really severe migraine problems does ... - Gluten Free Guerr...
really severe migraine problems does anyone else have this? not sure if its coeliac related or not and my gp is terrible!
My gp is also terrible! And I also get migraines.
I just find everything has been effected in some way when I'm glutened, and get better when I'm gf. Gluten may not be a direct cause, but it definitely has an impact on the way your whole body functions.
Gluten-free is the way forward! 
they should get better with time.
If you're having continuing painful headaches then you really should get his checked out. Could be any number of things causing this. We know from experience its not easy building good communication with some gp's but they should at least listen to your health concerns. Failing that it may be that you need to change the gp. Are you able to visit some other gp surgeries in your area to get a feel of how their treat their patients?
I've seen 2/3 in the last 4month, the last one was absolutely diabolical! i mentioned that I've been getting migraine (not headaches) they've been everyday near enough for roughly 3weeks and I'm worried etc she went 'what do you think the problem is' hmmm..... I'm not the doctor.....! she then went online and printed me off a sheet on what migraines are and told me to write a diary for 2months and gave me some codeine, I've come away with more questions than when i went in. I've been gluten free for almost 1 1/2 yrs nw, and i am super sensitive so i risk nothing, maybe thinking of eliminating milk/dairy but don't want to make myself starve to death!! no gp seems to be as good as they used to be 
I get migraines when exposed to gluten though found these almost stopped when I changed shampoo - now avoid any with gluten in. There is another common ingredient in toiletries that sets me off that I haven't identified - have become cowardly and just stick to same stuff. See if there is something in your environment that acts as a trigger as well as the food. Try taking strong coffee as soon as you get any symptoms as this can change the bloodflow enough to stop them.
thankyou lois i will try the coffee thing, yeh i have checked all my shampoo's/toiletries and nothing (that i know of) is in the list, its so confusing! how do you mean in my environment? i live with my partner who is not gluten free but he makes sure he cleans everything and i don't handle his food :s
I get frequent migraines too, but not been able to put it down to anything food related.
If you wanted to try to eliminate lactose (dairy protein) it's not too hard to do these days, as long as you can cope without cheese! I use Lactofree products and Alpro products that do the job well enough. There is now milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter products for both and most big supermarkets stock them.
Good luck finding the cause for your migraines.
I get 2 or 3 migraine a week and I know why they are called "suicide headaches"!
I do not really know why they occur--- and my GP alters my medication because the body gets used to triptans and needs a short while to cleanse before they will work again.....keep going back to your GP ---a squeaky cog gets more oil !!!
it is your right to be as pain free as possible
My husband gets migraine with chocolate, cheese, bananas, the smell of bleach and perfume
some people find a daily beta blocker works, another thing to try is Feverfew from a health food shop, you have to take it EVERY day ( on a side note it helps to prevent hayfever as well)
Hi I am Gluten / Dairy free but have been told I have Fibromialgia and Ostioarthritis in my neck and spine I have constant Head pain I had a MRI scan to find out so good luck with finding out about your head pains .
Allan .
Going gf certainly reduced my migraines - I was getting 1 or 2 a week. When I went dairy free as well it reduced them further - I now probably get one a month, and they are no-where near as severe.
I have found that if I feel a migraine coming on I am usually short of salt and if I have some salt - in whatever form I can manage, and a drink of water, I can stop or shorten the migraine - I do have prescibed medication too but often don't need to use it so much. I have had certain people in the medical profession scoff at the idea that salt can be helpful.... but hey-ho it works for me!
Hope this helps.
Hi xxtwheatyxx I also get migraines, I have found that they aren’t as bad as they were before going gluten free but I still get them, 2 - 3 times a month, once I get them they last for a least 2 days, mine are accompanied by my mouth and palms of hands being sensitive to heat. I have found that paracetamol with caffeine as well as a prescribed tablet that I put on my tongue called zolmitriptan takes the pain down to a level I can manage. I was told last month by my immunologist that headaches are definitely not a symptom of CD and he advised me to go back to my GP. I also found that caffeine affected my headaches as when I wasn’t able to drink as much tea as normal during the day the headaches were worse, when I decided to come off caffeine one weekend I had a terrible time, feeling and being sick with terrible headaches. There is a medicine you can get prescribed called Topomax ( I think that is what it is called) which you have to take on a daily basis and is supposed to stop the headaches occurring, I was prescribed this before being diagnosed with CD but didn’t take it as I didn’t want to be on medication all of the time and the leaflet accompanying it said that you had to tell someone close to you that you were taking the medicine as it could give you suicidal thoughts! Hope you feel better soon
Hi xxtwheatyxx,
Migraines are often caused by none gluten foods so firstly, it might be a good idea to write down everything that you eat. If your doctor hasn't been able to help then ask to be referred to a dietician who should be able to look through your list and advise which foodstuffs may be the cause. If you have then eliminated all other causes and the migraines persist then go back and ask for a referral.
Just to give you a small idea of some of the foods that are really bad for triggering both headaches and migraines (if a person is prone to them) here are a few:
cheese - all kinds
chocolate
nitrites - used in preserving food
peanut butter
caffeine
vinegar
ketchup
aspartame
mayonnaise
some seafoods
citrus
I hope that this has been a little helps but I think that if you get them regularly then it would be wise to seek help from your doctor and dietician.
I diagnosed with coeliac disease 5yrs ago. I also suffered from terrible migrains, my gp sujested i tried beta blockers BRILLIANT i use to get aprox 2-3 migrains aweek.In last 5yrs i have had 2-3 migrains instant relief for me.
thank you everyone, its really crap, i have been keeping a food diary along side how the migraines are coming, as of yet i haven't seen anything suspect, i definatley agree 1stgls that they are the suicide of all headaches!!!! its so horrible! i work in a salon too so its bright lights are making it worse for me when they come on, well i went back yesterday to the docs and demanded she let me see someone else, (i was having a really bad migraine and had already teen my daily allowance of codeine... she couldn't get me in with anyone else so sent me back to the same doctor, she prescribed me 6 sumatriptan, they havnt kiled the migraine in the slightest, so I'm at a loss, going to see how the next couple o days go and see , well try and see a different gp. wish me luck!! i have been told about beta blockers libbyc, i am just bait sceptical of taking meds full stop, i don't want to have to take pills day in day out for the rest of my life, i don't think its right, obi it kills the pain, but i am a worrier by nature and think that there could be reasons for the migraines and the doctor not even looking the slightest bit interested made me feel like i was maybe over reacting, but now that no amount of pain killers is touching it i want to be sure, i sound mad but i am worried :s
hi i have severe migrains too, i had an mri scan that showed white matter/scarring tissue that was put down to the actual migrains (chicken and egg story) i had a lumbar puncture very painful that came back normal, and evps (electrical pulses sent thru my nerves) they were fine, i was given an epilepsy tablet they had no effect so was then put on ametryptilin an anti anxiety/ anti depressant i started on 2 at night and within 6months went upto 8 a night and they had no effect just spaced me out! i still get migrains and the doc wont do anymore for me with the migrains, its only since ive been putting all my other symptoms together its lead me here,so im off to the docs on thurs for blood tests! i get very sick with the migrains light hurts, smells make me feel/be sick, sounds are too loud etc keep me posted on what you descover, i hope you get better soon and the beggers leave you alone x
god that sounds ridiculous, they can't just leave it at that! its cruel living this way! well I'm goin for a head scan on 2nd april so hopefully something will come from that, if not i don't know what i will do... i too am the same will the sensitivities to sound/lights, and i work in quite a bright atmosphere in work so that only enhances the pain smells is hit and miss with me, obi i can only assume its the potency of the scent. surely they have to look into the matter of your lumbar puncture?? migraines that severe to cause that kind of thing surely needs to be questioned? i will let you know how i get on, wish me luck!!!! hopefully your bloods will have more answer for you x
