Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain

Rating:
Summary: A must read for any headache sufferer
Review: For over 2 years I have been experiencing dizziness, off-balanceness, headaches, confusion, blurred vision, neck pain, ear pain and sinus problems. After seeing numerous doctors and multiple testing, I still had no explanation as to why I have been feeling so debilitated. I was diagnosed with Vestibular Migraines and advised to read "Heal Your Headache". I was amazed how the book seemed to be written just about me and all my problems. It listed all the foods I regularly eat as headache triggers. My condition had deteriorated to the point that I had no choice but to follow the outlined steps in the book. I am now following Steps 1 & 2 and am thrilled with the changes and improvements in my health. While it has been a major adjustment, I am encouraged and hopeful for continued recovery. I can't thank Dr. Buchholz enough. His words have been an answer to my prayers.

Rating:
Summary: I Got My Life Back
Review: This book was a real eye opener. I've been suffering from "sinus" & "tension" headaches since I was a teenager. Dr Buchholz clearly defines that my headaches were actually migraines! Migraines! If I hadn't been misdiagnosed, I would have been trying to prevent migraines all along. I followed his advice about "rebound" medications, preventing food triggers and raising my migraine threshold. I wasn't happy about giving up my coffee and peanut butter, but I was willing to try. Now I don't even miss it. I haven't had a migraine in 3 months. I used to have them 6 out of 7 days a week! I suggest all headache sufferers, diagnosed as "stress", "sinus", "tension" or migraines read this book. It will give you your life back.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, specifics!
Review: I can't even begin to tell you how many specialists I've seen over the years. My god, it must be almost two decades already. I've tried the whole of alternative medicine as well... And the most dietary advice I received was "leave the coffee, tea, coke and chocolate". This book doesn't just explain to you what is actually going on in your head and the rest of your body when a trigger kicks off a migraine, it also has a specific list of things not to eat, among other things. And it is an extensive list: things I never would have thought of, and sure enough, when trying to reintroduce them in my diet everything went wrong again. (Alas, no more Chinese dishes for this reader). Besides finally finding a specialist who actually bothers to explain what's happening to me and millions of other migraine sufferers with me, I was surprised to also find someone who treats a patient as a human. I've never met the man, but it wouldn't surprise me if contrary to most specialists I've dealt with, he actually would look me in the eye. Take this book, read it, and get an extra copy for your GP when you've come to the conclusion that This Man Is Right: because usually they are extremely uneducated when it comes to migraines: after all, they're "just headaches". And I do believe this book would help many others if in a general physicians hands.

Rating:
Summary: "Heal Your Headache" saved my life
Review: Having migraines for 38 yrs. I was always trying to find new alteratives. I heard Dr. Buchholz on the TV and it just seemed that he got across that he knew what it was like to have a migraine and what was so special is that he really listens to his patients. Dr. Buchholz spoke the truth as he said it wouldn't be easy to follow the 1-2-3 Program and it wasn't. If you stay with the program it does work and you can control your migraines for the rest of your life. He saved my life as I have not had a migraine in the last 3 months and I was having them everyday. Now I can make appointments and not break them and can go to the gym and work out...life is good. Dr. Buchholz has a gift for anyone who is troubled with migraines. What a wonderful service he is doing. I thank him with all my heart.

Rating:
Summary: Heal Your Headache -- Done!!!
Review: I am 46 years old and have suffered from migraines for most of my adult life. About nine years ago, my migraines became much more severe and started to hit me every two or three weeks. My typical symptoms included severe ice-pick like pain behind my left eye socket, moderate to severe pain across my entire forehead, nausea, dehydration, alternating sweats and chills, etc. During the past eight or nine years, I have worked continually with two leading migraine specialists in Manhattan. I tried all of the usual migraine meds and, in particular, all of the triptans including Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Amerge, Axert, Relpax, etc. On balance, the pharma-approach to dealing my migraines was a failure.

I never was really serious about attacking the dietary side of the equation, but I did try certain other alternative treatments such as botox injections, acupuncture, massage therapy, etc.

I am pleased to report that as of January 4, 2005, I have been virtually migraine free for over three months. This is clearly a modern day record for me. Since late September, I have had only three relatively minor migraines which lasted only five or six hours in duration and which were not overly severe.

I owe most of my progress to my wife, who read "Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain." As a result of her research, my wife and I determined that I should pursue a two-pronged approach to dealing with my chronic migraines:

* Eliminate suspected food triggers. While I had talked with my doctors about food triggers during my many years of treatment, my wife was the one who first noticed a possible food trigger in the form of nitrites/nitrates used in processed meats such as bacon, sausages,prosciutto, etc. As a result, she convinced me to completely eliminate from my diet the following suspected contributors to my migraines: (i) caffeine (I usually had one cup of coffee in the morning and one or two bottled ice teas containing caffeine throughout the day), (ii) nitrites/nitrates (I have not eaten much processed meat during the past few months), (iii) sulfites (I generally steer clear of red wines and most aged cheeses), (iv) citrus fruits, (v) bananas and nuts and (vi) various other foods that the book indicates could contribute to migraines. My own instincts tell me that the two most significant foods that contributed to my migraines were probably caffeine and nitrites/nitrates. I believe that keeping these items out of my diet has really helped me break the migraine cycle.

* Eliminate migraine meds. While I had already phased off of some of my meds following my most recent visits with my doctor, I was still using Relpax as a migraine abortive. However, while Relpax seemed to sometimes defer the onset of the migraine, I found that it usually only delayed the inevitable while also creating really wicked rebound headaches. So, starting in September I stopped taking all of my migraine meds and just "toughed it out" whenever I got hit with a migraine. On reflection, I think that the Relpax created a major problem for me in terms of rebound headaches. And I never liked taking the various pain-killers that I had tried over the years, although I don't think that I could have gotten through my worst headaches without some form of pain relief.

So, the two-pronged approach of eliminating suspected food triggers and eliminating my migraine meds really seems to have set the stage for a breakthrough. I don't believe that I'm totally cured, but I can deal with one relatively minor headache each month that only lays me out for one day or less. It was the severe migraines every two weeks that laid me out for two or three days at a time that was debilitating from both a professional and a personal perspective.

Dr. Buchholz -- Thanks for writing "Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain." I would not be on the road to a pain-free 2005 without your help.

Rating:
Summary: Relief - finally!
Review: Heal Your Headache provided me the long-awaited relief I needed from my chronic headaches. I had headaches every day for over a year, and fought them consistently for well over ten years. By following Dr. Buchholz's recommendations, I finally got a break. I finally felt that there was medical support for my problem, at a time that I felt abandoned by my local system of doctors. I often suspected various foods, such as aspartame, caffeine or MSG, but I could never confirm it. By giving up my coffee habit I realized having that wired up feeling all day clouded my concentration. Did you know one cup of joe raises your blood pressure by 14%! Fortunately for me I was able to find a wonderful tasting replacement made from soybeans. You brew like coffee and it even helps lower my cholesterol. I found it online at www.S o y c o f f e e.c o m. Gaining this understanding will affect every move you make from this point on and will bring with it the necessity to share it. One of the most enlightening items for me was how many foods I used in daily life that actually had MSG in them, including chicken broth, frozen meals, and most flavored snack foods. In addition, I had built up an addiction to over-the-counter pain relievers. It takes courage and determination to actually follow the guidelines, but the outcome is life-changing. This book is a 'must-read' for anyone suffering from persistent headaches.


Rating:
Summary: a Lifesaver!
Review: By the time I found "Heal your headache" I was at my wits end. I was on massive doses of medications, I had Botox twice, and my headaches were getting worse and I was almost never without one. I figured that even though the diet was extreme, I had nothing to loose.I followed it to the letter and the results were dramatic. I got to the point of having the occasional headache which went away with Naproxine (Aleve). The diet works!! I really feel that it gave me my life back. Thank you Dr. Buchholtz!