Chapter 7: Stop the Migraine Domino Effect

 

WE HAVE SEEN the importance of hormonal health in preventing migraines. Taking your basal body temperature first thing in the morning will provide a good indicator of the state of your endocrine health. A life of stress, poor diet, oestrogen-dominance and candidiasis can cause your endocrine system to crash or malfunction, leading to chronic fatigue or hyperthyroid-like symptoms.

 

The migraine domino effect: A high sugar/junk diet and stress levels leading to adrenal exhaustion and temperature/hormonal fluctuations. End product: migraine.

 

The image shows the domino effect leading to migraine:

The trigger which might be a high-sugar or junk diet; work or home pressures or going against the circadian rhythm. This might lead to overdoing the stimulants such as coffee or other drug. This leads to further stress, which exhausts the adrenals. This will lead to oestrogen/stress hormone predominance. Body temperatures plummet leading to an underperforming liver and intestinal system. Candida albicans takes the opportunity to proliferate. Toxins build in the body until a critical point is reached or the body temperature fluctuates sharply. This triggers the Herxheimer reaction in the form of a migraine attack.

A sustained period of this situation can fuel regular and crippling migraines, as had happened to me.

The next logical step is determine the state of your hormone heath and this means ensuring your body temperature falls within the range suggested by Broca O Barnes.

 

To reinforce the criteria of Broda O Barne’s Basal Body Temperature Test...

 

The basal body temperature should seldom fall below 36.6°C (except during ovulation).

Daytime body temperatures should remain at or around 37.0°C for around ten hours of the day (bar fluctuations during menstruation, illness and the menopause).

Whilst recording my body temperature, I excluded external factors such as exercise and ill health. I colour-coded different temperature values to offer a clear visual representation of the shifting temperatures during the circadian rhythm and the menstrual cycle. As can be seen from the images below, warm colours denote higher body temperatures; grey and dark colours denote cool.

 

To provide a balanced comparison, I have provided body temperature during the first seven days of two separate menstrual cycles.

Top image: shows the state of my body temperature over a 24 hour period over 7 days at the start of my trial. As can be seen, mostly grey colours illustrate cool temperatures predominating.

Bottom image: My improved body temperature after making changes to my diet as described in this book.

 

The Right Thermometer

 

You might decide to investigate the state of your hormone function via a similar record.

But before checking the state of your body temperature you will need a digital thermometer.

You could get the old fashioned mercury type, but it takes longer to gain a reading. The digital thermometer is fast and accurate to within one-tenth of a degree Celsius. Only a thermometer designed to measure the body temperature will do. This means one designed only to measure a range limit of between 32.0°C and 44.0°C. A temperature that falls outside of this range will fail to give a reading.

Most good chemists supply accurate digital thermometers at reasonable prices and are worth the investment. Read the instructions and get used to using the thermometer before keeping a record. Keep it with you so that readings can be taken when required.

 

There are three ways to take your temperature which are:

 

Orally

Under the armpit

Rectally

 

Taking armpit readings is the least accurate of the three. Doing so rectally is the most accurate, but not the most pleasant, so I do so orally. But if you do decide to take rectal readings, reserve the thermometer for this purpose only.

 

Beware of False Readings

 

Accuracy is vital or the record will be meaningless. This means taking a few minutes to ensure no external factors are affecting the temperature reading. So, when taking your temperature orally, the following are recommended...

 

Warm the metal tip of the thermometer a little first against the skin such as the palm of the hand or against the stomach. If the metal tip happens to be a little chilly (which it often is), heat could transfer from the tongue to the tip. The temperature has little time to equal out before the bleep goes off. The result could be a falsely low reading.

Keep the mouth closed for around two minutes before taking the reading, and keep it closed whilst the reading is being taken. This means no talking or breathing through the mouth for a few moments.

Don’t take a reading soon after food or drink.

Avoid taking a reading soon after coming in from the cold.

Avoid taking a reading if feeling very hot.

Wait until the body is reasonably at rest before taking the reading, as strenuous exercise will cause it to dip.

The basal body temperature is taken first thing in the morning before rising. Anytime between 6 and 8am are acceptable times, so long as the readings are taken at roughly the same time per day for consistency. Avoid moving around too much or of talking before taking the reading, so have the thermometer handy at the bedside.

 

When external factors interfere, I make a note, as seen here. After a head-cold, I felt tired and my body temperature was elevated the following day, as can be seen by the row of hot colours. Six days earlier, I had ovulated, as can be seen by the black square. Discount factors such as these when gaining an overview of your body temperature.

 

How to Take Your Temperature

 

Switch on the digital thermometer until the display is reset to 0°C.

After warming the tip a little against the skin, place under the tongue, closing the mouth afterwards.

Try not to move the tongue around whilst the reading is being taken.

After a few seconds, a bleep will sound.

Take the thermometer out to read the display.

Reset the thermometer and take a second reading beneath the opposite side of the tongue.

If the two readings differ, I will record the higher reading.

 

If you take temperatures at other times of the day, include relevant data. Examples of such data are:

The time of day.

The last time a meal was consumed (make sure at least twenty minutes have elapsed before taking a reading).

The day of the menstrual month (is menstruation happening? Ovulation, etc).

General physical states worth noting, e.g. if feeling tired or ill.

 

Readings Affected by External Factors to Discount are:

 

After intense exercise. The body temperature will drop until full recovery.

During a fever or feeling unwell.

Overheating due to hot weather, for example, heatstroke.

Or feeling very cold during icy weather, for example hypothermia.

 

None of these will inform on your overall endocrine function.

 

Control Readings

 

Before making any changes to your diet, it is a good idea to take readings of your body temperature over two weeks or so. This will give a good indication as to whether adrenal exhaustion or oestrogen-dominance has a part to play in your regular migraines. Note also the time of the month, as this will have great relevance to your core body temperature.

You may notice that your body temperature will rise in the mornings, after meals and reach a peach at between 10am to 3pm. This is normal. You may also notice your body temperature falling after exercise and into the evening. Small fluctuations will occur from hour to hour. I wasn’t always able to take a reading every hour, so I provided an average between two readings a couple of hours apart. For instance, if I happened to awake at 1am am to find my reading was 36.2°C and again at 4am to find the same reading, I can safely assume that my body temperature had remained the same at 3am. If it had risen to 36.4°C, I would provide the average of 36.3°C. Small fluctuations may be missed, but would not affect the big picture.

I colour-coded my temperatures so that I could see at a glance how warm or cool my temperatures tended to be over a given period.

 

Symptoms of Temperature Shifts

 

It is also a good idea to note symptoms that accompany a particular temperature. For instance, after a cold basal body temperature of 36.3°C or below, I noticed I was tired and constipated the next day. A cold night will likely be followed by a cold day. You might feel vulnerable to the cold, be prone to cold feet and/or hands; feel sluggish and low in spirits. Perhaps you notice other symptoms not mentioned here.

Conversely, after a warm night, of temperatures that do not drop to below 36.6°C or even 36.5°C, you might notice that you feel quite well the next day. You might be full of energy and your system does not feel sluggish.

But as we have seen, a sudden rise in temperature after a sustained period of depressed temperatures could trigger a migraine, as the liver endeavours to catch up on despatching toxins, after being hampered by a cool spell.

 

Note: that the impact of low temperatures will often occur afterwards, even when the temperature has returned to normal; I have found symptoms often occur in time-lag.

 

Whilst taking readings, you may notice you body temperature dip after strenuous exercise, a stressful day, during menstruation or when feeling ill (although certain illnesses will cause it to climb). Some days, your body temperature may rarely if ever touch 37.0°C. Your basal body temperature might consistently be below 36.4°C; it might even dip to below 36.0°C in the night.

If your basal body temperature and daytime temperatures are lower than Barnes’ recommendations, this may indicate an underperforming endocrine system. Dry eyes, constipation, fatigue and hypothyroid-like symptoms might accompany the migraine. In other cases, symptoms might be more subtle.

But seeing the numbers on paper is the beginning, for this forms the first part of making changes. If you discover after several days that low body temperatures haunt your days and hypothyroidism has been ruled out, changes can be made to diet and lifestyle, as described in this book to reduce the incidence and intensity of migraines.

Consistently normal body temperatures with few abnormal fluctuations means the liver is able to keep on top of toxic removal and the endocrine system in turn will be able to function efficiently without an erratic output of hormones that could trigger a migraine.

In turn, the candida will be kept at bay within the gut.

In the long run, this will help prevent migraine and stop the domino effect.

The following two chapters offer a guide to other forms of migraine treatment from the holistic to the routine over-the-counter painkiller.