Migraine in particular is a passion of mine. Calgary is the migraine capital of Canada and so many people suffer from migraine attacks associated with our elevation and our weather (chinooks). Moving away isn’t the only answer though!

Migraines can look so different depending on the person. The most common symptoms are headaches along with nausea, sometimes vomiting, and light or other sensory sensitivity. Some people can get auras (visual or other sensory disturbances before the headache), abdominal pain, mood changes, eye pain, and neck pain with their headaches. It is also common to have prodrome and after shock pain and other symptoms leading up to and after the acute migraine episode so it can seem like you have a constant headache.

This type of headache isn’t totally understood yet but what we do know is that inflammatory factors in the brain lead to the release of a chemical called CGRP, which can be influenced by estrogen, serotonin, and histamine. There may also be some immune system involvement for some people. While this can seem overwhelming, it also means that there are many different pathways to target and if one doesn’t work, we try another one. I use a combination of history, questioning and lab work to determine which pathways are the first ones to be targeted in our treatment plan. If you know or suspect you are suffering with migraines, book a free 15 min meet and greet with me or a naturopath in your area to learn more about what naturopathic medicine has to offer!