My Journey From Migraine to Migraine Freedom
Hello fellow traveler!
I, too, am on the migraine freedom journey, but have MANY years of experience and tales of adventure that I will share with you as your tour guide.
In fact, I had migraine for 27 years. I hope that your number of years is lower, but let’s be realistic - this condition doesn’t just “go away” and resolves itself for most of us.
13 years ago I was diagnosed with a Medication Overuse Headache: Chronic Migraine. I experienced one long migraine that lasted for over a year. Yes, A YEAR!
I was like a walking zombie, just trying to exist. To keep my job. To keep my relationships. To keep my hope. It was tough. I was not in a good place.
But I started my very own migraine freedom journey that day 13 years ago, and have learned so much along the way. I’m called to share with you the MOST EFFECTIVE solutions that I’ve learned, most totally unknown to traditional medical doctors.
My love for health and wellness started very early. My mother was diagnosed with “probable Multiple Sclerosis” when I was 12 years old. She was in really bad shape and had to walk with a cane. It was really scary for both of us. It was also the year I started getting recurring migraines.
I read every book I could about diet and how it affected the nervous and immune systems. She had remarkable success with making some dietary and lifestyle changes prescribed to her by the Dalai Lama’s doctor in a very special appointment with him.
This opened my eyes at a very young age to the possibilities of Eastern Medicine, Energy Medicine, and Nutritional Healing.
Fast forward to college where I earned a Bachelors of Business Administration on a full scholarship from the University of San Diego. (P.S. I had a headache every day for my entire college career.)
Beautiful campus, right?
My favorite classes were Business Ethics, Philosophy of Human Nature, History of the Bible, World Religions, and Business Law.
My first “real” job out of college was the one I worked so hard for: as a Sales Representative for a Big Pharma company. (I’d heard it was the best paying job for a college graduate to get, and I sure needed it after my father suddenly passed away.)
That was, however ironically, when I developed a chronic migraine headache. I spent 5 years in Big Pharma and learned a TON: human biology and physiology, pharmacokinetics and dynamics, insurance procedures and reimbursement, how to talk to doctors, run a territory, and work with a team. It was awesome.
I got to call on Primary Care doctors, Gastroenterologists, Ear Nose & Throat surgeons, and Pain Managers, and later Glaucoma Surgeons. I learned about many conditions and the real life issues in treating them from all perspectives. I got to witness eye surgery live!
And then it wasn’t awesome anymore. I was overworked and stressed over the arbitrary but predictable “crises” that would arise and fires that needed putting out, constantly. I was able to reverse my chronic migraine back to episodic during that time, but I wasn’t that healthy.
Newsflash: pharmaceuticals aren’t about health, they are about managing illness. I found that over time it became difficult for me to promote illness management rather than healing modalities.
I walked away from one of the most secure and stable corporate sales jobs around. Because I couldn’t be myself. I couldn’t be honest. And it ate me up. For me, principles matter.
Once I left I followed my heart and my dreams. I dug deeply into my own health and wellness and became my own science project. You can learn ALL of the sordid details when you work with me as a client, when we work on telling Your Migraine Story. I became a biohacker and health optimizer, and I’ll teach you how to become one too.
I had GREAT reason to move forward on the path of Lifestyle Medicine - I’ve tried and failed every medication on the market. I used Botox for Migraine with success on and off from 2007 to 2020.
I’ve had a spinal tap, nerve blocks, and other gnarly procedures.
I’ve injected myself with Imitrex. I’ve had a panic attack when I needed to inject it, at the onset of migraine, because it hurt so badly.
I KNOW how defeating this condition is, especially over the years.
I also have tried every diet, supplement, fast, exercise and more. I’ve found many things that REALLY work, many things that I CAN’T TELL if they work, and even more things that DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Sound familiar?
After moving from San Diego to Los Angeles after Pharma, I spent 3 years working in Entertainment, specifically Entertainment & Red Carpet Reporting, podcasting, hosting, modeling and acting. I had a BLAST and was truly in my Zone of Genius when performing and hosting/producing. But after a career in sales it was impossible for me to commit to a lifestyle of waiting around in audition waiting rooms while opportunity (that I had CONTROL over) was passing me by. I needed to OWN something in which I could host and produce content that would actually HELP people and not dumb them down. Principles, again.
For 3 years I worked with a medical communications company, managing their Disease State Education Exhibits at medical conferences around the world.
I did this to supplement my measly earnings in Entertainment, but was the BEST job I ever had. I got to travel and learn, inside and out, about highly sophisticated disease states and current treatment options. I was able to walk the floor and read cutting edge medical posters, socialize with caregivers of every level, and train young ladies much like myself.
I transitioned from Entertainment into Health & Wellness permanently, becoming a Personal Trainer in 2016 and launching my fitness technique TILT by Oriana (now named Oriana Method). I taught clients both in-person and online my version of the Lotte Berk Technique, published an eBook, and became a dancer’s-body specialist. I had the thrill of focusing on the ONLY workout that didn’t trigger a migraine for me, and became super fit.
In 2017 I jumped at the opportunity to help launch a new hemp CBD company, Nonnie’s Nectar, with my now fiancee Ryan. I was the Chief Communications Officer and invested partner and was responsible for CBD education, content and marketing. I learned SO MUCH about cannabis and hemp: their healing properties, the regulation issues preventing the mainstreaming of the products, and the client testimonials of healing and relief.
I learned what hemp and cannabis worked on my migraines, and advised hundreds of customers on their specific regimens for their specific issues.
And with the COVID-19 shut-downs, that business is gone and a new one stands in front of you: Health & Wellness Coaching focusing on women with migraines.
Throughout my career in the health & wellness space, I have taken what I’ve learned, and along with professionals, books, and following my intuition was able to heal my life.
Not only have I reversed my year-long chronic migraine to migraine freedom, but I have either entirely overcome or managed down to infrequency:
-chronic anxiety
-nightmares
-body dysmorphia
-disordered eating
-candida overgrowth & IBS
-exercise-induced migraine
-TMJ
-low self-esteem
-tolerance of abusive or neglectful relationships
-exercise-induced migraine
-chronic fatigue
-high-stress levels
-chronic muscle tension
-chronic neck pain
-headaches
-migraines
I am SO PROUD of my accomplishments and know that if I can do it, you can do it too.
It won’t be easy or simple, but neither is having a migraine!
XO 💋Oriana
