Headache cure

How Apex Clinic cleared my 23 year headache

Persistent headaches and migraines can do more than just get you down; they can totally ruin your life. For sufferers of longterm headaches and migraines, it can feel as though there is no hope. This month we interviewed George, a 65-year-old businessman from Belfast, who lived under the shadow of debilitating headaches every day for 23 years before booking an appointment with Rebecca Nelson at Apex Headache Clinic.

George, can you tell us a bit about your headaches and how they first started?

There are two distinct events that my headaches may be traced back to. In 1986, I had a bad skiing accident catching my back on a tree stump and breaking a bone in my mid spine. Two years after this, I suffered whiplash in a car accident. From the day of the car crash, I suffered from a persistent headache that was with me every minute of every day for 23 years.

How have your headaches affected your life?

Around the time of the accident, I was establishing my own business and my wife and I were also raising a young family. I was constantly exhausted and at weekends needed to spend large parts of Saturday and Sunday in bed. I was always in bad form and had no energy for my children. I felt utterly desperate and without hope; I really can’t put into words just how miserable and alone my headaches made me feel.

23 years seems a long time to suffer from a headache. Did you try to seek help and get treatment to ease the pain?

As anyone who has suffered from longterm pain will know, you feel like you would give anything to be normal again. I did it all; I saw three orthopaedic surgeons, a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, I had an MRI scan, received physiotherapy and was finally prescribed very powerful painkillers whose side effects made normal life an impossibility. Besides living on a daily dose of eight paracetamols and eight ibuprofens, I also tried every form of alternative medicine including: acupuncture, kinesiology, cranial massage, Thai massage, yoga, reflexology, chiropractic and osteopathy. I probably spent tens of thousands of pounds over the years – as much as £200
per month – on different therapies. Three years ago, I felt like I had reached rock bottom and was convinced there was nobody out there who could find the cure to my headaches, or who even cared. That was when my wife read an article about Apex Headache Clinic and pleaded with me to give it a go.

How has Apex Headache Clinic changed your life?

From my first consultation with Rebecca Nelson at Apex Headache Clinic, I felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time, I felt I was being listened to.Rebecca refused to give up on me. Her
determination and great skill finally produced the miracle that has changed my life forever when, after a number
of months, I had my first pain-free day in over two decades. The relief of this breakthrough was immense. I am now
living with 90% headache-free days to 10% with mild headaches and receive a ‘maintenance’ treatment every three
weeks. It is hard to find words that describe just how much of a difference Rebecca Nelson and the Apex Headache Clinic have made to my life. I finally have my life back and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

Apex Headache Clinic opened its doors in May 2012 as the first medication-free headache and migraine clinic in the whole of Ireland. Apex Headache Clinic’s unique, evidence-based drug-free headache and migraine treatment is bringing new hope to sufferers of all ages, clearing their pain and allowing them to live normal, pain-free lives.