So long story but I ended up connecting with Rachel Weaver, quickly found out you two knew each other, and finally decided to poke at my unfixed reality a bit and visit Dr Bills. Just finished two weeks of CGM and meet tomorrow with him to learn the results!
Ta da! Clarity indeed! Similar patterns to those that found success with the Keto three-month diet. Not in the central percentage like our friend Rachel (which predicted about 90% success) but he said he's 70-80% sure I'll feel improvement. Soooooo, now.... to figure out when I can go on this three month adventure?! Thanks for sharing your DM with me, I'll circle back!
Those are great odds, the same I was given! Plan for a 3 month adventure with a 3 month extension (latter half of the above post). Happy to help you along as best I can!
Amazing! I am so glad to hear this had such a speedy profound effect. Not the first case I’ve heard (more the first of many).
I always said if someone told me keto would work so well I would have done it. I went anti-inflammatory way of eating instead so it took longer than a few weeks.
This way, I could supprt myself in the absence of professional help. So I’m glad you highlight the importance of that as I was having to lean on my intuition and body led direction at the time. Whilst trying to apply the least amount of pressure.
I find it really interesting the “surely it can’t be that simple” question - as I was asked the same.
It is that simple. But putting it into practice and bringing in the support is not usually so easy.
It’s a chronic cycle breaker for sure. But finding a way to do it that is supported and understood whilst meeting patient need is the challenge.
So why did you doctor say you should only do keto for 3 months? You said in the article that you would address that, but I don't think you ever did. I'm curious about this point because I'm reading Dr. Josh Turknett's book, Keto for Migraine, and he feels that people can do keto indefinitely and still be healthy. Thanks.
Hi Donna! Thanks for pointing this out, I did forget to explain this aspect. Here's what I was told, which I'll integrate into the above article:
The keto diet in my situation was not needed for more than three months because of how keto causes the metabolic system to "rest" or "reset." When you're in ketosis, you secrete very little insulin because your blood sugar changes very minimally. This gives your brain--your hypothalamus, specifically, the part of the brain in charge of insulin release via the pancreas--a break and allows insulin receptors across your body to "regenerate" or "resensitize." So after three months, you've give your body enough of a break that the glucose dysregulation does not return when you reintroduce carbs.
I did verify this via continuous glucose monitoring both before and after 3 months of keto, but I haven't found a lot of research papers that sum up this whole process in a useful way. Some things to google would be the effect of keto on insulin receptors and/or the hypothalamus.
As for doing keto long term--I'd be careful with that! You sound like someone who does your homework, so I won't go into the long-term effects of keto on cholesterol, cardiac health, etc. Lots of info out there. 3 months sounds much easier to me, if that's all you need! But, that said, I know of some people that did stay on keto past the three months just because they preferred to. That's totally up to you your body!
Thanks very much. This all makes sense. I am following the Keto for Migraine book by Turknett, but he doesn’t give a lot of color on some points, so I was glad to find your substack on the topic.
May I ask — what happened when you messed up and ate more than your allowed 15 g of carbs when you were still on keto? Maybe it’s hard to remember now. I have been eating keto for about 2 months, have lost 15 pounds (though that was not the point!) and I have had some improvement in my migraines, which were not chronic like yours but rather were episodic.
I’m sure I’m having fewer headaches but I am still getting maybe one big bruiser of a headache per week. Does this sound like it is par for the course? That is, when you are still in the first three-month window with keto, do you still get occasional headaches? Sorry, I know you are not a doctor, I am just trying to figure out what to expect as I go along.
Good question, and I did accidentally exceed 15g a few times (cough medicine has a lot of sugar in it, as it turns out!). Because 15g is way lower than for weight loss keto, I didn't drop out of ketosis (I tested to make sure), and nothing bad happened. The clinic later told me that even if I had dropped out of ketosis for a day or two, I wouldn't have needed to start over. The longterm effect isn't ruined by a blip here of there.
As for migraine frequency, we are indeed comparing apples and oranges if you started episodic, as this method has only been researched for chronic migraine. I've never gotten down to 1 migraine a month (though I would wager your one migraine is more severe than my 3-4, mine are pretty mild nowadays). But yes, I did have some migraines still when doing keto.
Hi Natalie, I’m in Australia and unfortunately Dr bills doesn’t do zoom consults. I have a very supportive doctor to guide me through keto I hope you don’t mind, I’ve sent you a direct message with a couple of questions. I also would like to add I’ve been wearing a glucose monitor and have made some changes to my diet I have certainly felt the benefits. So grateful for your work in this Natalie, I look forward to reading your book… a huge big thank you. Xx
Also, the key is finding the doctor who will actually take on the challenge! I found mine while doing a routine visit at a clinic. I'm thankful for my sister for recommending great clinics. I had never heard of the clinic before she told me.
I'm so happy for you, Natalie! I can't do the keto diet because my kidneys are fragile. And the last thing I need is to lose weight. However, I am always thrilled when people find solutions to their migraine.
So long story but I ended up connecting with Rachel Weaver, quickly found out you two knew each other, and finally decided to poke at my unfixed reality a bit and visit Dr Bills. Just finished two weeks of CGM and meet tomorrow with him to learn the results!
Kimberly!! Wowza. You’re a brave badass. Praying for clarity in the appointment!
Ta da! Clarity indeed! Similar patterns to those that found success with the Keto three-month diet. Not in the central percentage like our friend Rachel (which predicted about 90% success) but he said he's 70-80% sure I'll feel improvement. Soooooo, now.... to figure out when I can go on this three month adventure?! Thanks for sharing your DM with me, I'll circle back!
Those are great odds, the same I was given! Plan for a 3 month adventure with a 3 month extension (latter half of the above post). Happy to help you along as best I can!
Thank you so much Natalie!
Amazing! I am so glad to hear this had such a speedy profound effect. Not the first case I’ve heard (more the first of many).
I always said if someone told me keto would work so well I would have done it. I went anti-inflammatory way of eating instead so it took longer than a few weeks.
This way, I could supprt myself in the absence of professional help. So I’m glad you highlight the importance of that as I was having to lean on my intuition and body led direction at the time. Whilst trying to apply the least amount of pressure.
I find it really interesting the “surely it can’t be that simple” question - as I was asked the same.
It is that simple. But putting it into practice and bringing in the support is not usually so easy.
It’s a chronic cycle breaker for sure. But finding a way to do it that is supported and understood whilst meeting patient need is the challenge.
So why did you doctor say you should only do keto for 3 months? You said in the article that you would address that, but I don't think you ever did. I'm curious about this point because I'm reading Dr. Josh Turknett's book, Keto for Migraine, and he feels that people can do keto indefinitely and still be healthy. Thanks.
Hi Donna! Thanks for pointing this out, I did forget to explain this aspect. Here's what I was told, which I'll integrate into the above article:
The keto diet in my situation was not needed for more than three months because of how keto causes the metabolic system to "rest" or "reset." When you're in ketosis, you secrete very little insulin because your blood sugar changes very minimally. This gives your brain--your hypothalamus, specifically, the part of the brain in charge of insulin release via the pancreas--a break and allows insulin receptors across your body to "regenerate" or "resensitize." So after three months, you've give your body enough of a break that the glucose dysregulation does not return when you reintroduce carbs.
I did verify this via continuous glucose monitoring both before and after 3 months of keto, but I haven't found a lot of research papers that sum up this whole process in a useful way. Some things to google would be the effect of keto on insulin receptors and/or the hypothalamus.
As for doing keto long term--I'd be careful with that! You sound like someone who does your homework, so I won't go into the long-term effects of keto on cholesterol, cardiac health, etc. Lots of info out there. 3 months sounds much easier to me, if that's all you need! But, that said, I know of some people that did stay on keto past the three months just because they preferred to. That's totally up to you your body!
Thanks very much. This all makes sense. I am following the Keto for Migraine book by Turknett, but he doesn’t give a lot of color on some points, so I was glad to find your substack on the topic.
May I ask — what happened when you messed up and ate more than your allowed 15 g of carbs when you were still on keto? Maybe it’s hard to remember now. I have been eating keto for about 2 months, have lost 15 pounds (though that was not the point!) and I have had some improvement in my migraines, which were not chronic like yours but rather were episodic.
I’m sure I’m having fewer headaches but I am still getting maybe one big bruiser of a headache per week. Does this sound like it is par for the course? That is, when you are still in the first three-month window with keto, do you still get occasional headaches? Sorry, I know you are not a doctor, I am just trying to figure out what to expect as I go along.
Thanks.
Good question, and I did accidentally exceed 15g a few times (cough medicine has a lot of sugar in it, as it turns out!). Because 15g is way lower than for weight loss keto, I didn't drop out of ketosis (I tested to make sure), and nothing bad happened. The clinic later told me that even if I had dropped out of ketosis for a day or two, I wouldn't have needed to start over. The longterm effect isn't ruined by a blip here of there.
As for migraine frequency, we are indeed comparing apples and oranges if you started episodic, as this method has only been researched for chronic migraine. I've never gotten down to 1 migraine a month (though I would wager your one migraine is more severe than my 3-4, mine are pretty mild nowadays). But yes, I did have some migraines still when doing keto.
Happy to answer any other questions you may have!
Thanks so much! I appreciate the help.
Hey Donna, I updated the post with a slightly briefer answer to your question. I put it under "So you’re not still doing keto, right?"
(Looking for at least a few firm sources before integrating this into the article)
Hi Natalie, I’m in Australia and unfortunately Dr bills doesn’t do zoom consults. I have a very supportive doctor to guide me through keto I hope you don’t mind, I’ve sent you a direct message with a couple of questions. I also would like to add I’ve been wearing a glucose monitor and have made some changes to my diet I have certainly felt the benefits. So grateful for your work in this Natalie, I look forward to reading your book… a huge big thank you. Xx
Also, the key is finding the doctor who will actually take on the challenge! I found mine while doing a routine visit at a clinic. I'm thankful for my sister for recommending great clinics. I had never heard of the clinic before she told me.
So true, Shauna! That’s more than half the battle.
I'm so happy for you, Natalie! I can't do the keto diet because my kidneys are fragile. And the last thing I need is to lose weight. However, I am always thrilled when people find solutions to their migraine.
Thank you for sharing! 💛☀️