Amanda Richardson, BCDFN, CFNC
Your migraines have a reason.
Let's find it.
Functional Wellness for Migraine Healing
I'm Amanda Richardson, Board Certified Doctor of Functional Nutrition. I live with hemiplegic migraine and spent years learning why. If you have been told your only option is to manage the pain and hope for fewer bad days, I want you to know that is not the full picture.
Whether your migraines or chronic headaches are lifelong, late-onset, or changing in ways nobody has explained, there is usually something deeper going on. That is exactly where I started.
Migraine and Chronic Headache Relief Starts Here
Does This Sound Like You?
You have a meeting you can't miss. And yet there it is. A tingling in your face. A blotchy spot in your vision. That familiar ache in your neck you can't rub out. Maybe an unusual craving for carbs that feels random but somehow you just know. For me, I drop things a lot because my right side begins to get numb and weak. Our bodies send us unique signals, like a special code only we can unlock, and unfortunately we know exactly what's coming...
​
And still you hope it's your imagination. Until it's not. Until you're in bed with the lights out, mask on, cold pack on your head, begging the universe that the pain and the cognitive fog lift before your meeting begins. Spoiler Alert: It won't.
​
Then there's the migraine itself. And I don't know about you, but people who don't get them will simply never understand.
No, taking my ponytail out will not fix the pain. And maybe someone told them that cutting out chocolate cured theirs. Good for them... That's not how my body works either.
There's so much advice out there from people who mean well but genuinely don't know. And if you don't know, you just simply don't get it.
​
Then comes the postdrome. For me it's complete and utter exhaustion. My body has been fighting so hard and my eyes physically won't stay open. No amount of caffeine will save that meeting I've already missed.
​
I get all of it. But what matters most is this: I get that my symptoms aren't your symptoms. What helps me might not help you. I understand that and I thrive in that space because your version of feeling better is what we're working toward. Not mine. Not a protocol I found online. Yours.
What Is Functional Nutrition for
Migraine and Chronic Headache?
It means we look at your whole person, not just the thing that is causing you pain.
​
I believe in science and in what science has not yet caught up to.. There is space for all of it and there are times to lean into one more than the other. What matters is what your body actually needs.
​
I want to hear your story. I want to understand how you got to exactly this place so I can build on the strengths you are too tired and in too much pain to see you have.
​
We will look at your lab work and scans together and form a picture that is not based on what is 'within normal range' but what is right for you and your body specifically.
​
It will take time. But every tiny step we take toward one more good day will be worth the work. And once you start feeling better it will not feel like work anymore. It will feel like living!
Functional Nutrition Migraine Care:
How We Work Together
We start with a free 20-30 minute consultation. No pressure, just an honest conversation about what has been going on and whether I think I can help.
​
If it feels like a good fit, the next step is your Functional Intake. A 90-minute deep dive into your full history, followed by a 45 minute session where I deliver your personalized wellness plan and we walk through it together.​
​
​From there, some women move into ongoing support. Others take their plan and go. Either way is completely fine.
Migraine and Chronic Headache:
Common Questions
Q: Do I need a migraine diagnosis to work with you?
A: Not at all. Many women I work with have never been given a clear diagnosis. We start with your symptoms and your story and build from there.
​
Q: I have seen neurologists and tried medications. Is there anything left to try?
A: Yes. And if you feel like you have already tried every diet or elimination approach out there, I want you to know that generic protocols are not the same as a plan built specifically around your migraine pattern and your body. My approach looks at the full picture including nutrition, lifestyle, and energetic health, asking the questions that have not been asked yet and bringing tools to the table that most conventional care simply does not offer.
​
Q: Do you work virtually?
A: Yes. I work with women virtually across the country. Same depth, same attention, same care.
​
Q: How long does this take?
A: That depends entirely on your body and your history. Some women feel meaningful shifts within weeks. Others need longer. I will never keep you in care longer than is genuinely useful.​
You Have Been Patient Long Enough
If you have made it this far, something resonated. Good. That means you are ready.
​
I am here when you are, but let me be honest with you. You deserve to feel better and I will do everything in my power to get you there. This is a team effort though. I need you showing up for yourself as much as I show up for you.
​
This is not a sprint. It's a marathon. I am still learning about my own triggers all the time. Just recently I discovered that stevia is completely out for me in any form. I found an electrolyte powder from a brand I love and trust, switched to their monk fruit version, and within a few weeks I was in a complete unending cycle with no idea what was causing it. Electrolyte powders are officially out for me. Every single one. I thought I had finally found one I could tolerate and I was wrong.
​
That is the work. It is detective work. It is patient, consistent, sometimes frustrating detective work. But every single thing we figure out is one less thing working against you.
​
So if your body has been asking for help and you have been putting it off, waiting for the right time, hoping it gets better on its own, that time is now. Let's get to work and find your answers.
About Amanda Richardson, Doctor of Functional Nutrition
"I decided it was not ok. It would not be my story or rule my life."
I shrunk my own lymph nodes. I avoided chemo. I significantly reduced the migraines that ruled my life and got off five prescription medications.
My body healed in ways I was told were impossible. Once you experience something like that, you cannot just sit on it.
​
I do this work because you are exhausted from being dismissed, rushed and told to settle for feeling awful. I am not here for that. I am here because you know something is off, you feel everything in her body and you want real answers, not another handout telling you to drink more water and hope for the best.
​
You deserve a plan that fits your life, not someone else’s rules. You deserve support that feels human. You deserve to feel good again, not ten years from now on 5 different medications, but starting today with small wins that actually stick.
​
This is why I do what I do. Because I healed myself, and now I am here to help you do the same. And truly, nothing fires me up more than watching you get your life back!​​​​
Board Certified Doctor of Functional Nutrition | Certified Reiki & Shamanic Healing Practitioner
It Goes Beyond Words...
I'm an empty nester with a husband who lives on the other side of the world. And although we primarily have a FaceTime marriage, he is still my rock, pushing me to find the answers I needed for so long, supporting me when I had to find them on my own.
​
For most of my life I did what so many women do. I pushed through symptoms, ignored my own instincts and told everyone I was fine while my body was begging for help. I lived in survival mode without even realizing it. Eventually everything caught up to me and my body fell apart in ways I could not ignore anymore.
​
What followed was years of frustration, fear and being dismissed, but also the beginning of something bigger. I started asking different questions. I began listening to my body instead of fighting it. Bit by bit I healed things I was told were impossible to fix. I shrunk my lymph nodes, avoided chemo, reduced my migraines and got off five prescription medications. I slowly became someone who understood her body, trusted her intuition and finally felt well again.
​
Now I get to be fully present for my new grandson, be an example to my adult children that age does not dictate what we want to accomplish in life and that there is always light on the other side of a very long dark tunnel.
​
That journey is the heart of my work and the reason NOURIVA exists. My full story is a little wild, a little messy and full of moments that changed everything for me. If you are tired of feeling sick, confused or unseen, you are not alone. I built this practice because of all of it, and I show up for every client because of it.
