Horrible Headaches...

[Guest ~jules~]

I've been gluten-free since about august 19th, all sorts of weird things are going on with me. Most of them I can handle cuz they aren't as bad as being sick. Its these friggin nasty headaches I keep getting! I have almost never had a headache problem, so this is new to me. Does anyone know if this is a symptom of detoxing gluten? I eat plenty, and drink an adequate ammount of water each day, yet I still get them. Anyone else?

[jknnej]

I have terrible migraines as well, but I can't attribute them to gluten withdrawl because I had them before I went gluten free. I'm pretty sure they're hereditary; my mom had them as well, and I started getting them the same age she did (26). Anyway, when I get one, I get nauseated and light-sensitive as well. Basically, my entire body feels like I have the flu.

I take Relpax and so far it's the only thing that works; Imitrex did not work for me.

Advil or over the counter stuff does absolutely nothing for my migraines, unfortunately. The only thing that helps even a little is to drink a LOT of water. Other than that, I could not live without Relpax. You may want to ask your dr. about meds.

[Turtle]

YES! I have this issue....My dr said CC....he instructed me not to eat out anymore and of course make sure i'm completely gluten-free. So, I've really been working hard to assure everything is safe but i'm still getting the headaches from time to time. The good news is i'm not waking up in the middle of the night w/ the headaches anymore. But the headaches i'm getting still from time to time usually start in the afternoon...

I take Motrin and try to rest is i'm able to do so.

I dunno what the real culprit is...sometimes I think stress can cause it, then I thought maybe i'm not getting enough water so i'm drinking more water...i'm still trying to figure it all out...

Keep us posted if you figure anything out and i'll do the same!

[sspitzer5]

I've been gluten-free since about august 19th, all sorts of weird things are going on with me. Most of them I can handle cuz they aren't as bad as being sick. Its these friggin nasty headaches I keep getting! I have almost never had a headache problem, so this is new to me. Does anyone know if this is a symptom of detoxing gluten? I eat plenty, and drink an adequate ammount of water each day, yet I still get them. Anyone else?

Another possibility is another food intolerance. I had frequent headaches that were better after being gluten-free, but would still happen almost every day. I found out that I have a big reaction to almonds, and I think that was a big contributor to the headaches. They've definitely been better since getting rid of the almonds.

S

[Corkdarrr]

I have some severe migraines going on and have for months. Years, really. But about 8 months ago they started increasing in both severity and frequency. It's what lead me to the doctor and to try going gluten-free to begin with.

I take more Excedrin in a month's time than any one person should take in a given year. That's bad. But it's the only OTC drug I can find that offers any relief.

Since going gluten-free, they have eased up (meaning they are no longer daily), but I still haven't seen any significant relief.

I'm starting to think they aren't gluten related and I'm at my wit's end. I even had a CT scan and nothing showed up.

When they get really bad, the only thing I can do is take an Ambien or two, put an ice pack on my forehead and go to bed at 8 o'clock. Making it through some days is a miracle, and makes me feel like superwoman.

(Sorry. I'm having a really, really, really bad day. This whole health thing is really starting to piss me off!!)

Let's all keep eachother posted on any potential ideas for relief.

- Courtney

[ehrin]

I get some serious migraines if I've been glutened. I never had them prior to diagnosis and now I find it's one of my symptoms if somehow a nasty molecule somehow makes it's way into my body.

[Guest ~jules~]

I'm not sure if they are migranes. It just feels like my head is going to split in two. All I have at the house is aleve, and asprin, so I'm going out to get some excedrin today. I sure hope they let up, today is my son's 6th birthday, and tommorrow is the first day of 3rd and kindergarten, and mom is thinking about getting an "out of order" sign on my forehead! Hmmmm...."lightbulb" maybe there stress related.

[RiceGuy]

I used to get horrible migraines, and quite frequently too. Thankfully, I did find the culprits, but only after years of suffering. Seems there were a few different contributing factors, but the main thing was a yeast overgrowth. Once I eliminated all sources of yeast and processed sugars, I got nearly complete relief in the following weeks. I also took Caprylic acid to help get rid of it, which seemed to really work great too.

There were still occasional headaches, but nothing like those migraines. Now with the gluten-free diet I don't get them at all. I just wish I had discovered what it was sooner.

I know MSG can cause migraines, and apparently too much iodine can as well. You may think you don't consume MSG, but if you buy any prepackaged foods, the chances are quite high.

Here's some links on the MSG subject:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[queenofhearts]

My migraines are much better since going gluten-free, actually, so I'm not sure if I can be of much help there. Though if you have suddenly added a food that you rarely ate before, that would certainly be worth looking into. And given how recently you were diagnosed, it could be a detox/withdrawal issue, or possibly just stress from all the stuff you have to think about suddenly.

This is kind of a long shot, but for those of you with a chronic headache problem, I've just been studying a form of physical therapy called Egoscue, & the author/inventor attributes many migraines to poor posture. If you spend many hours sitting it can throw off your spinal alignment & cause all sorts of pain that seems unrelated. The most fascinating thing to me was that carpal tunnel syndrome is actually linked to poor hip/lumbar position. Check out the book, Pain Free by Pete Egoscue. It certainly set off some light bulbs for me.

Leah

[olalisa]

one of my main symptoms if I get cc glutened (which is the ONLY way I do) is a killer headache which usually lasts for at least a couple of days. I'm guessing anyway that it comes from gluten. Usually the tummy issues and mouth ulcers follow, so I'm pretty sure that's it.

[Mandy F.]

I had the same sort of thing happen.

I had only had a few really severe headaches in my whole life and it was always at the beginning of allergy season so I attributed them to sinuses. Then, in about the end of April after only being gluten-free for about a month, I started getting them again but just chalked it up to sinuses again. I ended up getting really really sick with a sinus infection and doing 2 rounds of antibiotics and steroids and being referred to an ENT. After the steroids, I felt better except for the headaches which my ENT said could not be sinus related as the CAT scan from the day before my headache was completely clear of infection.

He gave me Immitrex (which I found out I'm allergic to the hard way), told me they were migraines, and told me to see my regular doc if they continued. Since then, I've been getting them about every two weeks but haven't noticed any triggers except maybe grass/trees which I can't exactly avoid... Also, my allergies have gotten way worse since going gluten-free! My family doc gave me Fiorocet (there is apparently a narcotic and non-narcotic version) which has helped me and doesn't seem to give me too many side effects except a bit of a loopy feeling but not enough to keep me from doing things. She also did an MRI which was neg.

I hope some of this is helpful. For me, I could have been poppin Smarties for all the good that any otc meds did.

[Turtle]

Poor Posture??? Headaches???

I'm guilty of poor posture for sure....very very interesting.

Thanks QueenofHearts