No migraines this last week.

This is particularly impressive, given that I was at a writing retreat last week, and writing like a fiend. Plus I had two long drives by myself, which used to be sure-fire ways of giving myself migraines.

That is not to say that I had no headaches. I had a few days of headaches. Plus, I had one that was particularly nasty and really wanted to transform into a migraine. However, I “treated” it like I’ve been treating the others: fasting, water with salt, and mindful walking. And yes, it disappeared completely like the other ones, as if it had never been.

And I wrote through all the headaches. I wrote a lot despite the headaches. Mind you, the mornings I had headaches I had a *very* slow start. But I started. And I pushed through. And I got in my 10,000 words, along with my 10,000 steps.

I keep track of my level of ketosis by using urine strips that measure the number of ketones. I have been tracking what that strip shows and my headaches. Generally I float between light and moderate.

I’ve recently figured out that most of the time, when my ketones measure as moderate, I don’t have a headache. When the strip shows light ketones, I frequently have a headache.

So I am going to try to stay at a moderate level for the next couple of weeks. See how I feel with that.

I have gone really low carb before. However, that just makes me miserable. And cross. I get genuinely grouchy. Even after I got fat adapted, forcing myself to be really low carb didn’t work for me. (There were a few days that I fell into it naturally, and those times it was fine.)

For now, it means giving up all fruit. (Insert big pouty face)

I am hoping that sometime in the next 4-6 months, I’m going to feel as though my brain has mostly healed, and I can reintroduce more carbs into my life.

One of the other things I discovered this week was a lavender and peppermint headache stick. It’s made from the essential oils of lavender and peppermint, nothing else. I apply it to the back of my skull. It feels cool to me, and really helps when I have a headache.

My cycle is supposed to start again this week. I’ll start supplementing with more magnesium this week, and be very careful about the amount of carbs I eat. Fingers cross that I won’t have any menstrual related migraines this week!