If You Are Suffering From... Chronic Headaches

Chronic headaches...what a nightmare.  Headaches can range from low grade (buzzing in one's head) to severe (migraines) - each with different but ultimately negative impacts to daily life.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

Some very serious conditions can cause chronic headaches.  Click here to read what the Mayo Clinic has to say on chronic headaches (including some alternative medicine recommendations).  If your doctor rules out the known serious conditions that can cause chronic headaches, alternative medicine can likely help.

"UNKNOWN" CAUSES OF CHRONIC HEADACHES

The theory that I find most plausible for the causes of "unknown" chronic headaches is chronic inflammation (that either leads to or accentuates a physical imbalance - e.g. muscle tension- or chemical imbalance) due to one or more of the following: (1) dietary sources of inflammation, (2) nutrient deficiency, (3) chemical exposure.  Diet and nutrient deficiency are fairly easy to test.  Chemical exposure, however, is a much more tricky subject.  Chemical exposure can come from a variety of sources, including hygiene products, food (primarily preservatives, herbicides, and pesticides), water (municipal water is fairly well regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency- unless a company spills chemicals into your water supply as happened recently in Charleston, WV - so I would be more suspicious of well water, especially if you live near any form of industry and possibly agriculture), the environment (including materials used in your home such as lead based solder or drywall with formaldehyde), and the air (such as carbon monoxide infiltrating your home from a garage or faulty furnace, radon in your basement, and air pollution from industry). 

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

The following alternative therapies can likely help with chronic headaches.  My belief is that health is not sustainable without dietary change.

1. Trigger Point Therapy - Several known trigger points cause or accentuate headaches.  Trigger Point Therapy can help eliminate any muscle tension that is causing or accentuating the headaches. 
2. Elimination Diet - Performing an elimination diet, as prescribed herein, performs two functions including eliminating all common food allergens/irritants from your diet and increasing your nutrient intake (if done properly).  These two functions help address both dietary sources of inflammation and nutrient deficiency.  Click here to find guidance on performing an elimination diet. 
3. Herbs - Herbs, specifically butterbur has been scientifically proven to be beneficial in migraines.  Click here to find additional information and guidance on the use of butterbur.
4. Vitamins, Minerals, & Other Supplements - If you have muscle tension or increased inflammation due to vitamin, mineral, or other deficiencies, identifying these deficiencies and correcting them through supplements can augment efforts to eliminate chronic headaches.
5. Acupuncture -  Acupuncture promotes blood flow, which can help reduce inflammation and may help with chronic headaches.
6. Product Elimination Trial - Modern hygiene products are full of chemicals that may promote inflammation in your body.  By identifying sources of inflammation from these products, you can reduce their contribution to any headaches.

On Herbs - Butterbur

Butterbur, also known as purple butterbur or sweet coltsfoot, is a perennial shrub in the daisy family, typically grown in swampy or marshy areas.  It has a thick rhizome and large stems and leaves that look similar to Rhubarb.  Butterbur in raw form contains harmful chemicals called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which can cause liver damage and can result in serious illness. Only butterbur products that have been processed to remove PAs and are labeled or certified as PA-free should be considered for use in alternative medicine.  Butterbur is a Group A herb.  For more on group classifications see the On Herbs post by clicking here. 

The Science

The science is in - butterbur has been documented as "just as effective as a commonly used oral antihistamine[s]" with allergy symptoms such as itch eyes according to the National Institutes of Health.  Additionally, butterbur is scientifically recognized as being helpful with migraine headaches by both the National Institutes of Health and by Commission E (Germany's equivalent to the FDA).  Germany's Commission E also recognizes butterbur as an antispasmodic, helpful with urinary tract spasms, particularly due to kidney stones.

Additional Potential Uses

The National Institutes of Health lists the following as traditional uses of butterbur (though not scientifically validated):  pain, headache, cough, fever, and gastrointestinal and urinary tract conditions, allergic skin reactions, and asthma.

My Personal Experience

My headaches disappeared when I eliminated all irritants from my diet and I do not typically have allergies, so I have not had the need to try butterbur.  However, as the science appears validated by several institutions, I do not hesitate to recommend butterbur for the prescribed ailments. 

Preparations

Butterbur in its raw state contains chemicals called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). PAs can cause liver damage and can result in serious illness. Only butterbur products that have been processed to remove PAs and are labeled or certified as PA-free should be used.

Additional Resources

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a Natural Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) that talks about the science on butterbur.  Click here to read what the NIH NCCAM has to say on the subject.

The American Botanical Council, which has translated Germany's Commission E reports on herbs, has a few articles on the science of butterbur.  Click here to read an article on butterbur as it relates to migraines.  

The Depths of Illness - Sun Sensitivity

Shortly after getting off of the Appalachian Trail in 2005 with a diagnosis of Lyme's Disease, I took a job installing solar panels in the northeast - in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and New York.  Day in and day out I was on roofs or on the ground in high sun exposure areas.  I wore sunscreen but the sun felt different than I remembered.  Instead a pleasant warmth, the sun light burned.  The feeling reminded me of lighting my finger on fire (a brief obsession in high school).  The trick was to spray a high-alcohol breath mint spray onto my finger and then set it ablaze with a lighter or match.  The heat became unbearable just about the same time the alcohol burned off  and the fire extinguished (although I remember putting the fire out with a shake of the hand most of the time).  This almost unbearable heat - as if my skin had just been set ablaze but had not yet registered the full fury of the fire - was how the sun felt on my skin.  I put on more sunscreen.  It didn't help.  Shade, clouds, and night became well-loved friends.

I found out from my father that sun sensitivity was a side effect of the antibiotic I was on, Ciprofloxacin, for the Lyme's disease, which gave me hope that my new aversion to the sun was a temporary state.  It was not.  Within a few months Ingrid and I moved to San Diego, which is in the top ten US cities for average hours of sunshine each year.  The feeling of burning while in the sun forced me indoors.  I sought apartments on the north side of apartment buildings or sheltered with trees.  The apartments were dark, damp, and cold - which I preferred but Ingrid did not.  I made excuses to stay inside while Ingrid went out to explore, to play beach volleyball and enjoy other sun-exposed activities.  The few times that I indulged in activities in the sun, I suffered the consequences - skin that burned while outside and radiated heat for hours afterward, headaches, and irritability.