For almost two decades, Rachel Weaver’s life was a whirlwind.
In January 2006, at 31, she had just relocated to Colorado to pursue a graduate writing program. However, on the morning of her orientation, she experienced an alarming dizziness the likes of which she had never encountered.
She was, by all accounts, “very healthy,” and initially thought it was just pre-orientation jitters.
But as the day unfolded, she felt increasingly unsteady without any clear reason. “And then for 18 years, it never stopped,” Weaver, now 51 and the author of the memoir *Dizzy*, recounted. “The dizziness varied a bit, but it generally felt like I was perpetually seasick, like everything was in motion around me.”
She sought help from numerous doctors, seeing over 40 specialists in a decade. After countless MRI scans, blood tests, and X-rays, she finally received a diagnosis: chronic vestibular migraine, a unique type of migraine marked by dizziness, imbalance, nausea, and vomiting.
In contrast to the 40 million Americans suffering from typical chronic migraines, Weaver seldom experienced severe headaches; instead, her symptoms were dominated by vertigo. Vestibular migraine occurs in about three percent of the U.S. population, with women being five times more likely to be affected.
Once she had a diagnosis, Weaver began managing her symptoms for the first time. She utilized a mix of Botox injections every three months, pain-blocking nerve blocks every few weeks, and medications like sumatriptan and Toradol, alongside SSRIs and physical therapy.
However, everything changed in 2022 when she tested positive for COVID-19.
“I traveled for work and came back home with COVID,” she shared. “Then, everything just stopped working—my migraine medications, everything. I was back to those horrendous, debilitating symptoms, all day, every day.”
In desperation, she sought out various migraine clinics across the country, feeling like she’d exhausted all options.
In 2024, she discovered a clinical trial at Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo, Utah. This was led by Dr. Kyle Bills, a neuroscientist who had been motivated to explore chronic migraine due to its significant impact on his mother’s life.
For Bills, migraines took a toll not only on the sufferer but also left them with feelings of guilt and loss for not being able to engage fully in life.
Existing research indicates that chronic migraines, defined as at least 15 headache days a month, stem from numerous factors including obesity, stress, hormonal changes, genetics, and the overuse of medication. Yet, many patients still lack clear answers.
Bills’s research team investigated a surprising factor: blood sugar levels (glucose), which fluctuate based on diet, exercise, and hormones.
“Many patients noted, ‘If I don’t eat, I get a migraine.’ That was such a commonly reported issue,” Bills observed, prompting his team to explore why this connection had not been adequately studied.
He explained that when glucose levels rise after a meal, insulin is released, activating receptors that pull glucose into cells. However, many patients reported experiencing migraines after certain foods or when they didn’t eat, hinting at insulin receptor insensitivity—which makes cells less responsive to insulin and could lead to elevated glucose levels that trigger migraines.
The researchers began by conducting glucose tolerance tests, typically used during pregnancy to screen for gestational diabetes.
The results exhibited trends of high blood sugar after meals. To monitor glucose fluctuations throughout the day, they implemented continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), which measure glucose levels every five minutes for two weeks at a time.
These devices, which cost between $50 and $100, attach to the back of the arm and track glucose in the interstitial fluid, providing round-the-clock data.
This approach enabled a more in-depth analysis of how meal compositions related to glucose levels influenced migraines. “It truly opened our eyes,” Bills remarked.
The study, published in January, examined 247 adults with chronic migraines compared to 24 healthy individuals. It showed a clear correlation: higher glucose levels were associated with increased migraine occurrence.
The migraine patients were categorized based on their glucose responses. Weaver, along with about 50 to 60 percent of participants, was found to have reactive hypoglycemia, where her glucose dropped shortly after eating.
In follow-up research yet to be published, Bills’s team tested a ketogenic diet—an approach that severely limits carbohydrates, known to elevate glucose. The rationale was that avoiding these spikes could lower the risk of crashes.
Participants, including Weaver, adhered to a strict keto diet for three months, allowing just 15 grams of carbohydrates per day—equivalent to a slice of bread or half a cup of cooked pasta.
“It’s a challenging change for your body, and it really should be done under supervision,” she cautioned.
For context, U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that 45 to 65 percent of daily calories come from carbohydrates. This translates to 225 to 325 grams daily for someone consuming 2,000 calories.
Bills’s team then worked with participants, helping them identify their individual “carb ceilings.” For Weaver, that was 50 grams—that’s about two medium bananas or three medium apples.
Many participants actually had higher carb thresholds, around 80 to 100 grams, which appeared effective in ameliorating symptoms. “We were surprised by how well it worked,” Bills stated.
Weaver continues on the diet, attributing it to significant enhancements in her health.
“I’ve felt fine since then,” she noted. “I went from debilitating migraines every day for 18 years to just one to three days a month.”
“It’s a stunning transformation. I got my whole life back,” she added.
Now, Weaver takes only two medications for her migraines—an SSRI and an SNRI—compared to nearly a dozen at her worst.
She acknowledged, “I don’t consider myself completely free from migraines. I remain sensitive to triggers; if I don’t sleep well, I might feel slightly dizzy or foggy, but it’s nothing compared to before.”
“I think I still have that migraine brain, but it’s finally more stable,” she concluded.
Bills noted that while “the emerging data is truly promising,” any strict dietary regimen like keto should only be undertaken with medical oversight. Given the complexity of migraine, he emphasized that such changes aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
He added that using a CGM could be a low-risk method for migraine patients to gather valuable information for discussions with their doctors.
Weaver, who has endured nearly two decades of dizziness, is now eager to reclaim time, especially with her twin teenagers, thanks to her improving condition.
“I can work. I can engage with people more freely than I have in years,” she expressed.
“And the best part is being more present with my kids. I don’t have to head to bed at 6 p.m. out of exhaustion. I can engage in conversations and enjoy activities with them. I feel ready to have fun again.”
“It’s hard to express how it feels to move from being so unwell to now feeling okay most of the time.”
*Weaver’s memoir, Dizzy, is available through various booksellers.*
