Migraines

[KatieGirl]

I have had these for the last 15 years.  While I only had 3 during my Whole30 I was hoping for none!

 

I find that most of them are attributed to barometric pressure changes. (I live in Northern Indiana so we have a lot of those!)

 

Is it possible that there really is just no cure for them?  That it might just be hereditary?  My mom has them and I also have some siblings that have them.  

 

Just curious.  And if that's the only thing that didn't get cleaned up after my Whole30 I am okay with that!!

[GFChris]

I'm no expert on migraines, but wonder if you've explored these possible avenues?

- First, are you staying sufficiently hydrated during the day?  Drink water, at least half your body weight in ounces, daily.
- Possible professionals who might be able to help: chiropractor, acupuncturist, kinesiologist, functional medicine practitioner. 

[lexes42]

KatieGirl,

 

I also did the W30 with migraines in mind.  I went 39 days (re-intro'd dairy today)

 

I had only 'slightly' fewer medication needing migraines in August.... but it is fair to say the ones I had were much milder.  I actually missed work during stormy June and July and after having migraines for 20 years, that was enough to make me finally try the whole 30.

 

I cannot remember who assured me that her migraines have slowly decreased month by month to 'rarely' - but that is after months and months of paleo and a couple W30s.  I hope she chimes in....

 

I'm convinced that Nutrasweet (diet coke) and wheat / gluten contribute to the severity of my migraines.  But unfortunately it's not so direct as have a bagel and a soda and then feel crap right away.  That would make it easier to identify!

 

 My migraines are primarily weather / hormonal related.  I've tried nearly everything and the only thing my doctor can offer (besides medication) is the promise that they will 'likely' go away with menopause (they disappeared when I was pregnant / nursing).  I've had some help from functional medicine doctors, acupuncturists and chiropractors... but if they are truly weather related what they provide will (at best I think) only lessen the severity / frequency.

 

Migraines are, in fact,  hereditary and the ones that are hormonal / weather related are the hardest to manage.  I take magnesium and B vitamins to assist as well, although people swear by other herbs like feverfew or supplements like CoQ10. 

 

Good luck with the migraines - I am trying to track my closely so that it's inspiration to stay away from sugar, wheat... and diet coke (which I still miss).

[lexes42]

Found her note!  This is from Bojibelle:

Lexes42 - I too have migraines (since age 20 and I am now 59) and I started the paleo journey September 2012.  After the first month my headaches went from 15 to 6.  Second month 4, then 3, the it stabilized at 2 per month until July of this year, 2013.  I am now down to 1 per month maybe. It is so worth the journey so please stick with it.  And I want to write the neurologist who only wanted to give me drugs and tell him neener neener, look what I did with food which you said wouldn't change anything.   I also found out that I have sleep apnea and have taken care of that by fixing a deviated septum and getting a mouthguard to sleep with. Good luck! 

[Carlaccini]

Yes I started the whole 30 last year as a cure  to help migraines.  My first was a whole 45.  I did not get a migraine during the entire time.  I finally got one 2 months after and it lasted for 2 hours.  Compared to 3 days this was fantastic. 

 

Mine are hormonal so they can be difficult to manage but I have been whole 9 (+3 whole 30's) for a year and the migraines have not been completely eliminated.  But yes they are milder and fewer.  I have to watch it though.  As I don't get immdiate feedback.  So something that I ate 3 weeks ago can affect me now. 

 

Give it a lot of time and patienece.  It will come eventually.  After a year I am starting to tweak my diet some more - I think eliminating nightshades are going to help me - especially some of the heavier spices (I am presently in mourning of these) but if it makes me feel better, then it is so worth it.

[KJT]

I've found that eliminating caffeine also helps, though the first few days after stopping I thought my head would fall off from the pain.

[Robin D]

I've actually had an increase in migraines on my current Whole 15 + Whole 30 (I had a day in-between for my anniversary), but I think that may be due to either a change in my blood sugar or horomones or stress (not sure which) and they are mostly when I exercise.  Does anyone have any experience with eliminating night shades? How long did it take to see a difference?

[KatieGirl]

I'm no expert on migraines, but wonder if you've explored these possible avenues?

- First, are you staying sufficiently hydrated during the day?  Drink water, at least half your body weight in ounces, daily.

- Possible professionals who might be able to help: chiropractor, acupuncturist, kinesiologist, functional medicine practitioner. 

Yup, I know about the hydration!  Have tried acupuncture, beta blockers, relpax, imitrex etc.  Right now Excedrin Migraine works for me.  It's just a battle I have had for so long.  We have it narrowed down to barometric pressure changes and weather...

 

I have magnesium and b12 in the diet for sure.

 

I don't do a lot of caffeine either so that is not a trigger for me...

Thanks for the encouragement and advice!!

[Photo_Mom]

I'm on day 15 of my first Whole30. I've been off all wheat/gluten for over a year. I saw two main benefits: was able to get off one of my two daily migraine preventatives (beta blocker) with no increase in headaches and all my kidney stones have disappeared. My migraines decreased in frequency down to two per week which are relieved by Immitrex and rest. My neurologist was happy. I also saw my energy levels increase (some) and decreased fibromyalgia symptoms.

I started this Whole30 with the hopes of getting rid of the rest of my migraines. I've been disappointed with the lack of progress in this area. Still having two per week. I went off my Magnesium and D3 before I started since they weren't compliant. I'm starting on Natural Calm tonight to see if that will help.

I've had migraines since 1995 so I know it can take a while to heal I was just hoping to find some triggers that I could avoid by strictly following the Whole30 plan. The idea of giving up nightshades is totally overwhelming.

I drink tons of water and caffeine is not an issue. Oh, and I'm in the lucky 25% of women who still have migraines post menopausal. Stress and Sleep, yes they could be better but I have two teen daughters. They are awesome but still impact both.

Thanks for letting me vent. I'd love to hear more stories of what is working and what others are feeling, good or bad.

BTW, my oldest daughter has seen a decrease in her migraines since going wheat free in January. Thankfully, she was only having a couple per month and she is virtually headache free now. She is also doing the Whole30 with me.

[Wendyland]

I've also had migraines for about 15 years.  I get auras where I see zig zagging lines and lose part of my vision.  It's really scary when it happens.  I haven't been able to find what triggers them.  I know two other members of my family (both women) who also get them.  I found by coincidence that b12 injections help me.  I did a series of shots and now give myself one a month.  I've only had one migraine since last November and that was when I was late taking my shot.  I was getting one every three weeks last fall.   I hope that a change of diet will get my b12 levels back up naturally and I can quit the shot. 

[Photo_Mom]

Wanted to check in and see how people are doing with their migraines. I found out on Day 29 of my first Whole30 that the red wine vinegar I was using had a form of sulfite in it. I restarted on Oct 1. I am seeing real improvement in the migraine area. Only one since the restart. I've had a low grade dull headache most of the time but only 1 migraine. I've cut back on eggs and tomatoes and that seems to have helped. I just can't bring myself to ditch all the nightshades, I, and my family, love them too much.

My oldest(16), who did the Whole30 with me, only had one migraine during that month. I hope she continues to embrace the Whole9 plan so she can keep that up. My youngest (14) was just diagnosed with migraines. She was diagnosed with whey and casein allergies when she was three and has not been willing to give up her cereals and bread. But she has been loving the new recipes I've been making.

[Bet]

I used to get migraines all the time. Mine are also weather/hormone related. When I was going through menopause I was also diagnosed with hashis hypothyroid. Once my thyroid was treated, my headaches went way down. I still get them from weather though.

 

If you have b12 issues (I also had that), you can take supplements that go under the tongue, which absorb rather than go through the digestive track. Many of us have low stomach acid, which means we can't digest b12. Taking digestive enzymes also helps with that.

[ArynKyan]

My migraines have really tapered out as I've gone through this whole 30. I'm on day 20 and I've only had one day where my body almost went to migraine mode but a little caffeine and Aleve took it away very quickly! Previously I had been getting migraines for days at a time, a few times a month. I'm so happy with the way I feel now that even though I miss the sugary treats, I'm just fine passing them up!!

I do go to the chiropractor twice a week and I'm still on some preventative meds. I have decreased both meds though, and am almost ready to stop one!!

Hope everyone else sees lots of success!!

[HollisC]

Hi! This is my first post and I've never been in any kind of forum before so everything is new!

First, thank you for sharing your own experiences with migraines....my story is very similar to a few of you...had them since i was young, hormonal & weather related etc...It made me feel better somehow to know that I wasn't alone~

 

I started the Whole 30 (on Day 7) with the hope and motivation that I could take some control of this situation~

Of course, I chose to start in the middle of my cycle and actually in the middle of 3 days of migraine "management" (I take Imitrex)~ So this was interesting! It's been a bad one and I haven't had any alleviation but it's only the first week~

I am 51 and my doctor had warned me that before menopause, all monthly symptoms have a tendency to increase~ lovely!

 

I think I'll have to recover from giving up my evening wine and afternoon chocolate before I can think of trying other eliminations! I've been eating a 90% Paleo diet for about a year so meals were thankfully not a huge leap from what I've been doing already.

If wine turns out to be a trigger, I will definitely be sad (!) but at this point, whatever!! I'll do it!

 

I'm curious though how the decision to cut out nightshades or eggs or anything more, is made~ Are these just documented triggers?

I'm willing to experiment but at some point, I wonder if I'm on a dietary witch hunt~ Was a food/migraine journal the key to deciding?

 

I wish I had something proactive to share but I really just wanted to say THANKS to everyone for telling their stories & all the ideas that might help! I feel better already! Peace!

[shernana-55]

Hi, this is my first post. My story sounds very similar. Had migraines since early 20's and now 49. They got a lot worse at age 30. My dad and sister and daughter have them. Barometric pressure and hormones big triggers. I actually had total hysterectomy including ovaries and at first helped tremendously but  now am back to having 10 to 14 a month. I take a daily preventative and take imitrex per episode. I am known as the imitrex queen. I have struggled with hashimoto thyroiditis, had 4 doctors told me I have fibromyalgia, Grrrr, I'm in denial, My body just went haywire and nobody knows why and tests really don't explain it. I am starting the whole 30 today, but it looks like I need to also do the autoimmune protocol. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts. I was counting on hard boiled eggs as my quick go to breakfast so I need a new game plan. I am desperate at this point. I will eat just about anything except bugs and snakes at this point. I will definitely share anything that seems to help. Hope everyone has great success !!

[clabbergirl]

Hi, this is my first post. My story sounds very similar. Had migraines since early 20's and now 49. They got a lot worse at age 30. My dad and sister and daughter have them. Barometric pressure and hormones big triggers. I actually had total hysterectomy including ovaries and at first helped tremendously but  now am back to having 10 to 14 a month. I take a daily preventative and take imitrex per episode. I am known as the imitrex queen. I have struggled with hashimoto thyroiditis, had 4 doctors told me I have fibromyalgia, Grrrr, I'm in denial, My body just went haywire and nobody knows why and tests really don't explain it. I am starting the whole 30 today, but it looks like I need to also do the autoimmune protocol. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts. I was counting on hard boiled eggs as my quick go to breakfast so I need a new game plan. I am desperate at this point. I will eat just about anything except bugs and snakes at this point. I will definitely share anything that seems to help. Hope everyone has great success !!

 

Have you ever looked into trigger point therapy to help with migraine pain? Do you have pain in other areas of your head, neck or shoulders? I thought it was absolute quackery until I went to a dentist for TMJ pain (which ended up having a huge impact on my own migraines at the time) who put me in a chair and started pressing on targeted areas of my neck and shoulders. I nearly hit the ceiling! A shot of a tiny % of lidocaine mixed with saline in these trigger points made the pain go away within 30- seconds, and with it, the migraine pain I had. I was in disbelief, but this scenario happened several times throughout my TMJ treatment. If it is trigger point issues, you can massage the areas instead of paying for shots. Doesn't work as well or as quickly, but much cheaper and something you can maintain. Of course, it really does depend on if your headaches are referred pain. I wish you luck in getting rid of your migraines for good!