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Head Aches ,migranes

davidsmomceliac12

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davidsmomceliac12 Newbie
davidsmomceliac12
Posted

My son David has celiac disease and suffers from head aches/migraines we are having a very hard time controlling these head aches and have been on many meds now we are on a anti depressant that is meant to do both migraines and depression so far it has worked and but he is still getting head aches and very pail looking sooo i was hoping someone out there has a more natural approach to this and can give me some in site.

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Cypressmyst Explorer
Cypressmyst
Posted

I read on another post you made that he is sensitive to airborne gluten. If you want his headaches and depression to get better I would suggest taking the whole house gluten free. No way a hyper can live in a gluten environment without feeling it.

School is a whole different animal. I feel for you here because what can you do? Take him out? Homeschool him? Or work to educate the world that gluten is poison for not just people with Celiac but for almost everyone.

I'm working on the latter. Let's get this poison out of our food supply already! B)

T.H. Community Regular
T.H.
Posted

I'd put him on an elimination diet - my daughter and son both had trouble with other foods on top of the gluten, and they turned out to be more sensitive to gluten than most of the gluten free foods were (my daughter reacts to <10ppm of gluten, and most gluten-free food has <20ppm). The depression along with the migraines makes me think undiscovered gluten may still be the cause.

Has his thyroid been checked? It's often a problem for celiacs, and can also cause depression.

You might try to google 'migraine diet' for him - it suggests foods that are more likely to trigger migraines (and if your doctor has not suggested this? I'd get a new one. Food triggered migraines are very common, and, obviously, easily fixed by diet).

Also, a rather odd one - do you have a water softener? there are some people who react to higher levels of sodium in their diet with migraines. You could try him on distilled water for a while and see if that helped.

weluvgators Explorer
weluvgators
Posted

Have you checked all of his medicines to ensure they are gluten free?

We also have to live gluten, dairy, and soy free, as we found other foods that cause us reactions too. We also have to live very gluten free - a gluten free household, cleaning protocols for anyone that enters our home, modifications at school to reduce environmental gluten exposure, and careful sourcing of ALL of our foods.

We have not noticed any problems with paper at school, but one of our children cannot eat in the cafeteria and cannot be in the gymnasium on a daily basis - especially during that recess after lunch. Both of my children require a gluten free classroom, but the actual practice of that is a bit different for both . . . and one of them doesn't truly have a gluten free classroom, as it is logistically challenging. We manage their school based on symptoms, have tried several things, and keep the things that work.

Do you have any pets in the home? How about farm animals? Those are other potential sources of problems.

And while it may not be a problem for him yet, he will need to evaluate the risks of kissing anyone else as he gets older. And actually, that may be a problem now if other family members are gluten eaters (thinking pecks on the cheek there). I would also go through and review all toiletries and cleaning agents as well.

Our daughter's daily headaches seemed to be function of ingesting trace gluten (all in "gluten free" products). This is such a long, exhausting journey. Hopefully, we are able to help you through it all.

And if you are resistant to Mayo, have you called the Chicago Celiac Center? I have called all of the research centers trying to figure out which one would work well for us. So please don't hesitate to call these places for interviews before making a trip there!

Good luck! And I hope your son is feeling better soon.

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

If this were a 12 yr old female, we would be right on top of suggesting hormones being a potential problem....might they not be in a 12 yr old male as well?

twe0708 Community Regular
twe0708
Posted

My son David has celiac disease and suffers from head aches/migraines we are having a very hard time controlling these head aches and have been on many meds now we are on a anti depressant that is meant to do both migraines and depression so far it has worked and but he is still getting head aches and very pail looking sooo i was hoping someone out there has a more natural approach to this and can give me some in site.

My daughter was the same way around that age and we found out she had a problem with her thyroid.

ryebaby0 Enthusiast
ryebaby0
Posted

My 17 y.o. had horrible migraines (aura, blind in one side of his face, 2 -3x/month) but his doctor prescribed magnesium and he has not had one since. He takes 400mg two times a day. Migraines are not uncommon in adolescents, it turns out. More than other conditions, what works for one person might not work at all for another, so keep trying stuff.

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mommida Enthusiast
mommida
Posted

My daughter diagnosed with Celiac and Eosinophilic Esophagitus was being reffered to a nuerologist for the possibility of abdominal migraines. I'm not sure how I feel about the diagnostic process of abdominal migraines and we are stuck in the middle of an insurance change too. I do think an elimination diet might help determine if there are any "trigger" foods to avoid.

Keeping my daughter out of the brick and mortar school building has helped a lot. You can still do "public" school as a "homebound student" or public cyber school. (Both of these options are free and accredited.)

GreennGlutenFree Newbie
GreennGlutenFree
Posted

When I hit puberty I started getting migraines as well... I wasn't diagnosed until I was 23 with celiac disease but to this day if I have caffeine or sugar substitutes (ie "the blue stuff" or "the pink stuff") I get a migraine. There are a million and one things that could be triggering the migraines so elimination diet is probably the key even though they are hard. Good luck!

Cypressmyst Explorer
Cypressmyst
Posted

Sugar and gluten are your most likely culprits. Sugar messes with magnesium uptake, among other things, if I recall (Been a while since I read up on sugar) and of course gluten is the Devil and messes with everything. :blink:

Could be as simple as adding some almonds to your diet! ;)

Elimination diet is a good plan.

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      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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