Headache Trouble

[Rucko]

Hello. I'm writing because of headaches and am wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this. It's got me a bit puzzled.

I'd started getting headaches at age 7 and they got increasingly worse for years. Finally I had a headache pretty much all the time for the 10 years before I was diagnosed with celiac, which was in Feb. 2010. I used a lot of Tylenol (I'm asthmatic) and also had various prescription meds for migraines, so could sort of keep functioning, most of the time anyway.

A few months after going gluten free, the headaches became less intense. I even started to have the odd day without any headache at all. By the summer, I had a week-long period of no headaches - it felt like a vacation!!! Then in August I started waking up with headaches every day again. I asked if they could test my thyroid in September, and sure enough, it was low. I'm on Synthroid now, and that's helped.

The problem is that when I have a headache now, I go 'mental', for want of a better way to describe it. I can't think properly, I'm depressed, I seem to get really emotional, and worse, I just can't take the pain at all. Until the pain meds kick in, I'm a bit of a basket case. I don't understand is why this is happening? Any ideas?

[eatmeat4good]

Are you sure you aren't getting gluten?

That is exactly what happens to me when I get cross contamination.

I still get migraines sometimes and was on a lot of Ibuprofen before going gluten free.

There is another possibility. Salicylic acid can cause the symptoms you describe.

Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Pepto Bismol, face washes with salicylic acid in them.

Some people with Celiac are senstive to aspirin/salicylic acid.

Fruits and vegetables contain salicylic acid naturally.

There is an elimination diet you can do to see if this is your problem

RPAH Royal Prince Albert Hospital is very proactive on food intolerances/allergies.

Your symptoms are consistent with this sensitivity. I have it too and can only take so many fruits high in sals.

There is a book called The Healthier I Ate, The Sicker I Got...regarding salicylic acid and the woman describes symptoms such as yours resolving.

If you are entirely gluten free this may be something for you to consider.

[Luddie]

Hello. I'm writing because of headaches and am wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this. It's got me a bit puzzled.

I'd started getting headaches at age 7 and they got increasingly worse for years. Finally I had a headache pretty much all the time for the 10 years before I was diagnosed with celiac, which was in Feb. 2010. I used a lot of Tylenol (I'm asthmatic) and also had various prescription meds for migraines, so could sort of keep functioning, most of the time anyway.

A few months after going gluten free, the headaches became less intense. I even started to have the odd day without any headache at all. By the summer, I had a week-long period of no headaches - it felt like a vacation!!! Then in August I started waking up with headaches every day again. I asked if they could test my thyroid in September, and sure enough, it was low. I'm on Synthroid now, and that's helped.

The problem is that when I have a headache now, I go 'mental', for want of a better way to describe it. I can't think properly, I'm depressed, I seem to get really emotional, and worse, I just can't take the pain at all. Until the pain meds kick in, I'm a bit of a basket case. I don't understand is why this is happening? Any ideas?

I used to have migraines and when I got them I got the visual disturbances, the sick feeling, the headache and PANIC. I know just what you mean. I've been being treated for celiac and one of the things my doc has me on (because he tests for EVERYTHING!) is (among many other things) magnesium. You might ask your doc to check it out. It seems to be involved in a whole lot of bodily functions. I haven't had a migraine now in over a year.

Good luck. You'll figure it out with the help you'll get on this forum.

[T.H.]

I don't know if this would be your difficulty, but my own experience was that after I was gluten free for a while, I started reacting to less gluten than I had before, best I can tell. My daughter had this as well. I have also heard of folks having worse reactions to gluten after they'd been gluten free a while - my father and brother had that, with no increase in sensitivity, they don't think.

So it might be that the gluten WAS the problem, and going gluten free fixed it, but now you are either reacting to lower levels, or your headache is now coming on worse if you are getting gluten CC somewhere.

Are you eating a lot of processed gluten-free foods, like crackers, breads, etc...? Since those are <20ppm usually, but not 'zero' gluten, if you have enough, they could be giving you too high of a gluten load now, especially if you've been increasing them at all lately.

Also, have you double checked all your products lately? Maybe a company has changed their recipe or processing and is no longer as gluten free as they used to be. Might be of use to go to whole foods - fruits, veggies, meats, etc... - for a bit and see if that helps. A company that makes your foods might have added in something new to their company, too, that might be processed on the same line as your food or in the same room, and making gluten cc more of an issue now.

Are you near any construction, at home or at work, when you didn't used to be? Gluten can be found in many construction compounds and substances, like dry wall dust or sawdust from plywood (they use wheat in the glue to keep on the paper of the dry wall, and to help keep the plywood together).

Are you living closer to relatives now or do you have a new partner? You can get glutened from kissing gluten-containing makeup on lips and cheeks. Any other lifestyle changes that might involve a change in environment, like a new job, more time spent in a bakery, etc...?

[tarnalberry]

For me, my headaches were partly postural, and working with a chiropractor (a PT could have done similar work, but possibly not all of it) and being mindful of my posture is important to reduce the tension on the muscles that pull on the skull (and lay over the blood vessels going into the head).

[FooGirlsMom]

You rec'd some great responses. I just wanted to add something else. Chemicals. If you eat aspartame, stop immediately. Some people (like myself) will get a migraine each and every time I ate it. Gluten gave me headaches too. I also have to be careful with sugars. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a huge offender. I am ok with real fruit but anything too concentrated...forget it. Even chocolate will give me migraines if I eat it 2 days in a row.

After you've ruled out gluten sneaking in, you might want to start testing food reactions to things you regularly eat and see if you react to them. I did that and I found the above.

I really feel for you. The psychological symptoms do seem to point to gluten but chemicals can have the same reaction in some people. If you are not on a "whole foods" diet, you might want to give one a try.

Take Care,

FooGirlsMom

[Rucko]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions and I'll try to follow up on them. Of course it is possible I'm somehow getting gluten, although I'm pretty careful. The kitchen/house is gluten free to the best of my knowledge but I'm going to recheck. (My husband does have wheat bread and cookies, but keeps them in a separate area.) I already cook from scratch and also try to buy organic, whole foods. I'll have to double check this area too. I'm not a fan of bread, crackers, etc. so they're not a big part of my diet. The ones I do buy, I get from a health food store that checks into all products that claim to be gluten free and identifies the ones that actually are and have no chance of cross contamination. It's a big help. (I do like cookies though, so almost never have any around - too much temptation!) Can't stand artificial sweeteners, don't drink pop, etc. etc., but maybe keeping track of what I'm eating will eventually help me sort it out.

I've been going to a homeopathic doctor for a few months and he did find out I'm allergic to soy and casein, which I already had figured out myself long ago. Everything else seemed ok. He's got me on multi vitamins and minerals so I think that area should be fine but it wouldn't hurt to check I guess. Hopefully he'll be able to check on the salicylic acid too. I don't use aspirin or any of those other drugs anyway as I have asthma, but of course I do eat fruit and vegetables.

Chiropractors were never able to do anything to help so I don't think that's my problem. Sad to say, I went to several for many years without any improvement on the headache front, although they helped with other things.

I am really hopeful that the latest upward adjustment to the synthroid will keep me from getting many headaches, especially the ones that are there when I wake up in the mornings - that seems to be a low thyroid symptom that I'll be glad to see the end of. I'll have to see how it goes!