Jump to content
  • You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

Why Does Gluten Cause Headaches?


Monklady123

Recommended Posts

Monklady123 Collaborator

Just curious if anyone knows the physiological reason why gluten causes headaches? I plan to ask my doctor next time I'm there, but that's not till the end of this month and I'm curious now. lol.. Just wondering because I got glutened the other night :ph34r: and had the worst headache I've had in awhile. (my own stupidity too, which makes it worse)


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



RiceGuy Collaborator

I think it can be due to a number of different things, depending on the individual. For me, it is a secondary reaction, after the intestines are effected. And possibly involving dehydration.

Monklady123 Collaborator

I think it can be due to a number of different things, depending on the individual. For me, it is a secondary reaction, after the intestines are effected. And possibly involving dehydration.

Interesting about dehydration, because I know that as soon as the gluten hits my system I get incredibly thirsty.

RiceGuy Collaborator

Interesting about dehydration, because I know that as soon as the gluten hits my system I get incredibly thirsty.

That is interesting to me as well, because IMMEDIATE and unquenchable thirst was my biggest clue. No amount of water would remedy it.

MEH Apprentice

This is one of my big reactions to gluten. I get a bad migraine, and I can feel the places on my scalp that are sensitive and hurting. I went my whole life without getting headaches, and now it seems like a big part of my life.

I read that it has to do with the blood brain barrier.

Google that.

I'll try to find out more info on it too.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

I think it may have something to do with the inflammation. It seems gluten antibodies can inflame just about any organ in the body. Some of us get hit in the joints and muscles, some get liver impact, some get signs of inflammation in kidneys or heart (my heart wall is thickened and the doctors blamed that on the inflammation I had for years) once those antibodies get into the bloodstream they throughout the entire system. I get the headaches also but not as bad as when I was first diagnosed and now only when I get glutened. Before diagnosis I had lived with daily migraines for years.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      134,075
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      10,442

    Nan7472
    Newest Member
    Nan7472
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.7k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      There is a 10 year old post in this forum on Edy's and Dreyer's ice cream. The information is somewhat outdated and the thread is closed to further comment, so here is a new one. Edy's And Dreyer's Grand Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - 1.5 Quart is labeled "Gluten Free". This is a different answer than years gone by. I don't know the answer for any other flavor at this moment. On 1 May, 2026, Edy's website says: "As a general rule, the gluten in Edy's and Dreyer's® frozen dessert products is present only in the added bakery products, such as cookies, cake or brownies. We always label the eight major food allergens on our package by their common name. We recommend to always check the label for the most current information before purchasing and/or consuming a product. The exception to this rule is our Slow Churned French Silk frozen dairy dessert, which contains gluten in the natural flavors." https://www.icecream.com/us/en/brands/edys-and-dreyers/faq It seems that Edy's and Dreyer's are more celiac-friendly than they were 10 years ago. Once I found enough information to make today's buying decision, I stopped researching.
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      probably not your situation @Mimiof2, but allow me to add one more to @trents list of celiac-mimics: "olmesartan-induced sprue-like enteropathy"  
    • knitty kitty
      My dad had an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.  Fortunately, it was discovered during an exam.  The doctor could feel my dad's heart beating in his stomach/abdomen.  The aneurysm burst when the doctor first touched it in surgery.  Since he was already hooked up to the bypass machine, my dad survived ten more years.  Close call! Triple A's can press on the nerves in the spinal cord causing leg pain.  I'm wondering if bowing the head might have increased the pressure on an aneurysm and then the nerves.   https://gulfcoastsurgeons.com/understanding-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-symptoms-and-causes/ Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Presenting as a Claudication https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4040638/
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      You have an odd story there. To me, the mechanical trigger suggests a mechanical problem and lower leg pain is a classic sciatica symptom. The fact that the clear mechanical linkage is no longer there does not take away from the fact that it was - maybe something shifted and the simple alignment is no longer there. There's also a good chance I am wrong and it's something else entirely. @Scott Adams's mention of shingles is interesting. It seems possible but unlikely to me, but who knows. However, I am writing here to reinforce the idea of getting the shingles vaccine. Ask anyone who has ever had shingles and they will bend your ear telling you how bad it is. I watched my wife go through it and it scared the bejeebers out of me. Even if you had the chicken pox vaccine, you really want to get the shingles vaccine.
    • HectorConvector
      Oddly this effect has gone now, just happened yesterday evening, the nerve pain is now back to its usual "unpredictable" random self again - but that was the only time I ever had some mechanical trigger for it, don't know why! There's no (or wasn't) actual pain in my neck - it was inside the leg, but when I looked down, now though, the leg pain just comes and goes randomly as before again.
×
×
  • Create New...