How Life & Soul changed her life
August 6th 2022 is a date I will always remember. It was the day I started taking Life & Soul, and little did I know I would never experience a migraine again. I had been a panel member with Outspoken Beauty Trialling Panel, organised and run by the legendary Nicola Bonn, and an opportunity came up to be part of a trial of Life & Soul Pure Omega-3 mini capsules by Bare Biology. I couldn’t believe my eyes; a matter of days earlier, I had come across a report in the BMJ from 2021 linking a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, with the possible reduction in the frequency and severity of migraines. The research was a randomised clinical trial with 182 participants; 88% were women, with a typical age of 38, experiencing migraines 5 to 20 days a month. The results showed that the frequency of headaches was statistically decreased on the high omega-3 diet, with a reduction in headache hours per day and headaches per month, as well as shorter and less severe headaches. I replied to Nicola within seconds to secure my place on the trial!
For the past 17 years, I had suffered from excruciating and debilitating chronic migraines. I had seen a number of neurologists, a community headache specialist GP, had MRI scans, I had been on every possible prescribed drug, including preventive medications such as Amitriptyline, Propranolol, Topiramate, Sodium Valproate, Pizotifen, as well as taking supplements at specific high doses recommended by NICE which I self-funded. Magnesium, Riboflavin, Co-enzyme Q10 - and acute medications, including various triptans in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, injections and melts, as well as over-the-counter analgesia. Of course, each time a new medication was prescribed and tried, it would take weeks to see if there was any benefit, during which time I was still migraining. They might work for a month or two, reducing the frequency, but then I’d revert back to square one. I went to a pain clinic and tried TENS, acupressure and acupuncture. At my worst, I was getting migraines the week before my period, the week of my period and the week after my period, very often giving me only one week when I was pretty much granted a break before it all began again. I remember keeping a migraine diary, and I had 15 migraines a month. No sooner did one end than another one began. The migraines would make my scalp feel tender to the touch; it would start at the front of my head and move over the top, down my neck. I would get a very distinct aura where I would start to yawn over and over again and feel incredibly tired; then the pain would start and last for hours or days. The headache then changed, and it was always coming just in my left temple. I likened it to someone slowly pushing a screwdriver or ice pick into my head; it was excruciating and would last for hours. It would wake me up usually in the early hours of the morning, and I would have to lay on my side in bed, scrunch my hand up and push the knuckles into the temple to try and relieve the pain. There wasn’t a stone left unturned, and I made contact with every migraine charity, support group, or association for help. And then, as if things couldn’t get worse, I started vomiting when I had an attack. Fortunately, this only started around the last year or so of my migraine journey, but it was so unpleasant that I had to get an anti-emetic prescribed to help with the nausea.
How I managed to hold a job down as a nurse, I will never know. But being single, I had no choice but to push through the inconvenience and work. So when I started taking the Life & Soul capsules, I was very, very dubious. I was sceptical and had zero belief in them doing anything. How on earth would a dollop of fish oil stop my headaches? I took them religiously for the period of the trial, and then my next period came and went, no headache! On I went, the trial ended, and I continued purchasing them, first through the Amazon shop and then setting up a monthly subscription. The months came and went, and I kept in contact with founder Melanie. No migraines. We hit a year being migraine-free, and I celebrated with Nicola and Melanie. I was still ovulating, still having a monthly period, although clearly very perimenopausal, so in theory, hormones were even wilder than ever! As I write this, July 2024, I am 1 month away from celebrating 2 years of being migraine-free. In that time, I haven’t had even a twinge of that very unique migraine pain. I have told this story at every opportunity when I meet healthcare professionals to try and get this message out to their patients who might be struggling, as I was. As a clinician myself, I was incredibly sceptical, but I am proof these little capsules are life-changing. Nothing else altered whilst I did the trial; my medications remained the same, my diet and exercise were the same, my job, my stress levels, and my monthly cycle were all exactly the same. The one and only thing that changed was taking Life & Soul. It can only be the capsules that changed my life, can’t it? They stopped the migraines in their tracks. I love supporting this small, female-founder brand, with outstanding customer service and a product range that screams quality, purity and efficacy. I’ve gone on to purchase Beam & Balance and Skinful, but the one product I will always have in my arsenal on a paid subscription is Life & Soul. I have taken it every single day since the trial began. And I have Melanie to thank for creating a product and Nicola for running the trial, which gave me my quality of life back. I hope they both know how much this means.
Written by Hannah
Bare Biology Customer
