headaches?

[Laketon79]

My husband gets bad headaches for the past 9 years. What has helped you?

[Susan W]

So sorry to hear about your husband's headaches. Maybe Melissa or a moderator will chime in with specifics, but I say give it a go. Short of carb withdrawls, there is nothing that can make things worse.

[LRM]

I agree with Susan. While I can't comment on your husband's specific issue, I can say I personally have experienced tremendous relief from chronic pain with this lifestyle, including pain from a serious neck injury. I believe this is due to a reduction of inflammation in my system. Additionally, there are so many other health benefits to this way of eating that it is definitely worth a try. All the best to you and your husband.

[Laketon79]

It will be a stretch getting him to try this, he's tried so many things to help with his headaches, so I was hoping to hear some success stories.

[kaiser179]

I didn't exactly suffer from chronic headaches, but I did experience regular headaches whenever I tried to diet and go "low carb" and "low fat" before I discovered Whole 30.  Once I started to add fat back to my diet, I found that the headaches were nearly non-existent.  I found that the added fat really made me feel better.

 

So aside from the obvious answer of drinking a lot more water, I would try adding healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, etc.) at each meal and see if he feels better.  Good luck!

[Beets]

I have no experience with this but you might find some more success stories on Paleo Hacks. There is a bigger base of users there and you might find something. 

 

Good luck. My husband has sarcoidosis (a potentially life threatening autoimmune disease) and I wish he would join me. But, as they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. It's frustrating and even heart-breaking when people we love won't take steps we want them to take to make their lives easier. The best you can do is lead by example--and make yummy food he likes. Maybe eventually he'll see the wisdom of your ways! 

[yuubou]

Sorry to join the party late!

I just finished my Whole 30 & it did help with my headaches.  I had noticed that I had been getting headaches more often & started writing it down, where I realized I was getting them most every day.  That led me to the Whole 30 before seeking medication.

 

My headaches went away after about 6 or 7 days, although I did go through the "sick" phase in the beginning when things were worse.  In Days 7 through 30 I think I maybe got 1 mild headache, compared to daily headaches that lasted 4-5 hours.

 

I am now testing foods and have found Dairy Proteins to be a big cause (Whey hits hard and fast, Casein is slower but longer lasting).  I also got pain yesterday behind my eyes after having Soy but realized Gluten & msg could have been in the soy sauce, so I plan to go Whole 30 for a few more days and retest using just Edamame or something.

 

I think my headaches were definitely due to food intolerance.  However, if your husband got his after trauma, wouldn't that most likely be the cause?  If he is also sensitive to different foods, it might lessen the severity of them. I could also see this diet helping with lowering inflammation over all and helping in that way. 

 

I hope he feels better!  Maybe if you decide to do the Whole 30 for 30 days, you can convince him to join you in support?

[Guest]

I am currently on a whole30 after an MRI scan, as a result of headaches, has shown an abnormality on the brain!!! I am trying to reduce inflammation through diet and am also seeing a chiropractor whilst waiting for my neurologist referral to come through.

[A_Whole_New_Me]

My husband gets bad headaches for the past 9 years. What has helped you?

What have you tried?

[Mary T.]

This is a good topic to continue talking about. I've dealt with migraines, tension headaches, and ice pick headaches ever since a TBI and skull fracture a few years ago. Slowly going paleo helped tremendously with my migraines since those have huge food cues. Intensive exercise helped the most with my tension headaches. So far no real "cure" to ice pick headaches and I've had periods of barely functioning the first week of Whole30 as these came on in full force. I've had multiple conversations with myself trying to decide if this was worth continuing because of the headaches I worked so hard to get rid of. If someone is not really fully on board with Whole30 and their symptoms get much worse through it, that'll be a hard sell to continue it. Because headaches can be so debilitating, and the vast majority of us can't take that kind of break from life without serious vocational, personal, and mental consequences, maybe have him go paleo slowly before committing to the very strict Whole30.

[DawnMac]

I was tested for food intolerances a couple of years ago, which included several grains, nuts and dairy. Since cutting those things out I have eliminated abdominal pain and most of my headaches. But since starting Whole 30 my headaches seems to have escalated. I am not cheating and I feel I am eating a balanced diet. I haven't been hungry or craving since probably Day 3. Very frustrated!

[ladyshanny]

I was tested for food intolerances a couple of years ago, which included several grains, nuts and dairy. Since cutting those things out I have eliminated abdominal pain and most of my headaches. But since starting Whole 30 my headaches seems to have escalated. I am not cheating and I feel I am eating a balanced diet. I haven't been hungry or craving since probably Day 3. Very frustrated!

 

Hi Dawn, try posting a few days worth of your food (including portion sizes/quantities) fluids, exercise, stress and sleep and the wonderful folks here can review and see if there is anything that we can suggest.

[DawnMac]

.5 avo, 2 salmon cakes, green pepper slices

Black coffee, chamomile tea

Baby spinach w red peppers and zucchini, 2 sausage

Chicken, .5 sweet potato, cuke slices

Bit of pineapple and strawberries, handful macadamia nuts

5L H2O

[ladyshanny]

Holy smokes, FIVE litres of water?  You're well hydrated!  

 

You are not eating enough, my friend.  If I ate as little as you have there I'd have a roaring migraine and eat my coworker!

 

Your fat at breakfast is good, you need more veggies and probably another salmon cake or maybe an egg over them. 

Unless your spinach salad was a mixing bowl's worth, you need extra veggies there too as salad greens don't satisfy longterm.  Try adding a cooked veggie.  Lunch needs a fat also.

The chicken dinner needs more veggies and depending on how much chicken, maybe more of that too.  And fat.

 

Not sure what sort of consumption you had prior to Whole30, you said you eliminated some grains and dairy.  While we don't count calories on Whole30, there is usually a difference between the amount of them people were eating and how many they are eating on Whole30.  A very low consumption as you have there can be a primary cause for headaches, nausea, exhaustion, mood swings etc.

 

Here is the meal template in case you haven't seen it. For now I would suggest you try to hit the middle of the template at each meal and tweak as you go.

 

Summary

1-2 palms of protein (length, width and depth)

2-4 cups veggies (more if it's salad greens)

1-2 thumbs fat (or half to whole avocado or handful olives)

*recommendation is to also include at least one fist sized serving of starchy veggie once a day...more if you are very active, more if you are pregnant or nursing, more if you are approaching your period, more if you feel that you need it

Do this three times a day...at least and let us know how you go!

[DawnMac]

I tested intolerant to both whites and yolks. Have tried to add eggs back in as breakfast is difficult... But I can only eat 1 and can't do it everyday.

Pre Whole 30 I was eating some gluten free granola for breakfast. Or I would have a buckwheat banana muffin but none with any other meal.

I put EVOO on my salad and ghee on my sweet potato. I will try increasing protein and veggies. I have been only having 1 piece of chicken with dinner but I am very full after.

Thank you for your input!

[lcdak]

I used to struggle with daily headaches for years. Sometimes my contacts were the issue, or the MSG laden Chinese food I ate, or stress.

 

What saved me was discovering Mark's Daily Apple a few years back. I went primal for over a month and my life completely changed. I can honestly say that removing grains from my diet saved my life (not that I was dying from headaches or anything) but any ailment I had up until then vanished. My mind was clearer, I was happier and full of joy, my guts felt healthy and happy, I wasn't a raging snacker...I basically became a new me. The real me.

 

Like Beets said...it's definitely hard to convince someone to try the Whole30 or something similar when all they're used to eating are grains and sugar. We all know it's an addiction. So she's right when she says the only thing we can do in a situation like this is to lead by example. They'll be sure to be affected by the positive changes they see in you.

 

Does your husband like steak and potatoes? Because that's Whole30 compliant...

 

I wouldn't mind eating that everyday...haha.

 

 

 

 

Best wishes to you and your husband.