So, for those of you following along from home, I recently started the Wahl’s Paleo Plus diet in an effort to cut back on the number of migraines I’ve been having. I also removed things from my diet that I suspect I’m allergic to, such as eggs, dairy, and nightshades.

My migraines all occur just before, on, or just after my period. This week was the first time I had my period since I started the diet, about three weeks ago.

The bad news: I’ve had just as many migraines as I usually have. The changes to my diet don’t appear to have affected the frequency of my migraines at all.

The good news: The migraines that I’ve had are *tremendously* less severe.

For example: Per usual, I woke up the day of my cycle starting with a horrendously bad migraine. On a scale of 1-10, pain was at about a 7-8.

Usually, I’m wasted for that entire day. There isn’t anything I can do. I can’t think. Answering even a short email takes me 20+ minutes. Looking at the computer screen hurts my eyes. Etc.

Last week, when I woke up with that same level of pain, I figured there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Got up, took meds, went about my day.

Realized after breakfast that hey, I was responding to an email normally. Typing away as usual. I could actually think.

Huh.

I didn’t write that day—but I thought about it. I was able to be productive that entire day.

Plus, instead of being in incredible pain for 12+ hours, after only a few hours, last week, the pain ratcheted down significantly. Then again. After 12 hours or so, the migraine was gone.

This has never happened to me, not with that intense of a migraine.

So while the diet hasn’t stopped the migraines, it had dramatically lessened them. This is both good and bad. Bad, because, damn it! I want to be over these damned things!

Good, because that indicates that the things I’ve removed from my diet weren’t causing my migraines. I’m not adding anything back in yet—am giving it the full three months. However, if there are no other side effects when I add them back in, I’m going to be able to eat them again. (Though I don’t believe I’ll go back to cream in my coffee. I prefer the coconut milk.)

The other good thing about this diet is that overall, I feel better. Significantly better, actually. I wasn’t feeling bad before, but I can tell now that I wasn’t as good as I could have been.

The weirdest thing? I’ve been on hormone replacement therapy for years. I don’t know why I feel this, however, I believe I’ve removed something from my diet that was blocking my hormones. They appear to be more effective now. Which is good. I’m more stable emotionally. Particularly when my cycle started.

So it’s a mixed report, I guess. Some good news (less severe migraines) and some bad (just as many as before). We’ll see where I am in a month or so from now!