How I cured my Migraines – My Story…

One of the best parts of co-founding a health supplement company is that I get to spend most of my time studying natural health, and I have quick access to any vitamin or natural supplement under the sun.

I’m always reading the latest scientific studies, and I like to treat myself like an experimental guinea pig to see what actually works for me, personally.

Before we dive into my story, please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the article before attempting any of the ideas in this article.

I’m currently 44 years old, and I’ve had chronic migraines since I was 7 or 8 years old.  They were diagnosed as migraines by a neurologist.  I also get regular headaches (sometimes very painful), the typical run-of-the-mill tension headache. 

My migraines are like this:  I get a terrible pain behind my right eye.  I also get nerve pain on the right side of my neck.  The migraine often comes with aura, and I can see little flashes of light.  If I don’t take any medication to stop the migraine, it will get worse and worse, and I will ultimately get sick to my stomach and throw up.  The pain could last for at least 24 hours, sometimes considerably more than that.  I don’t need to go on and on with details, but needless to say, it’s absolutely terrible.

The cause(s) of my migraines:

For me, it felt like almost any potential migraine trigger was a personal migraine trigger for me.  I had to be so careful all the time.  Things that could cause my migraines were:

• Not sleeping enough (or too much)
• Stress
• High or low blood sugar
• Too much or not enough caffeine
• Alcohol
• Dark chocolate
• Second hand cigarette smoke
• Weather changes
• Constipation
• Cold feet
• Not exercising enough, or exercising too much
• Poor posture at the computer
• Too much eye strain from too much screen time
• ……

The list goes on and on.  This same list could also cause my regular headaches too, which are much different, but also very annoying and debilitating.  These would usually be in the form of throbbing pain on both sides of my head.

Both migraines and headaches are usually described in binary terms.  You either have a migraine currently, or you don’t have one.  You either have a headache right now, or you don’t.

In my experience, it felt much different than that.  If I was to rate the pain in my head from 0 to 100, I’d always be able to come up with some number in that range.

A score of 100, would represent the most painful migraine I’d ever experienced.

A score of 0, would be an incredibly good feeling, almost like my head was floating on a cloud.  Even if I tried to think about and look for pain, I couldn’t feel anything. 

If I had a score of 50 or above, I’d feel bad enough where I’d go and take medicine and lie down.

But I would often be living with a score of 20-30.  This is a zone where I didn’t have a full on migraine or a headache, but I did feel some kind of dull ache somewhere in my head or upper neck, and it was at least somewhat annoying.  I wouldn’t feel my best, and it would negatively affect my work and my mood.  I wanted to live with a score of 0, or close to it, as much as possible.  I want my head to feel great and completely pain free.  Who wouldn’t want that?

The Anti Headache

I came up with the idea of the anti-headache, or the anti-migraine.  For me, this is the great feeling in my head where my pain level is as close as possible to a 0.  This is where I feel totally amazing in my head and upper neck.  

I realized that the closer I could get to the state of the anti headache, the better I felt (obviously), and the fewer full blown headaches and migraines I would get were.  If I was constantly feeling pain in the 20 – 30 range, not only was that annoying in and of itself, but it also meant I’d have far more real migraines and headaches in the 60-70 range of pain, which for me, was horrible, debilitating pain.

Instead of trying to get rid of painful migraines and headaches, and take pain relievers when I got them, I started actively looking at how I could get in the anti headache state, a state of zero pain at all in my head.

How I got into the anti-migraine zone:

First, I would make sure I was:

• Going to bed on time and getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night
• Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet without blood sugar spikes
• Avoiding obvious triggers like too much alcohol, caffeine, or any dark chocolate
• Exercising regularly
• Trying to avoid unnecessary stress

And these things helped a lot.  If I was regular with this list, I would get fewer bad headaches and migraines, and I would have lower pain levels on my 0-100 pain index.  But the problem was, I still wasn’t in the anti-headache zone.  My pain would still be in the 20-30 range most of the time, even though it seemed like I was “doing all the right things”.

What really tipped me over the edge and got me into the true anti migraine zone, where I felt essentially zero pain anywhere in my head, was my supplement regimen.

If you’ve ever read much on health supplements for migraines, you’ll find that feverfew, butterbur, and vitamin B2 are all highly recommended.  These are the first supplements that pop up.  I don’t have a particular issue with any of those, but they weren’t the best in my experience.

My anti migraine stack:

Here is what I take daily to get into my zero pain zone.  This works for me for both anti headache pain and anti migraine pain.  This daily combination gets me very close to 0 head pain of any kind.

• 400 mg of elemental magnesium from non-buffered magnesium bisglycinate
• 4000 grams of fish oil (900 mg DHA and 1360 mg EPA)
• 25 mg of elemental zinc from non-buffered zinc bisglycinate
• 3000 IU of vitamin d3

Inflammation is the root cause of pain in general, including migraine and headache pain.  These supplements lower the chronic inflammation, and therefore lower the amount of pain I experience, all the way down to zero pain.  It isn’t just theory, it’s completely changed and improved my overall life quality.

Magnesium:

Most of the general population is deficient in magnesium, and migraine sufferers even more so.  Non-buffered magnesium bisglycinate is the most relaxing, and highly absorbing form of magnesium.  Most magnesium absorbs very poorly, and causes upset stomach and diarrhea.  Non buffered magnesium bisglycinate is very gentle on the stomach and won’t cause side effects.

This type of magnesium lowers overall inflammation, improves magnesium deficiency, and relaxes the blood vessels, which are often constricted during a migraine or tension headache.  

Magnesium also helps to block pain signaling, by binding to NDMA receptors and blocking calcium from entering the cell and transmitting pain.  

You can read more general information on magnesium bisglycinate here. 

Here is some information on  the best magnesium for migraines.  

Here is where you can buy non-buffered magnesium bisglycinate

Fish Oil:

High quality fish oil is an excellent source of the omega 3’s, DHA and EPA.  These omega 3’s are highly anti-inflammatory.  Most people have a diet which is far too low in omega 3’s and far too high in the pro-inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids.  

Increasing the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids can lower overall pain and decrease the number of migraines you get significantly.

Learn how to choose a high quality fish oil, as many products on the market are very low quality.

Learn more about fish oil can reduce chronic pain and inflammation.

Here is our premium fish oil from Iceland.

Zinc:

Zinc is an essential mineral, but until recently wasn’t often associated with migraine and headache.  A recent 2023 study concluded there was “an inverse association between dietary zinc intake and migraine in adult Americans.”

Researchers found that individuals who consumed 15.8 mg of zinc per day on average, had 30% less migraines than those who consumed  5.9 mg or less per day. 

They also found that taking even more zinc (19.3 to 32.5 mg daily) in the form of supplements reduced migraine risk by 38%.

One potential issue with zinc supplementation is that it is typically very hard on the stomach and can cause nausea in many people.  This is especially concerning when someone has a migraine and is already feeling nauseous.  

This is why we recommend non-buffered zinc bisglycinate.    It has the highest absorption of any form of zinc, and it is extremely gentle on the stomach.

Vitamin d3:

Vitamin d3 is another great supplement for overall health, but it is rarely associated with headache and migraine.  

The researchers of this study realized that vitamin d3 is highly anti-inflammatory, so they studied it with respect to migraine.  

They concluded:  “2000 IU (50 μg)/day vitamin D3 supplementation for 12 weeks could improve headache characteristics and might reduce neuro-inflammation in episodic migraine.”

You will notice that these are quite specific doses and types of supplements.  The difference in quality between seemingly similar products in the health supplement market is enormous.  I don’t have time in this article to dive into exactly why these specific supplements are recommended.  For example, why non buffered magnesium bisglycinate specifically is superior to another popular form of magnesium.  I have written extensively about these differences on this website however.

My Experience with this supplement stack:

I took this anti-migraine stack everyday for 4 straight months.  I recorded any migraines and headaches.  I also recorded my overall pain in my head level from 0-100 twice daily.  

My full blown migraines and headaches got less and less frequent and intense each month.  My average pain level when I didn’t have a headache or migraine went down significantly too.  Instead of often having a pain level of 20-30 out of 100, I’m now enjoying most days where my pain level is in the single digits or even 0.  I’m literally experiencing my dream state of the “anti migraine” more often than not.

Another bonus I’ve noticed is that I’ve had far fewer cold’s or illnesses than I normally would have during this time.  I’m also experiencing less aches and pains in my muscles and joints.  This isn’t a major surprise since each supplement (magnesium, zinc, fish oil, and vitamin d3) are all known to be both good for the immune system, and good for reducing overall inflammation and pain, but it is a welcomed bonus to experience these effects in my own life.  

I will absolutely be continuing this supplement stack from now on. 

A word of caution: This is the exact stack that works for me personally.  This article is my personal story, and it will hopefully be interesting and educational to millions of migraine and headache sufferers.  You are encouraged to always check with your own doctor before starting any new supplement regimen.  

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice or promote specific treatments for migraines. The article has also not been evaluated or approved by Health Canada or the FDA. The recommendations were also not part of a double blind research study and are the anecdotal findings of the author. Please consult a health care practitioner prior to making any changes to your current prescriptions or trying new treatments.