Headache sufferers, Take my word for it: you do not need to suffer anymore.
Every headache and migraine sufferer has a different definition of what goes on. For me, it meant that at the age of 14 I started having chronic headaches and migraines. I had anywhere from 4-6 headaches/migraines A WEEK, sometimes going up to 10 days in a row of headaches each day. I spent the majority of high school and college looking like the girl in the picture at the top of this page (minus the beautiful blonde hair). I took so much Tylenol that I no longer even responded to it, and this forced me to go to my doctor to get prescription medication. Even after taking a daily "preventative" pill, a pill for when I had a "break-out" headache, and an anti-nausea medication for when that fun stuff hit, I still was having 3-5 headaches a week. But hey, it was improvement, so I accepted it.
No matter the frequency or duration of your headaches and migraines, one thing is the same for every sufferer: They change you.
Whether the change be that you neurotically check to make sure your bottle of painkillers is in your bag before every time you leave the house, that you regularly miss events with friends and family because of the pain, or even just that you are simply being a more unhappy person. There's no arguing: Headaches and migraines ruin your quality of life. And at the ripe age of 14 I was becoming that miserable, withdrawn person! I lived life like this for almost 8 years, but I'm glad it didn't go any longer than that.
My chiropractic journey (and coincidentally my own chiropractic success story) kind of happened accidentally after spending my entire life planning on becoming a pediatrician. During my time at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) I shadowed a chiropractor who asked me a question that changed my entire view on health. That question: "Kimmie, on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you've ever had, what do you live most of your days at?" This day happened to be a relatively good day, so my answer was, "Probably a 4 or 5." When he responded with, "Kimmie, I live my life at a 0 on the pain scale," I was AMAZED. I didn't know that living a life like that was even possible! So naturally, I was intrigued. I continued to shadow him every week and was just in awe at the many miracles that he brought into his patients' lives by addressing the nervous system! I loved hearing stories about how not just their pain had gone away, but their quality of life was so greatly improved! In my growing up years, we were used to treating a symptom with a pill without even blinking an eye- and yet, I was still at 4-6 headache days a week. Seeing other people turn their life around, I knew I had to make a change.
So in the midst of watching everyone else benefit from care, I started to get adjusted myself. And guess what happened after I started? My headaches started to fade away. I'll be completely honest with you: no, I'm not down to being able to say I NEVER have them, but I can proudly say I have about one per month. Think about it this way: low ball number, I used to have just over 200 headache days a year. Now, I have about 12. I'd say that's a win. But that's only the surface of how chiropractic care has changed my life!
Chronic knee injuries and pain = now non-existent
Weak immune system and often getting long, drawn-out colds = now rare and also last 2-3 days at the most
Upper back pain that sent me to the ER while studying for AP exams = GONE-ZO
Repeated ear infections from swimming = haven't had a single one since getting adjusted
I know this is cliche but...and much much more!
I truly don't even want to imagine what my life would be like today without it.