What’s it like to have a migraine? Picture this: a relentless throbbing in your head, medications that barely take the edge off, and eventually — after way too many pills — a little relief.
Now imagine that happening several times a week, every week, for years. Can medication alone fix that? Or is there something else that can be done?
There’s definitely something more available. And there are better options such as holistic headache relief. Let me tell you about a recent client of mine.
A 10-Year Headache Finally Gets Answered
A woman in her 70s came to see me after living with debilitating headaches for a decade. They started after a major emotional event and had been escalating ever since — to the point where her neurologist was worried about how much medication she was taking.
She was desperate for a different approach, which is how she found me.
When I examined her, I could see her nervous system wasn't working well. I treated that with neural therapy — and she went 12 headache-free days in a row, matching the longest stretch she’d had in years. That alone was remarkable.
But I didn’t stop there. I noticed her sleep quality was poor and that she had an excess of chemicals burdening her system. I improved her sleep and used an improved version of a detoxification process I'd written about earlier (https://focusedwellness.net/2025/08/returning-to-the-office-safely/) to reduce that toxic load.
Her own words?
“I’m doing so much better.”
And the numbers backed her up. She went from having headaches 22–24 days a month down to just a couple of days over several weeks. On top of that, when she did get a headache, her medication worked better — something that hadn’t been happening before.
We’re continuing to dig deeper into her health to see how much more improvement is possible.
Why Holistic Headache Treatment
The best treatment for migraines — or really any persistent headache — isn’t a single pill. It’s looking at the whole person.
Every single person is individual and has their own health issues which causes their symptoms. Dealing with those individual health issues will give the best result.
Several things in her body weren’t working well:
- Her nervous system was out of balance
- Her sleep wasn’t restorative
- Her body was carrying a toxic chemical burden
When we addressed all three, her mind and body could finally start healing. She got holistic headache relief. And she felt that difference.
That made holistic integrative treatment the best treatment for migraine headaches.
If you or someone you know has headaches or pain that just won’t go away, it’s worth thinking beyond the prescription pad. This woman suffered for 10 years — and now she’s living with far fewer headaches and far less medication.
As an integrative functional medicine doctor, I’m trained to think holistically and equipped with tools to treat the nervous system directly. There’s often more we can do than we’ve been taught to believe.
To Health!
To your health!
Dr. Richard Chen
Focused Wellness Author,
A New Way to Health: Wheel of Health
Buy the book on Amazon