Maybe I'll grow a moustache this November

November is here!

It's been exactly a year since I first realised I suffer from migraines. Last November, I had the worst migraine of my life. It lasted for 2 weeks. I occasionally felt slightly better and occasionally just wanted to lie in a pitch black room and die. I had had headaches before but never for that long and I used to just take ibuprofen for them.

A year ago also stopped taking the contraceptive pill. 10 months earlier a doctor had given it to me, because I told her about periods that I had gotten every two weeks. To me, it didn't make sense to start the pill because of it. But I also hoped it would improve my acne so I tried it.

Photo from Mirror.

I wouldn't recommend the Pill to anyone who doesn't need it for something hormonal. I think it's too easy to start. Many young girls start taking it because they think it makes them feel more "mature". It's good to use contraception, but it's definitely not the only method of contraception there is. Bayer has been advertising the Pill as a "miracle drug" for all women's problems: it would provide contraception, lets you decide when you want to have your period (you can even stop having them completely!), it will cure your acne, help you control your weight, relieve PMS, etc. I think medicines should not be advertised like that, especially since it's misleading and has so many side effects. They are selling something as a product that makes women believe that their bodies' natural cycles are bad and that they should control them with chemicals that will mess up their whole natural cycle and hormones. 

I might write a blog post about my thoughts on contraception at some point. But really, my headaches and migraines got a lot worse while I was on the Pill. Those were not the only side effects I experienced. In the end I stopped taking it mid-sheet because even the thought of swallowing one made me feel ill.

But even after I stopped taking the Pill, I've been getting migraines every week. I've tried a lot of medication for migraines, but everything seems to give me side-effects I'm not ready to live with. Triptans for instance did not keep the migraine away for more than a few days, and they made me really thirsty. When I say really thirsty, I mean really very thirsty! I went out to eat in a restaurant, and I had to drink three jugs of water during the meal. And I obviously had to leave the table several times to go to the toilet too. It wasn't normal, or safe either because being so thirsty probably meant that there was something even more wrong in my body. Recently I've been taking beta-blockers for the second time. They keep the migraine away, but they also keep me asleep. I haven't been able to stay awake for more than a few hours recently, which has made it pretty much impossible to function as a normal person who lives a normal life full of everyday things. 

I went to Holland & Barrett's to get some proper multivitamins because I really had serious problems with lack of energy (which may have been just due to all the medication I was on). They advised me to get some multivitamins and B vitamin that could boost my energy levels.

It didn't help me stay awake though and I ended up talking to Kata about it.  We were wondering what I could do, because I really had to stop my preventive migraine medication. Then, Kata made me realise that my migraines might be hormone-related. Maybe there still is some bad oestrogen in my body from taking the Pill? I think I need to get my blood checked out for all the hormone levels to find out why I cannot stay awake and why my head hurts all the time anyway.

I did some research and found out that there are some natural products that could alter my hormones. Vitex agnus castus affects prolactin secretion and would affect my oestrogen levels and therefore could help me with my migraines. I also got Maca Lepidium meyenii that might or might not raise my natural testosterone levels, but at least in medical tests it has shown to raise people's energy levels and decrease anxiety. It sounds pretty much like what I would like, so I got a few jars of those!

It doesn't hurt to try, right? But I'm desperate to get my migraines under control. Especially when I know that the Pill caused them to get so severe. I was almost considering taking some testosterone in order to get them under control again. I really don't want to live the rest of my life taking strong pain killers every day, when I feel like there must be a way to fix myself again.

It's really funny how many little jars of different pills I have at the moment... All the food supplements and vitamins.

This really will make travelling more difficult. Maybe I will have to by one of those pill organisers that old people have.

Sorry, for the title of this post by the way. I'm actually not going to grow a moustache or take additional testosterone. I just hope my natural testosterone and oestrogen levels go back to where they should be. But yeah, seriously if this doesn't work I wouldn't mind trying testosterone, even if it made me grow a moustache. Having a moustache sounds better than having a constant headache.