Holistic health?

Hi Camille, I’m sorry if I’m not replying to the thread in the right way, I’m a newbie here. I’m a naturopath and treated a few clients with this condition, and as “luck” would have it, developed the condition myself, Sept 2017. As I’m predominately a herbalist I thought I’d respond. So St Johns is helpful if there’s a viral component like herpes (I saw clients who developed this condition after having shingles or a cold sore), as St Johns can destroy enveloped viruses (which herpes is). St Johns is also good for anxiety and depression, but it does interact with a number of medications and can be dangerous, so check interactions before trying it. 5htp is useful too, as it’s a precursor to serotonin, so can help with insomnia, anxiety, depression & similar. But again, it can interact with some meds, so check interactions. I hope that’s helpful.

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Yes good advice. Don’t blindly take supplements without considering interactions.

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Sorry, I don’t agree about the Osteopath training as they concentration of study is bones. MD students studies every body systems in detail for them to get the MD. Then even a family doctor has to have 3 additional years of studies. For a specialist, it takes another 4 to 7 years of additional studies in that field to get the specialty assignment

It is my understanding that the migraine diet is based on avoiding serotonin/histamine foods hence no avacado, nuts, citrus, aged cheese, berries etc so 5htp should be a no no. It made me feel very unwell before I knew about the migraine diet so I wasn’t surprised when I found it off the list of good things.

@nat101 hello thank you for your input! I do wonder if I will eventually be able to come off of medication and just stick with supplements. That is something I am considering.

@Revolving I think it depends from person to person. I do not believe that I personally ave any food triggers. Also, amitriptyline, an anti depressant has helped me in the past. My theory is that for me, when my brain chemicals are more balanced that I feel better. So I’m actually looking to balance them out and keep getting seratonin.

In the U.S., Osteopaths go through basically the same medical school curriculum as MDs do. They then go through the same residencies and take equivalent medical board exams as MDs do.

From http://medschool.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=1158&action=detail&ref=1019: Both MD and DO physicians are licensed by the same state licensing boards and held to the same requirements for practicing medicine. Both can prescribe medications and treat patients in all 50 states. Moreover, while DO doctors tend to become general practitioners, they may pursue careers in any chosen specialty, including surgery.

EDIT: I just read a good Consumer Reports article that further explains DO physicians. Note that this only applies to those trained in the U.S., and in other countries they do not have training equivalent to an MD. This is from https://www.consumerreports.org/doctors/will-you-see-an-actual-doctor-when-you-go-to-the-doctor/

Training: The four years of medical education for D.O.s largely matches M.D. programs but also includes 200 hours in osteopathic manipulative medicine, hands-on techniques designed mainly to treat pain. These doctors participate in many of the same residency programs as M.D.s and can specialize in anything from pediatrics to psychiatry to surgery. One of four U.S. medical students now attends an osteopathic medical school. But don’t confuse D.O.s with osteopathic practitioners who are trained abroad; they’re neither M.D.s nor D.O.s., only perform manipulative treatment, and can’t prescribe medicine.

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Totally agree. Like every condition, it’s very individual and the answer is going to be different for everyone. If you want to move away from medication I do think it’s possible. I’m currently only on natural supplements/herbal medicine, but I did try Endep (amitriptyline) early on (which didn’t work for me, I had hallucinations & the vertigo was worse - but for most people it seems to help). I think there’s a good balance to be reached between natural and conventional. Personally, I’m currently taking only natural supps (a herbal medicine blend, supplements for liver clearance & brain function, high doses of anti-inflammatories, magnesium, taurine and suitable b vitamins - as I also have MTHFR gene mutation). So it’s quite a combo! My neurologist wants me to try a migraine medication next, Sandomigran so I"m thinking about that.

@nat101

Hello! Is the mixture of supplements that you are on working for you? That is quite the mix! Currently I am taking a daily vitamin and magnesium occasionally.

@Camille_Chaf Hi :slight_smile: Well yes it’s quite a lot! I would have to say it’s helping to a point, but so far not eliminating the problem. If I back off anything it does get considerably worse. The episodes of vertigo aren’t happening as frequently, but I am struggling to get rid of that constant “rocking boat” feeling and the disorientation is there 50% of the time. I am having a few hours daily where it all gets better and I almost feel normal, it is slowly increasing, but it’s such a slow progress I’m feeling frustrated. I’m also having weekly remedial massage, cranial osteopathy (this really helps, I come out of these sessions feeling totally back to normal, my vision is perfect and the rocking is gone, but the issues return over the next 24-48hrs), also trying some acupuncture. I did attend the “dizzy clinic” too, which is a physiotherapist, but it really didn’t help me and was very costly (only benefit was excluding BPV). My hope is that in time, all of the things I’m doing will blend to fix this problem. I am still considering trying the sandomigran my dr gave me, but am giving myself another couple of weeks to try treat it myself first.

How often do you recommend a vitamin tuneup?

Do you recommend any certain D.O.'s in CA or know a good site to find one?

No, I’m sorry, I don’t.

I’m going to try the walk in the AM (prolly after eating/meds/brush teeth as I need to attend to that) but how many minutes do you walk for? And you turn 90 degrees to each side slowly the entire time you walk?

I learned about Osteopathic Doctors in college, and while I forget a lot of it I do know they focus on preventative health and looking at the whole body. They also have more training in nutrition than most M.D.s. Here’s a link to the American Osteopathic Association which explains how they’re educated.

https://doctorsthatdo.org/faq/how-are-dos-educated-and-trained

How often do you recommend a vitamin tuneup?

I’m going to try the walk in the AM (probably after snack/bathroom as I need to attend to that) but how many minutes do you walk for? And you turn 90 degrees to each side slowly the entire time you walk? Curious how many days you tried this before some relief. And great idea about sport; I’m going to try to play bball weekly and push through the dizziness

i had my vitamins checked and was found low on b12.

i play tennis against a practice wall occasionally and it helps a lot. I have found cardio helps as well. I go for walks ~35 mins long

Yeah I had mine checked last summer I think but they were all good.

And nice while you do the 35ish mins walk you turn your head side to side?

Yes and when i am done looking stupid, i switch to looking at my phone and take my eyes of the road. (Which is VRT of a different sort).

Ah tneresting the phone thing tends to make me dizzier. My vestibular rehab therapist said he couldn’t think of anything to help me given what he tried didn’t help but my biofeedback therapist gave me Meir Schneider’s book ‘vision for life’ which seems to be a lot of visual rehab (which I’ve done but I guess why not try another thing haha