Headaches Including Migraines

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome can contribute to allergy, stress, and migraine headaches. The most debilitating of these are migraine headaches. I feel that the migraine headaches associated with Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome are related to fluid retention. This fluid retention is probably secondary to the vessels in the body becoming leaky because of decreased vascular tone, and changes that occur in the vessel walls when the body temperature patterns are abnormal. As these vessels become more leaky, fluid escapes from the vessels causing fluid retention in various parts of the body, even the brain. When this fluid retention occurs in a closed space, it can cause problems. If it occurs in the carpal tunnels of the hands, it can cause a pinching of the nerves know as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. When it occurs in a narrow passageway of the spine where there is only so much room for the nerves to pass, then it can also cause a pinched nerve syndrome. When a drop in body temperature patterns results in the vessels of the brain becoming more leaky, migraine and other forms of headaches may result. Characteristically migraine headaches sometimes come on after a warning know as an aura. An aura is a small group of characteristic symptoms that migraine patients will frequently have prior to the onset of their migraine headaches. Some patients will notice a peculiar odor or notice characteristic vision changes, such as wavy lines, or some other neurological manifestations, that hint that a migraine may be about to occur. After the aura, the headache pain may begin, frequently having a throbbing nature in the beginning and sometimes progressing to a more constant type of pain. In some cases of severe migraine, the headache may progress to cause nausea and vomiting, difficulty with bright lights bothering the eyes, and even temporary numbness or paralysis of various parts of the body.

One can easily see how these characteristics of a migraine headache can be explained by leaky vessels and fluid retention. As the dilated vessels and fluid retention begin to exert pressure on the brain tissues at the beginning of the headache, it is not hard to imagine that this pressure might be manifested to a patient through some kind of “aura.” As the fluid retention continues and the swelling brain begins to reach its confines (limited by the bony skull), it is easy to see how the swollen brain’s pulsations ( resulting from intermittent surges of blood from the heart) could cause the brain to begin to “bang” against its confines, causing pain of a throbbing nature. If the swelling were to continue, one could see how the brain tissue could more fully occupy the available space within the skull causing it to press more steadily against its confines resulting in a pain of a more constant nature. The pressure exerted on the brain’s tissues could cause malfunctioning directly or possibly by inhibiting blood supply. This could explain neurological manifestations such as numbness and tingling or temporary paralysis. So any treatment that can diminish the resulting dilated and leaky vessels can help in the treatment of these migraine headaches. This explains why ergotamines can sometimes ward off migraine headaches since they are vasoconstrictors and can constrict the dilated vessels possibly making them less leaky and thereby helping to ward off the migraine headaches before they have fully progressed. Interestingly, ergotamine therapy is usually ineffective once the migraine has taken hold, possibly because by that time too much fluid retention has already taken place.

Beta-blockers, a type of blood pressure medicine, are frequently used long-term to decrease the frequency and severity of migraine headaches, possibly by reducing the body’s tendency towards higher blood pressures (of course, the greater the pressure, the greater the force working to push fluid out of the vessels and into the tissues). I remember one migraine patient that I treated who described herself as a “migraine headache experiment.” She had suffered from migraines for over thirty years, and over that period of time, every new migraine treatment was given to her as it became available. Her migraine headaches were reduced by some of the therapies, but they were never satisfactorily controlled and they caused her a great deal of disability (having severe headaches almost on a daily basis). As is characteristic with the migraines associated with Wilson’s Syndrome, they worsened during stressful periods in her life. Within only a few short weeks of the WT3 protocol, her migraine headaches had improved dramatically. In fact, they were all but eliminated. She has been able to go months without any migraines, rather than just days. Of course, she was astonished and I, myself, continue to be amazed.

It is difficult for me to remember a case where the patient’s migraines did not improve tremendously, if not completely, with the WT3 protocol and normalization of body temperature patterns. Apparently, normalization of body temperature patterns restores proper muscular tone in the blood vessels of the body, and can thereby eliminate the migraine headache condition. Although thyroid hormone therapy can’t correct all body temperature abnormalities, or all migraines, I certainly am of the opinion that proper thyroid hormone treatment is the most widely effective treatment for migraine headaches currently available. I am even beginning to wonder if abnormal body temperature patterns (especially low) are not the cause of migraine headaches.