Why individualized treatment of Migraine is essential

Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief # 89

I want to share with you a quote, an article and a concept that together are essential to all versions of healing.

The quote

“Standard protocols fail because they ignore fundamental biological variation.”

The article

Your Body Has Unique Code: Why Generic Health Advice Fails and How to Personalize Ancestral Interventions. The above quote is from this relatively short (~1200 word) article by a Substack writer on how age, sex based genetic programming, hormones and diet interact with modern environmental factors to affect aging and health. I enjoyed this read and recommend it.

The concept: As applied to those with migraine headaches

As I think about the hundreds of treatment protocols I learned in medical training and clinical practice (probably more like 1000+), the vast majority had provisions for minor variations among individuals, usually based on simple factors like age, sex, weight, or the level of kidney function. If you had the same ‘family doc’ for 30 years, he or she could intuitively add some wrinkles of beneficial variation in therapy based on what they knew about cumulative nuances and eccentricities from your life history.

But let’s face it, the modern practice of medicine has left the days of “Marcus Welby M.D.” way, behind, if it ever existed at all. Its a business, a “time and skills for money” exchange. If, for a given doctor’s income, they’ve invested a lot in skills, and have only so much time in their day, the rest of the equation means a limited amount of time for you (the ‘customer’.) Standard protocols make it more efficient to shoe-horn your often messy and unsually imprecise problem into my best-fit cookie cutter. Despite human imperfection, it’s amazing is how well that approach works much of the time. But there are a number of problems where the multiple variables, each individually experienced and then imprecisely expressed, communicated and understood, leave us with catch-all diagnostic categories like ‘fibromyalgia,’ ‘chronic fatigue,’ ‘PMS’ or ‘migraines.’

Just like for any other problem, in managing migraines the more variables you can identify and correct, the better your chance of success or recovery. Medical problems like migraine usually, if not always, have more than one contributing root cause factor. For how many of the potential root cause factors for your migraine can you and your doctor know to ask about, or identify, or test for, or offer therapy? If the answer isn’t “all or most of them” you run the odds of an incomplete response. As always, you will best define for yourself what kind of recovery is “enough.” Is going from headaches that are severe and four per month to one brief episode per month good enough for you? As in the example below, how much do you need to empty the cup to ensure the sufficient day-to-day ‘reserve’ of prevention?

In my Natural Migraine Relief for Women course, I survey 10 broad areas of root causes for migraines, including more than 60 related medical disorders. Within its individualizable Migraine Action Plan, I’ve organized over 90 potential non-drug interventions that can be defined, then tailored and triaged to your self-individualized circumstances. Some of those basic root cause factors include:

-inflammatory factors (from multiple sources)

-cellular energy deficits

-nutrient deficits

-imbalances in hormone influence from:

-reporductive hormones

-thyroid hormones

-adrenal hormones

-parathyroid or pineal hormones

-lifestyle and environmental factors

-structural factors

-autonomic nervous system imbalance factors

If you’ve been reading my weekly FAQs you will see that I address many of these topics, and these posts are free to all. I would encourage you to use this and the multiple other sources out there to gain greater insight into your own version of migraine root cause factors, along with both non-drug and prescribed therapy options to consider. Please consider reposting or sharing the posts you find useful.

You are on your own journey of recovery, not that of a friend, your doctor or some blogish health ‘influencer.’ Learn from others, but be true to your own unfolding story.

If you want to explore in more detail the contents of my course, and to individualize it with the Migraine Action Plan, you can learn more at: FAQ Episode 42: What can I learn from the Natural Migraine Relief course? where you can scroll down and subscribe for the full course at just $7, one month at a time (btw, what did you pay for that last 15 minute Urgent Care visit? Just sayin’… ; -)

Whether you join there or not, I’d encourage you to never forget that your recovery will be a process of uncovering your own biological variations that predict root cause remedies that will be specific to you.

Please say tuned to this blog, and also favor me by commenting on the concerns you most want to hear more about. Thanks in advance for allowing me to be on your “reliable information support team”!

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If you would like to review past posts, go to FAQ Table of Contents, updated May 2025

The information in this newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be used as a substitute for professional healthcare guidance, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always seek the advice of your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your health routine, starting new treatments, or addressing specific medical concerns.
This content does not create a doctor-patient relationship. While I make every effort to ensure accuracy, the information provided may not apply to your unique situation.