I’ve written countless variations of this post over the last three years, each time deciding to wait to publish it since I’m on the verge of a breakthrough with my health. And each time there’s a new permutation that slows me down. I’m finally ready to share.
For most of the last three years, I’ve been dealing with mysterious health issues that aren’t migraine-related (in fact, I’ve been doing pretty well migraine-wise thanks to the gammaCore). Brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, vertigo, tachycardia, and muscle pain, stiffness, and twitching have been the main symptoms. The symptoms come and go with one or two usually taking the spotlight at a time. I’ve seen a rheumatologist, several neurologists, three cardiologists, done lots of physical therapy, and had plenty of tests. I’ve been misdiagnosed with several conditions, none of which really seemed to fit what I was experiencing. And I’ve been terrified that I was in the early stages of a degenerative neuromuscular condition.
The Gist
I can say with 98% confidence that, ultimately, all the problems can come down to either side effects of supplements or vitamin deficiencies, some of which were caused by an excess of a particular supplement. The two main players have been a vitamin B12 deficiency and excess magnesium, though there have been other factors. I think I’ve found a balance. If you’re curious, the details are below.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
The B12 deficiency is easiest to explain, so let’s get it out of the way. I became a vegetarian as soon as I went off the ketogenic diet and wasn’t diligent about getting enough B12. After a bout of severe vertigo—during which I spent the majority of three weeks in bed—and being misdiagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, I began supplementing B12 in earnest. It went great at first. My symptoms decreased fairly quickly after starting the supplement—the joint pain and vertigo were gone and the muscle symptoms improved, but didn’t go away completely.
Since I still wasn’t getting enough B12 in my diet, I kept supplementing it. Then the supplement became a migraine trigger. So I tried in earnest to eat more foods containing B12, which also became migraine triggers. And both the supplements and foods also seemed to cause my heart to race. It took months to sort out, but I eventually found that an occasional B12 injection did the trick for getting enough B12. After a while, I was able to eat it again without it being a migraine trigger. But the tachycardia remained.
Excess Magnesium
All the while, I continued taking magnesium at high doses, which I’ve done since 2011. I didn’t need it for most of my daily migraine management (the gammaCore took care of that), but it seemed to help with weather-triggered migraine attacks and I was hopeful it could help with some of my muscle-related symptoms. I was taking 840 mg a day. I’d been as high as 1,200 mg, so I didn’t think much of it. Until two months ago when I finally put all the pieces together and realized that magnesium was likely the cause of many of my remaining symptoms.
One of the unexpected benefits of the gammaCore is that I no longer needed medications I’d used for years, like Wellbutrin and cyproheptadine. I figured that out after they started causing side effects. It took literally years to consider that magnesium could also be causing side effects. Stopping the magnesium was another step toward resolving my symptoms (most notably the tachycardia, which was such a relief), but there was more work to be done.
Calcium and Potassium Deficiencies
My doctor said that the excessive magnesium may have caused an electrolyte imbalance that resulted in calcium and potassium deficiencies. Supplements often trigger migraine attacks for me, so sorting out that out has been a challenge. I’m getting close—I’ve found a calcium supplement I can tolerate and am working to get the right amount of potassium in my diet.
Vitamin D and Protein Deficiencies
But wait! I let a couple other things get out of whack. Always afraid of triggering a migraine attack, I haven’t taken my vitamin D diligently. I’ll take it for a while, get a blood test and see that it’s at a good level, then forget to take it until I get a new round of symptoms. Lather, rinse, repeat. I literally cannot remember how many times I’ve gone through that rigmarole in the last three years.
And that vegetarian thing? I really thought I was getting enough protein. I’d calculated the amount I needed when I was on the ketogenic diet and was mostly keeping up with it. Except I weighed 25 pounds less then and was sedentary. Between my long walks each day and the strength training I now do three times a week, I’m now considered quite active, which requires a lot more protein than I was getting.
Then There’s the Life Stuff
In addition to managing my fluctuating health, the last three years have been fairly stressful. I watched a loved one die of ALS and nearly lost another to suicide. I saw the end of a friendship with someone I once considered one of my essential people. And Hart and I have been trying to figure out what our life looks like without migraine horning in on our marriage all the time—it’s a good stress, but something to figure out nonetheless. On top of all that, I’ve worked nearly full time at TheraSpecs for much of the last year. Again, that’s a good stressor, but it’s taken too much time away from the health and self-care practices my body requires to stay healthy.
Where My Health is Now
I’m doing a lot better physically. I still have to get some dietary details sorted out and need to wait a while to be sure my symptoms don’t come back, but I think I’m basically on top of the problem. I’ll see another neuromuscular specialist next month to be sure my symptoms are really due to vitamin and nutrient issues rather than an underlying condition. But I feel like I’ve basically got it under control.
My Mental Space
I flirted with the idea of getting angry with myself for letting basic vitamins and minerals get out of whack and for taking so long to realize that the magnesium was a problem. That’s ridiculous. I’ve been working just as hard at sorting out these mysteries as I did at finding effective migraine treatment over the years. I’ve been to doctors and talked to my therapist/naturopath countless times. I’ve been trying so hard and yet I missed some things. I didn’t fall down on the job; I had a surprisingly complicated situation to figure out.
It’s been tough to have these weird symptoms at the same time as I’ve been feeling better migraine-wise. I’ve spent much time worried that I went from being disabled by migraine to either having another disabling disease or, worse, a horrible disease that would kill me prematurely with much suffering along the way. I’ve managed these emotions as they come and they haven’t been too frequent, but they’re terrifying when they do come.
But right now I’m in a good space mentally with my health and the other life stressors I’ve juggled in recent years.
What’s Next
I can’t predict what’s next, but I know what’s now and what I hope for in the near future. I’ve cut my hours at TheraSpecs back to 20 hours a week to allow more time for managing my health and, I hope, doing more writing and advocacy work. I’ve been making time for regular exercise and now need to get on top of healthful eating again (my diet isn’t terrible, but it’s not as vegetable-forward as I’d like to it be). I’m aiming for at least one post for The Daily Headche and one article or video for Migraine.com each month this year. So I hope to be around more often in the coming months!
P.S. My latest article for Migraine.com is Green Light Therapy for Migraine. The NPR story on green light therapy that circulated in December left me with more questions than it answered, so I interviewed the lead researcher to get a better grasp on the research.
