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Submitted by Kavitha K on 4 July 2017

Kavita Krishnamoorthy had resigned herself to sacrificing at least four days a month to severe headaches till proper diet, exercise and meditation showed her the way to complete relief. She shares her story of liberation here:

Ever since I turned 30, I have been plagued with debilitating headaches. They would come with unerring regularity –- once mid cycle and once around the time of my period. When they came, they would last for a full 48 hours. A beating down, one-sided headache. I would sometimes feel like someone is playing drums inside my head. The pain would be so bad, I would just cry. Nothing would make them go away. No medicine worked.

Over time, I identified certain food triggers and started avoiding them – no potatoes, cauliflower, rajma, channa, spicy food … the list would keep getting longer. My husband would joke that it’s easier to list what I can eat rather than what I could not.

The headaches would be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a burning in the stomach. Constant fatigue, low energy, breathlessness… the list of things that made me uneasy would be endless. I hated the headaches the most, in fact dreaded them. I was resigned to my fate, as it were, and believed that this just had to be tided over till I hit menopause when I hoped they would cease. My family would be on tenterhooks as the days for the headaches approached, all knowing that anytime, for two days, I would be mostly unavailable and confined to the bed. Four days every month, lost to the HEADACHE.

Around the time I was 45, I met Radha Eswar who had come to meet me professionally. I offered her some tea and she refused. As we got talking, she told me about her own battles with peri-menopausal issues and how her son, Achyutan Eswar, who was training to be a naturopathic doctor had helped her not just manage but cure herself. She said she had given up wheat and dairy and that maybe I should try it too. I looked at her and said, “If I give up wheat and dairy, what do I live on?” and just smiled and let it pass.

About three months later, I had a headache that lasted five full days, relatively mild but five days of pain nevertheless. I then knew I had to do something drastic. I no longer wanted this to continue and was willing to do just about anything to get rid of it. I contacted Radha, who put me on to Dr. Achyutan Eswar, co-founder of the PHC Lifestyle Clinic, Bangalore.

Achyutan listened to me patiently and said that this was most easy to resolve. I looked at him, stupefied – here I was suffering for four days every month, for fifteen long years, and this guy says it’s no big deal. He asked me to stop all animal and processed food (eating wheat and wheat products, milk and milk products, polished rice, refined oil, sugar, iodised salt) and move to a whole foods, plant-based diet. From eating three full meals and a snack in the evening he asked me to move towards two meals only. I had to immediately increase my intake of fruits. 

Slowly, step by step, he helped me cut down on cooked food for breakfast and move to only fruits. Initially it began with half my breakfast being fruits and half of whatever else I would eat, but within the above parameters. So, breakfast would be say an orange, a banana, some pomegranate seeds and one ragi dosa/ ragi idli /neer dosa. Lunch would be fruits, followed by a salad, some cooked vegetables and then some unpolished rice/ millet roti and some dal/ sambar. Dinner would be fruits, some cooked veggies and some rice and dal.

He also insisted on an hour of exercise, which I was just not doing, as I would mostly feel too fatigued on most days. Meditation and relaxation were to be practised every day. There were also other things he advised such as two enemas a day, sun bath, etc. 

The first month after I started following these practices, when I got my period, I found I had a mild headache but it vanished in about 3 hours – from 48 hours to three hours! It was a miracle. This was enough for me. I was ready to keep doing whatever it took. 

Three months down the line, the headaches had stopped completely. I also felt like the middle of my body had disappeared – I was losing weight and I felt so light. My energy levels were better than before. Other symptoms like burning in the stomach, listlessness, etc. all disappeared. Most importantly, I felt in control of my health and was not feeling powerless or helpless any more. All I had to do was follow the naturopathic practices and my headaches would stay away. 

I have lost 18 kgs over two and a half years and all my symptoms. The 48-hour headache has not come back even once, though some symptoms such as a mild headache for a couple of hours, some burning in the stomach, etc. do reappear in case I digress from the diet consistently, which happens on long travels. 

There were major lifestyle changes I made. Fruits became a huge part of my diet. What goes into my plate is in reverse proportion of what used to go in earlier. At every meal its 3-4 fruits, some soaked nuts and dried fruits, 2 veggies, and lastly a small helping of some grains – unpolished rice/ millets and pulses, in this order. Potatoes, cauliflower, rajma, channa are back on my plate! I became more regular with exercise (yoga), meditation and relaxation. 

It took me one year to get the diet changes in place. The second year was about getting an exercise regime in place. And now in the third year, I am working at keeping the mind calm and stress free. Stress seems to be the one thing that can set the body off in a tizzy again!

It has however, not been all smooth sailing. After about 6-8 months of these practices, I found I was not feeling so energetic and would feel fatigued but Dr. Achyutan told me it is the body healing and that I should rest a lot. That was not always possible and there were set backs because of this. 

Cravings would kick in and I would digress from the diet. Over time, that has decreased. I still do digress but now it’s mostly when I travel, or eat out. But I would say, I am usually able to stick to it.  

Sometimes I feel like I have lost too much weight and have been struggling to regain some weight, which I am told will happen when the body has healed itself. There may be some way to go yet for me. I still feel tired on and off. I do see how stress affects my health and am working on calming the mind and being at peace.

But, net-net, the headaches have gone.  So many other symptoms have gone. I have a general feeling of wellbeing. At 48, I have more strength, endurance and flexibility than I have ever had in my entire life. I now look forward to reaching a state of better health and regaining both some weight and energy. 

Without a doubt, none of this would have been possible if not for that chance meeting with Radha and the patient, consistent hand holding and guidance by Dr Achyutan, for which I am filled with so much gratitude. 
 

 

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