Higher Rates of Headache and Migraine in Adults with Celiac Disease

I was diagnosed w/celiac in 2008. I had no symptoms other than joint pain & gas. I am a female, age 75. My digestive problems started after diagnosis. The usual, diarrhea & gas. I rarely ever get headaches & never had a migraine.  I'm just weird.  I also have Hashimotos. No symptoms there either, it just showed up in annual bloodwork. My doctor said I had thyroid problems & I take  levothyroxine.  I had to ask for a specific test for Hashimotos because I wanted to know if it was autoimmune & it is  I am very strict with my gluten free diet.  I never ever cheat. I have experienced cross contamination over the years (not fun).  Now I rarely eat out, maybe 2 or 3 times a year.  I have found a digestive supplement that is enzymes & all natural & have been taking it for about 3 months.  It does 'not' cure celiac, but my  symptoms have improved about 97%.  The results were almost immediate.  It works better than fiber supplements & I feel like it has definitely improved my quality of life.  I won't name the product, it is only available by mail.  I feel almost normal.  

Most of my life i had migraines. In 2011 (age 31) at its worst, i was literally having 20-25 migraines a month. I was at the point where advil and excedrin did nothing to relieve the pain. I went gluten free in march 2012 and within a month my headaches stopped. Now i get a headache once a month or every other month. 

I was diagnosed with Celiac in 1997, up until then I suffered with intense migraines about once a month and headaches.  I had started taking Triptans for the migraines in 1992.  However, I hoped that once I was menopaused, the migraines would stop.  They just became increasingly worse.....14, 15, 16 per month.   I am currently under the care of a Neurologist and receiving Botox injections to help prevent migraine.  

I eat a gluten free diet and stick to it....yes, there are times I eat in a restaurant and there is a possibility of cross contamination.  

I have been wondering if there had been any connection between Celiac Disease and migraine.   This article helped.  Thank you.

2 hours ago, LindaD24 said:

I was diagnosed with Celiac in 1997, up until then I suffered with intense migraines about once a month and headaches.  I had started taking Triptans for the migraines in 1992.  However, I hoped that once I was menopaused, the migraines would stop.  They just became increasingly worse.....14, 15, 16 per month.   I am currently under the care of a Neurologist and receiving Botox injections to help prevent migraine.  

I eat a gluten free diet and stick to it....yes, there are times I eat in a restaurant and there is a possibility of cross contamination.  

I have been wondering if there had been any connection between Celiac Disease and migraine.   This article helped.  Thank you.

My physician put me on 25mg daily of nortriptyline and it seems to have dramatically cut down the frequency of my migraines. I have had 2-3 migraines in about a three month period as opposed to several a week before. I am still with holding final judgement, however, because mine are somewhat seasonal.

I had migraines for many years and was given typical med with only 9 pills a month allowed. It helped but didn’t prevent future headaches. Finally I omitted dairy from my diet and had almost immediate results. Now I only get an occasional mild headache, usually weather related. I find omitting dairy harder than gluten, however I’ve strictly followed a gluten-free diet for 35 years. It’s very worth trying!  
 

4 hours ago, LindaD24 said:

I was diagnosed with Celiac in 1997, up until then I suffered with intense migraines about once a month and headaches.  I had started taking Triptans for the migraines in 1992.  However, I hoped that once I was menopaused, the migraines would stop.  They just became increasingly worse.....14, 15, 16 per month.   I am currently under the care of a Neurologist and receiving Botox injections to help prevent migraine.  

I eat a gluten free diet and stick to it....yes, there are times I eat in a restaurant and there is a possibility of cross contamination.  

I have been wondering if there had been any connection between Celiac Disease and migraine.   This article helped.  Thank you.

There is a strong connection between migraines and untreated celiac disease, and we have summarized much of the medical research on this topic in the category below:

https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/migraine-headaches-and-celiac-disease/

Eating out could definitely be a source of cross-contamination, so you may want to look again at your diet to see if you may be getting contamination on a regular basis. Doing another celiac disease blood panel screening may show that your antibody levels are high again, so it may be worth doing that to find out.