With 37 million U.S. citizens — roughly 11.7% of the population — suffering from migraines, why is it that the diagnosis ends at the symptoms? I cannot imagine anyone would be fine with their doctor diagnosing them with “hand pain” if their hand hurt; they would want to know the underlying cause of the problem. But with migraines, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to diagnose at the symptom level and treat the symptom not the cause.

The truth is that the conventional medical practitioners most likely don’t know the cause. Unless your migraines were brought on by an event, such as physical trauma, expecting a doctor to diagnose the true cause of your debilitating condition is almost nil. They may ask about family history to help with the general diagnosis, but at the end of the day, you are still being diagnosed with a symptom.

Even worse is the standard protocol for treatment: symptom suppression. Since they don’t understand the problem, they’re solution is to try a myriad of different prescription medications in an attempt to suppress your agony. For some patients, calcium channel blockers will help, while others may benefit from beta blockers. Some may see positive results with antidepressants while others react favorably to anticonvulsants. And then there are those of us that responded negatively — or not at all — to all of the above.

If you’ve done your homework you may have heard about migraine triggers. The most common ones fall under the foods category. There are many people that have been able to better control their migraines by simply avoiding certain foods that are known to have caused migraine episodes in the past. It’s too bad that over half the doctors I visited told me that triggers were hog-wash. I actually had a neuro-otologist tell me I was wasting my time with an elimination diet, only to find that his technician had better luck suppressing her migraines by removing certain foods from her diet than with any medications. You would think he would have talked with her first.

My journey through conventional medicine practitioners can be summized as such:

1. If a doctor cannot tell you the underlying cause of migraines, it’s because they are not knowledgeable in that topic
2. If they tell you that migraine triggers are hog-wash, they are not knowledgeable in that topic
3. If their solution is to treat you as a lab rat, cycling through medications in hopes that one will work, they are not knowledgeable in that topic
4. If they tell you “it’s all in your head” because their inadequate treatment protocol fails, they are not knowledgeable in that topic

In every case, I (eventually) decided to leave that doctor and continue my search for the answer.

The fact that I was fine until my early thirties tells me that magic wasn’t the cause of my symptoms. Either an external element (virus, bacteria, etc…) infiltrated my body and wreaked havoc, or a slow breakdown of my internal systems over a prolonged period of time finally sent out the distress signal when it could no longer function properly. With either scenario, the migraine was merely a symptom and if I could address the underlying cause then the symptom should respond accordingly.

There are doctors that believe they understand the true cause of migraines. Dr Max Gerson was one such doctor. He was a migraine sufferer who aimed to find the cause of his condition. His research pointed to a toxic body unable to rid itself of harmful toxins. The solution he derived was simple: saturate the body with nutrients found in organic fruits and vegetables while assisting the body in the removal of toxins. He was known as the migraine doctor while practicing in Germany and found that his treatment was also effective with other ailments.

One common thread I have found with people who help others to overcome migraines via unconventional methods is that they focus on nutrition and detox. The amazing thing is how this approach has helped many who were not able to find relief following conventional medicine’s protocol. What I find sad is that this approach is shunned — sometimes ridiculed — by conventional medicine.

Since becoming sick I can say that I am happy that conventional medicine was able to rule out some serious conditions through testing. This has helped me understand what’s not wrong with me so that I can concentrate on what is. But there lies the problem: They cannot tell me what is wrong with me, they can only tell me that I suffer from symptoms, and that the origin of those symptoms is unknown. This is where modern medicine has failed me. It has forced me to look at unconventional — and often ridiculed — treatment options in hopes to find a cure. This has opened my eyes to something conventional medicine doesn’t want to admit: many of our ailments may be caused by increased toxin exposure and a body not equipped to handle it. It would be pretty hard to peddle prescription drugs that only help with symptoms when dietary changes and nutritional supplements could prevent the ailments from ever manifesting.

There is nothing like a good ol’ fashioned sinus headache. The kind that, at best, steals hours away from your life. For much of my life, a sinus headache meant taking Sudafed® and ibuprofen and retreating to a quiet, dark room; waiting out the storm in hopes to see the sun again. They would usually present themselves with weather changes, and along with a pot of coffee and OTC drugs, fall silent after mere hours.

Since making many lifestyle changes, the frequency of sinus headaches has decreased, but today’s sinus headaches are a different breed. They still bring on the same symptoms as they always have, but they add something new to the mix: increased balance and vestibular issues. In addition to the physical pain, I now also need to be extra careful not to head into an unexpected tailspin and possibly hurt myself.

But these symptoms are not limited to just sinus headaches; I suffer daily from balance and vestibular issues. The issue is how they become much more pronounced with any sinus-related condition, like the common cold.

Yesterday, I suffered a rather rare sinus headache that forced me to miss life. I only took one ibuprofen to help lesson the suffering as I made my way to the bedroom to wait for it to be over. After many hours I started to see the clouds part and made my way out to the kitchen to get something in my stomach.

Bam! A short bout of vertigo overcame me. I quickly reached out to grab on to something, anything, to help brace for the fall. As luck would have it, I grabbed on to the kitchen counter and immediately began to look for a detailed item to focus my eyes on. As I have done in the past, it helps to focus on an object of detail with both eyes, staying still while your brain attempts to recalibrate your eyes. After a couple minutes I could see that my eyes were no longer on their own courses, but rather attempting to convene on the same trajectory. Success, I could stand again without physical support.

This exercise has reminded me that even the common cold can make my symptoms dramatically worse. It has also reminded me what I used to feel like just a few months ago. Since I started the Cutler protocol I have noticed subtle improvements with my vestibular and ocular faculties. While still suffering from the same symptoms, some are less pronounced, while others take longer to fully inflame.

This journey hasn’t been easy, but I am starting to see the benefits of my hard work. I know I have a long time left on this protocol, but I am in a better state of mind, which allows me to realize that it is working. I just need to stay the course. As Dr. Amy Yasko says “It is a marathon, it is not a sprint.”