Headache

[Mgyoung77]

I was diagnosed with celiac November 15. Earlier that week, my OBGYN tested my iron and it was 5.4. After a few days of going gluten free, I could tell a huge difference. My stomach issues and headaches went away immediately. My energy level slowly started coming up. However right before Christmas I started getting headaches again. I thought my iron was dropping due to some female issues. However when I got it checked it had gone up to 10.5, and less than a week later 11. So that is not the cause of these headaches. I have had a headache for two weeks straight now. Medication only provides temporary relieve. Any ideas, suggestions, or similar experiences?

[Monklady123]

I was diagnosed with celiac November 15. Earlier that week, my OBGYN tested my iron and it was 5.4. After a few days of going gluten free, I could tell a huge difference. My stomach issues and headaches went away immediately. My energy level slowly started coming up. However right before Christmas I started getting headaches again. I thought my iron was dropping due to some female issues. However when I got it checked it had gone up to 10.5, and less than a week later 11. So that is not the cause of these headaches. I have had a headache for two weeks straight now. Medication only provides temporary relieve. Any ideas, suggestions, or similar experiences?

Are you 100% sure that you've been gluten free? For me the headache is the first sign that I've been glutened. I would suggest taking another look at everything -- your kitchen prep stuff (cutting boards, knives, etc.), toaster, toaster oven, foods you might not have thought of such as regular Rice Crispies which clearly have no wheat in them but are sweetened with barley malt. Stuff like that. Good luck.

[cavernio]

Ditto on looking over everything and everywhere you eat for gluten.

I get headaches when I eat too much tyramine. It's high in cured meats, nuts, aged cheese and pickles and probably a few more things. Some people here follow a very strict low tyramine diet; I don't but my headaches have improved a fair bit and I know I should avoid eating all those foods in one day.

Either low zinc or magnesium can be a cause of headaches, (I forget and I learned about this from when I looked up why pms causes headaches and I remember those 2 minerals being involved) and if you're supplementing with iron your body might be absorbing more iron instead of either of those elements because apparently that's how metal absorption works, all of them using the same method of absorption or something.

[KMMO320]

Besides stuttering and word slurring, headaches are the first indicator for me that I ate gluten. Tonight, in fact, I came home from the gym with such a headache, I had to lay down. Then the nausea.My husband kept asking me what did you eat? I said, just because I have a headache doesn't mean it's gluten! I ate good today ( I am still fairly newly diagnosed and have a bad day maybe once a month, hopefully never again though) I had yogurt and a banana, and then some gluten free chicken tenders and sweet potato fries. He was like well, maybe the chicken tenders are not really gluten-free. SO, to indulge him, I looked..well, they were certified gluten-free..but...I looked at the bag of sweet potato fries...Ore Ida..and there in the ingredients COntains; WHEAT! DOH!! I really feel stupid. I am so used to eating regular frozen fries with no problem, I just grabbed the sweet ones thinking they would be fine. I am so mad at my stupidity. I threw them right in the trash,because no one else will eat them, and here I sit achy, and sick SO, it could be non gluten related, or there could be traces you have not thought about

[Mgyoung77]

I don't think it's from gluten. I can think of three occasions where I was glutened and all three times I had tummy troubles from it, not a headache. My husband made gluten free brownies using butter he had double dipped in to.make toast. It took the second time of eating them and getting sick to realize the mistake. The third time I got careless when we had hamburgers and hot dogs. I think some crumbs from everyone else's buns got on my plate somehow. I did eat some tastefully simple garlic 3 weeks ago. I realized after the fact that it was tastefully simple. None of their products are safe. It did not cause tummy troubles, but would it cause a headache to last 3 weeks?

[tarnalberry]

My headaches were caused by muscle tension due to poor head posture. Chiropractic, massage, and a lot of work re-aligning my posture is the only thing that made them go away on a permanent basis. (These were chronic, debilitating migraines.)

[cavernio]

You live in shared house and eat shared meals. Residual gluten could be more diffuse than you think. From what I've read of people's stories here, many people experience full-out attacks when they've eaten enough gluten beyond some sort of personal threshold, but will feel just a little of before that.

[KMMO320]

I don't think it's from gluten. I can think of three occasions where I was glutened and all three times I had tummy troubles from it, not a headache. My husband made gluten free brownies using butter he had double dipped in to.make toast. It took the second time of eating them and getting sick to realize the mistake. The third time I got careless when we had hamburgers and hot dogs. I think some crumbs from everyone else's buns got on my plate somehow. I did eat some tastefully simple garlic 3 weeks ago. I realized after the fact that it was tastefully simple. None of their products are safe. It did not cause tummy troubles, but would it cause a headache to last 3 weeks?

My biggest symptoms of glutening are headaches, which usually turn into full-on migraines. I get dizzy, and I start to stutter and slur my words. Then, I get nauseous, and then have stomach distress usually the next day.

[alesusy]

MyYoung, I don't know if this can help. If drugs don't do much, they might be tension headaches. Tension should ease goin gluten free, but there are relaxation tecniques that can help anyway. I mention this because I was really scared after one continuous month of headaches, and I felt much relieved when my dentist showed me where it was coming from.

Is your headache mounting up from your neck, or is it around your eyes or one of your eyes, or around the temples or on the forehead? In all these cases it might come from tension in your jaws. Try touching the point on your cheeks where the lower and superior jaws meet, and press with your fingers. Aching?

(I don't have headaches any more now but my jaws are still aching if I press them like this).

alesusy

[Mgyoung77]

MyYoung, I don't know if this can help. If drugs don't do much, they might be tension headaches. Tension should ease goin gluten free, but there are relaxation tecniques that can help anyway. I mention this because I was really scared after one continuous month of headaches, and I felt much relieved when my dentist showed me where it was coming from.

Is your headache mounting up from your neck, or is it around your eyes or one of your eyes, or around the temples or on the forehead? In all these cases it might come from tension in your jaws. Try touching the point on your cheeks where the lower and superior jaws meet, and press with your fingers. Aching?

(I don't have headaches any more now but my jaws are still aching if I press them like this).

alesusy

It is difficult to describe. When I first wake up or when it first starts later in the day, my head feels fuzzy inside. It starts out as a minor annoyance. If I do net take something it gradually turns into a very painful headache. It hurts on top of my head and my forehead. Medicine does give temporary relieve.