Headache for 3 months after quitting gluten with celiac disease

[finn23]

I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease in October. I quit gluten immediately and now going into January I have been dealing with constant throbbing in my head since I quit gluten. I drink a lot of water everyday I take multiple medications prescribed by my doctor but still from morning to night 24/7 I experience extreme head pressure and throbbing. It becomes extremely worse when I work out or do any type of movement it has made my life very difficult as I can’t really socialize, enjoy entertainment, exercise or do virtually anything without being in pain everyday. The pain varies from day to day but no matter what I am in a constant state of pain. I went to my doctor and he refused to give me a brain scan because it was most likely related to my celiac disease. This was about two weeks into the pain and I didn’t push him because I assumed it would go away eventually. The pain has not let up and no matter what I do my head throbs everyday. I was wondering if any of you might have gone through similar experiences or have any advice or suggestions for how I can improve my life and possibly get to a point where my head no longer throbs. I have done extensive research and found that many people experience pain while eating gluten but it gets better when they quit. I don’t understand what’s wrong with me and I am looking for help and answers. 

[trents]

I wonder if your headaches are caused by vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies. When you remove wheat products from your diet you  remove a significant source of vitamins and minerals because wheat products are fortified. gluten-free facsimile flours are not. Try taking a high potency B-complex, sublingual B12, 5000 IU of D3, magnesium glycinate and zinc. This is a common combination we recommend here on the forum. Make sure they are all gluten free. Costco's Nature Made and Signature brands are good choices. Most are gluten free and they will state so on the packaging if they are.

[Scott Adams]

I agree with @trents, and this could be caused by nutrient deficiencies. 

The most common nutrient deficiencies associated with celiac disease that may lead to testing for the condition include iron, vitamin D, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, and magnesium.  Unfortunately many doctors, including my own doctor at the time, don't do extensive follow up testing for a broad range of nutrient deficiencies, nor recommend that those just diagnosed with celiac disease take a broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement, which would greatly benefit most, if not all, newly diagnosed celiacs.

 

 

 

[finn23]

On 12/31/2023 at 6:51 PM, trents said:

I wonder if your headaches are caused by vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies. When you remove wheat products from your diet you  remove a significant source of vitamins and minerals because wheat products are fortified. gluten-free facsimile flours are not. Try taking a high potency B-complex, sublingual B12, 5000 IU of D3, magnesium glycinate and zinc. This is a common combination we recommend here on the forum. Make sure they are all gluten free. Costco's Nature Made and Signature brands are good choices. Most are gluten free and they will state so on the packaging if they are.

Thank you I will try taking these and hope they are a possible solution. I have also schedulers an appointment with a nutritionist thank you for the advice! 

[trents]

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that damages the villous lining of the small bowel, where essentially all nutrient absorption occurs from the food we eat. This damage compromises the nutrient absorption efficiency of the small bowel and typically creates vitamin and mineral deficiencies in those who go undiagnosed for years. One way to offset that problem until thorough healing of the small bowel lining occurs, once gluten free eating is begun, is through vitamin and mineral supplementation.

[cristiana]

Hello there.  I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering from these headaches, the throbbing type are horrible. 

Just one other thought - might be worth doing a food diary in case anything new that you have added to your diet as a substitute, such as gluten free bread for normal bread, contains an ingredient which is causing these headaches.  Reading your post reminded me that someone once posted on either this forum or another that xanthan gum caused them problems - so I googled it, and indeed there appears to be some evidence that it can cause headaches.

It's a bit of a bore but you might want to keep a note of the ingredients to see if a pattern is emerging.

I had a lot of very painful migraines in the past and some of the weirdest things used to kick them off - such as quinine in tonic water, and blackcurrant juice.  

Edited January 2, 2024 by cristiana