medications to treat migraine symptoms.

But while it may be beneficial for preventing migraine symptoms, it has a ton of downsides and side effects:

🫣 Suicidal behavior and ideation

💤 General fatigue and sleepiness

🛑 Loss of appetite

🦴 Decreased bone density

🤌 Tingling of the limbs (paresthesia)

👀 Visual disturbances and blurry vision

🧠 Delayed cognitive processing (slowed thinking, slurred speech, & issues concentrating)

And the list goes on… (you can find more information HERE).

While these outcomes are labeled as “side effects,” they should be labeled as “common but unwanted effects” due to how often they occur in patients.

For those who have taken it, there’s usually a visceral response to its effects, as most feel “slow, tired, delayed, and dumb,” as one patient recently described it.

This may or may not come as a surprise, but the biggest problem we see with Topamax is its effect on the brain's and body's metabolic capacity.

Topamax can induce a condition called “Metabolic Acidosis,” which essentially creates a heavily tilted acidic environment in the blood, which can cause nutrient depletions and deficiencies.

🦴 It’s one of the reasons why children who take it can experience stunted growth in height and bone density.

Fortunately for you, there are natural alternatives that you can easily access.

So, what are the potential natural alternatives to taking Topamax, you ask?

🧠 Topamax acts by increasing the production of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that can slow down brain processes.

It also suppresses the production of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter that can act like pouring gasoline on an already lit fire in the brain of a migraine.

🧊 GABA is the brake pedal in the brain and helps us to stay cool, calm, collected, and pain free.

And you can get this same migraine-relieving effect by taking GABA, a naturally derived supplement commonly found online and in natural food stores.

But that’s only part of the story…

Magnesium is an essential nutrient and co-factor for over 300 different enzymatic processes in the brain and body. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Magnesium plays a powerful role in managing migraine symptoms due to its calming effect on the central nervous system and NMDA receptor activity.

Since roughly 50% of the US population is estimated to be deficient in magnesium, we can make the assumption that most of us aren’t getting enough of it.

💪 Magnesium, taken together with GABA, can pack the one-two punch to halt excessive excitation in the brain and decrease migraine symptoms

And that’s good news for migraine sufferers!

For most medications on the market today, there are natural and alternative supplement options that can usually achieve the same goal.

It just takes a bit of insider information and knowledge to find it!

🎉 In the world of supplements, it’s EASY to feel overwhelmed and unsure what to order… So we did all the work for you 😃 

✅ Click HERE to gain access to our Topamax Supplement Protocol/List

Speaking of which…

Next week, we’re going to discuss the dark side of antidepressants and nutrient deficiencies…

Stay tuned!

🥑 MIGRAINE TAKE-OUT

Meme of The Week

How to Build Lasting Relief

It makes us so mad 😡 when we hear people leave any appointment that goes like this….

The provider you saw said, “All you have to do is de-stress, eat all organic foods, take all these supplements, get massages, meditate, journal your symptoms, and drink 80 oz of water.” 😩 

Then you leave with a blank stare 😳 and two weeks later, you’re not doing any of it because it’s way too much.

While doing all those things will absolutely help migraine frequency and intensity, there is no thought or strategy given to HOW those habits get installed.

Building habits is a science. 🔬 

Take a look at some research…..

Changing one habit at a time has an 85% success rate. 🥇 

Changing two habits at a time has a 35% success rate. 🥈 

Changing three habits at a time only had a 10% success rate. 🥉 

So when someone dumps 10-20 new behaviors in your lap and says, “Figure it out,” they’re setting you up for failure. 📉 

Real, sustainable change happens when you have a strategic list of habits to change and change them one at a time.

They build on each other and eventually lead to significant, long-lasting change.

Lucky for you, we’ve created a list of habits specifically for migraines. We’ll share that list with you and teach you how to install them.

Stay tuned! 💁‍♂️ 

Instructions

1. Prepare Your Ingredients

Make sure your blueberries are frozen, as this gives the smoothie a nice thick texture. If your banana isn't ripe, allow it to ripen; ripe bananas tend to be sweeter and easier on the stomach.

2. Blend the Smoothie

Combine the frozen blueberries, ripe banana, coconut water, chia seeds, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a high-speed blender.

Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. If the mixture is too thick, you can add more coconut water to achieve your desired consistency.

3. Taste and Adjust

Taste your smoothie and adjust as needed. If it isn’t sweet enough, you might consider adding a small amount of honey or maple syrup if you tolerate them well, but often, the ripe banana provides enough sweetness.

4. Serve and Enjoy

Pour the smoothie into a large glass. You can garnish with a few fresh blueberries or a sprinkle of extra chia seeds if desired.

Enjoy immediately as part of a nourishing breakfast or as an afternoon pick-me-up.

Tips for a Migraine-Friendly Smoothie

🍌 Banana Ripeness: Use ripe bananas for sweetness and a gentler digestion experience.

🌊 Hydration: Coconut water is hydrating and a great source of electrolytes, beneficial for preventing dehydration-related migraines.

🛑 Avoid Common Triggers: Avoid adding potential dietary triggers, such as citrus, yogurt, or artificial sweeteners.

🛣️ Adapt to Your Needs: If you find chia seeds problematic, you can leave them out or swap them for another seed, like flaxseeds, if you tolerate them.

This smoothie is not only nourishing but also simple to make. It keeps things gentle and straightforward, helping avoid potential dietary triggers while providing a delicious and satisfying treat.

Enjoy experimenting with this recipe and happy sipping!

If your migraine intensity ramps up 📈 around the time you get your period, this section is for you.

There are many reasons why this could be happening, and we’ll cover them in future posts.

This post provides a few simple and effective tips for making these attacks more manageable and less frequent 📉 

For starters, one of the easiest ways to reduce pain intensity during your menstrual cycle is by taking vitamin E.

The study I’m referencing (which is listed at the end of this article) recommends a dose between 100 and 900 mg, beginning two days before the start of your period.

You continue taking it for three days into your period and.

Doing so produced reductions in pain intensity, light.sound sensitivity, and nausea.

But the real magic 🪄 is in something called seed cycling. This technique balances hormone production, specifically estrogen and progesterone, during critical points in your cycle.

Phase 1: Days 1-14

During what's called the “follicular phase”, or days 1-14 of your cycle, estrogen is the hormone that needs more support.

To do this, consume 1-2 TBS of ground flax seed 🌱 and 1-2 TBS of ground pumpkin seeds 🎃 

Phase 2: Days 15-28

The second half of your cycle is called the “luteal phase,” and progesterone needs more support.

To do this, consume 1-2 TBS of sesame seeds 🌰 and 1-2 TBS of sunflower seeds 🌻 

This simple yet effective trick helps support your body’s natural hormone production and minimize the effects hormones have on your migraine frequency.

Give it a try, and let us know how it works!

Study Link: (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19114966/)