How to Eliminate Your Chronic Headache and Migraine pain – For Good- Without Using Potentially Dangerous Drugs or Surgery!
Maybe They Will Go Away…or Maybe They Won’t!
How to Eliminate Your Chronic Headache and Migraine pain- FOR GOOD- Without the use of Potentially Harmful Drugs or Surgery!
A special report by Dr. Dennis G. Fiorini, D.C., B.C.A.O.
Are you one of the approximately 165,000,000 Americans who are suffering right now from chronic headaches? Chronic headaches, particularly migraines, are terrible, especially when they won’t go away no matter what you do!
If you suffer with chronic throbbing, life draining headaches, please know that there IS hope! You can prevent and eliminate your headaches without the use of mind numbing or “go to bed” inducing drugs.
An effective cure for your headaches may be closer than you think!
You may have heard my story….
Before I was a doctor, I had a bad condition known as vertebral artery syndrome that gave me headaches and dizziness. It was debilitating!
The pain, dizziness, and related “brain fog” affected my studies and my social life. I felt like I was in prison in my apartment, as I was sick to my stomach and praying that the dizziness and pain would subside. I was constantly missing all of the things that I enjoyed the most: concerts, movies and parties with my friends. The pain and dizziness was ruining my life. I felt trapped in my home while all my friends were out having fun.
For weeks I just tried to stay at home. I couldn’t stay home all the time as I was in professional school. No medications helped me, but I kept trying. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? I went to several chiropractors that did not help, so I was just resigned to have to lie around and study when I could. That was me.
I knew I had to find another solution. After all, I was only 22 years old, and I could not conceive of living with such pain day in and day out for the rest of my life. I was becoming more and more depressed and hopeless thinking that I was going to have to learn to live with the chronic pain and dizziness.
Then I discovered something that changed my life…
I was in college in Atlanta. I went to several chiropractic doctors with no relief at all. I went to a medical doctor who could not figure out what was wrong with me either. My friend finally got fed up with me. He was tired of taking me to school each day because of my inability to drive due to the headaches and dizziness. He told me that I needed to go to see his dad, Dr. Roy Sweat. My friend Matt had me lie down in his car, which was no easy task, as it was a 1980’s model Rx7 two seater sports car. Matt got me to his dad’s office on the other side of town. Dr. Sweat came into the room and asked me some questions about my condition. He told me that my symptoms were coming from the upper part of my neck just below the skull. He said that my atlas was misaligned which was causing pressure on the nerves and arteries going into my head. This is what was causing my headaches and dizziness.
It turns out that the cause of my headaches and dizziness was from an injury that I had experienced at the base of my skull!
The trauma caused a pinching of the nerves at the top part of my neck and pressure on the artery that carries blood and oxygen to my brain stem and the part of my brain that is responsible for balance!
I learned that finding the cause and treating the cause was far better than attacking the symptoms.
I had a mechanical problem, not a drug deficiency! It was kind of like a car being out of alignment – You have to align the wheels, you can’t just change the type of gas you’re putting in the car in the same manner, I didn’t need drugs, I needed to be aligned!
The adjustment did not hurt. Dr. Sweat used a precise instrument designed specifically for adjusting the upper part of the neck just below the head. The pain and dizziness went away immediately. I looked at the instrument and then at Dr. Sweat and said, “I want to learn how to do that!”
Everything was better. EVERYTHING!
Now it has been about 25 years since I had those headaches and dizziness. I don’t even remember the last time I experienced them!
I thank God everyday for being able to find the “right doctor” and the right approach for finding and eliminating those debilitating headaches and dizziness.
This profound, life changing experience made me decide to learn this technique to become a doctor that could help other people who suffer from chronic headache pain.
Since becoming a doctor, our clinic has helped thousands of patients eliminate their chronic pain with specific chiropractic adjustments. I’ve also found through further education and experience that not all headaches are caused by a misaligned neck. Several are, but just as many headaches are triggered by nutritional deficiencies, environmental irritants, food allergies, low thyroid, adrenal fatigue, poor sleep, and an assortment of other biochemical problems.
When it comes to CORRECTING THE CAUSE(S) of chronic headaches there is not a one size fits all treatment.
I find that most of my chronic headache patients will see a drastic reduction in the frequency and severity of their headaches if they eliminate at least 3 foods from their diet. Food allergies are often the cause or one of the causes of chronic headaches. Of course, the question is always, “which 3 foods?” The only way to know is through proper blood, hair and urine testing.
It has been estimated that at least a third of migraine sufferers have a thyroid problem. Usually one that has never been properly diagnosed. I find that many of my patients have a low functioning thyroid that is the cause, or at least one of the causes of their chronic headaches.
Unfortunately, most conventional doctors don’t do thorough thyroid blood tests. As a result, patients who truly have a low thyroid function, known as hypothyroidism, don’t get the treatment they need. These patients will have all the signs of low thyroid, such as chronic headaches, migraines, fatigue, cold hands and feet, low moods, hair loss, weight gain, and low sex drive, yet they are told that their blood work looks just “fine”.
The reason their blood work looks “fine” is because their doctor isn’t doing the complete blood tests.
Nutritional deficiencies are another common cause of chronic headaches.
Deficient or low levels of certain key B vitamins or essential minerals can have a profound and detrimental effect on our health. For some, these deficiencies are one of an assortment of contributing factors for their headache symptoms. Magnesium is often deficient in my headache patients. This essential mineral is involved in over 300 bodily processes. Magnesium is needed to handle stress. The more stress you are under the more magnesium you use. If your output exceeds your input, the symptoms of magnesium deficiency start to appear: including headaches, fatigue, constipation, achy muscle pain and low moods.
There are numerous causes of chronic headaches, but not a single one of them is from lack of taking prescription drugs. No one has a drug deficiency! Drugs can be helpful, even life saving, but drugs don’t usually treat causes. Drugs treat symptoms. EVERY drug has the potential to do harm.
Some common Headache Drugs and Their Potential Side Effects:
Painkillers
These drugs may reduce the pain of a migraine headache, but they will not stop one from occurring. Over-the –counter formulations are commonly used for migraine pain, but many of these drugs are also available in prescription-only strengths. Aside from acetaminophen, an analgesic drug that only relieves pain, the drugs on the following list are all non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), which relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
· Acetaminophen (Excedrin, Tylenol)
· Aspirin
· Diclofenac (Cataflam)
· Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
· Ketorlac (Toradol)
· Naproxen (Aleve)
Possible side effects of long-term NSAIDs use include heart attack, stroke, kidney damage and stomach ulcers.
A person taking NSAIDs is seven times more likely to be hospitalized for gastrointestinal adverse effects. The FDA estimates that 200,000 causes of gastric bleeding occur annually and that this leads to 10,000 to 20,000 deaths each year. NSAID use more than doubles a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure, which could lead to more medication. In one study, 41% of those who had recently began taking medication to lower their blood pressure were also taking an NSAID drug.
Triptans are a newer class of drugs that increase levels of serotonin in the brain. This reduces inflammation and constricts blood vessels, effectively ending a migraine headache. Triptans are available as traditional swallowed pills, nasal sprays, injections, and tablets that dissolve under the tongue. They work very quickly to stop migraine symptoms.
· Almotriptan (Axert)
· Eletriptan (Relpax)
· Frovatriptan (Frova)
· Naratriptan (Amerge)
· Rizatriptan (Maxalt, Maxalt-MLT)
· Sumatriptan (Imitrex)
· Sumatriptan and naproxen (Treximet)
· Zolmitriptan (Zomig)
Possible side effects of triptans include tingling or numbness in the toes, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and tightness or discomfort in the chest or throat. People with heart problems or serious stroke risk should avoid triptans. Triptans can also cause serotonin syndrome- a potentially fatal complication- if taken with another drug that increases serotonin, such as many antidepressants.
Anti-Nausea Drugs
These drugs reduce the nausea and vomiting that can accompany migraine headaches. They are usually taken along with a painkiller because they do not reduce pain.
· Dimenhydrinate (Gravol)
· Domperidone (Motilium)
· Metoclopracmide (Reglan)
· Prochlorperazine (Compazine)
· Promethazine (Phenergan)
· Trimethobenzamide (Tigan)
These drugs may make you drowsy, less alert or dizzy and have other possible side effects.
Fioricet (butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine) is a combination pain reliever and muscle relaxant used in the treatment of tension headache. It is available as a generic. The most frequently reported adverse reactions or side effects are drowsiness, lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and feelings of intoxication.
Topamax is prescribed for preventing the seizures of epilepsy and migraine headaches. Common side effects of Topamax include tiredness, dizziness, coordination problems, speech problems, changes in vision and sensory distortion.
Lyrica is now being used to treat migraines. Common side effects of Lyrica include dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, edema, blurred vision, weight gain and difficulty concentrating.
Drugs aren’t the answer for chronic headaches, at least not the long term answer. Rather than treating symptoms, I recommend that you consider working with me to find and fix the CAUSE(S) of your headaches!
After treating literally thousands of migraine sufferers, I thoroughly understand the pain and the misery you’ve endured over the years. Migraines drain your energy, make it hard to get through the day, and impossible to live life to the fullest. I know the gnawing, nervous feeling that you get when making plans to do anything with friends because you never know when you might have an attack. Many of my patients don’t miss that feeling or their headaches!