
I don’t know if you’ve ever been stricken by a migraine but it’s probably one of the absolute worst things your body can do to you. For me the pain starts creeping up my neck and into my temples. I can feel it from the start working its way up into my brain, just waiting for the debilitating pain in a few hours.
Then my vision gets blurred and my head starts to officially pound. I can feel my veins throbbing in my head and neck. Any amount of light makes me nauseous and hurts eyes and my head even more. I’m fortunate that mine usually last about a day, but that day knocks me out for good. I don’t want to see, talk to or hear from anyone. It’s a time of solitude in my bedroom, in the dark.
I don’t get migraines that often but I do get them when I have gluten, which for me is one of the signs I’ve been poisoned. Sometimes I get them around my menstrual cycle but since I had my endometriosis surgery, they haven’t been around like before.
A new study was published in the Headache journal by Dr. Peter Green with new information on not only celiac disease but irritable bowel diseases and their connection to migraines as well. Here’s what they found…
The study included 502 people, 188 with celiac disease, 111 with inflammatory bowel disease, 25 with gluten sensitivity, and 178 who didn’t have any of the conditions. The researchers included clinical, demographic, and dietary information on the people in their survey, as well as questions about headache type and frequency.
Results show that chronic headaches were reported by 30% of the people with celiac disease, 56% of those who were gluten sensitive, 23% of those with inflammatory bowel disease, and 14% of those without the conditions.
The results show an even higher incident of chronic headaches with people who have gluten sensitivity over celiac disease. My biggest question with the results of this study is wondering if those 56% of people with gluten sensitivity continued to eat small amounts of gluten and that could be cause for the high number. At first I wondered about the low celiac disease number, but probably most of those people have tried to completely eliminate gluten from their diets thus resulting in less side effect symptoms like migraines.
Obviously, this was a small study group but the numbers are pretty high for people with bowel diseases and headaches. I think more people need to look into why they get migraines because usually there is a larger issue at hand causing them and taking an ibuprofen is just a band aid on a gaping wound that needs stitches.
My cousin had debilitating headaches until she stopped consuming artificial sweeteners like aspartame and MSG. There was a much larger issue for her causing these problems. The food she consumed affected her ability to function and now with that knowledge she has them way less, if at all anymore. Natural sweeteners such as Stevia are available online from vendors such as Wal-Mart and Swanson Vitamins.
We just need another reminder to stop and think if something is happening repeatedly, out of the norm, our bodies need a check to make sure that there isn’t a larger issue. Migraines and celiac disease are a very real connection but they are also a connection to so many other things!
Best wishes on figuring this out! Glad to hear you’re already feeling better. your quote “the things we find out day after day with this darn disease” resonates with me. Sometimes it feels like a never ending battle.But stay strong–as you already are–and you will get this figured out!
I found this article very interesting. I have had severe corn allergies (asthma, gastric upset, mood swings) and tested not only allergic to corn but the 90 some smuts(molds) that grow on corn. This fall i suddenly had all the joints in my body swell and become painful. My doctors wanted to do nothing until had this pain and swelling for at least 3-4 months but did get one to order ANA and RA factor blood tests which came back normal which means i likely do not have an auto immune disease or rheumatoid arthritis. So i began researching joint pain and swelling online and foods associated with it and it all came back to glutens. i went gluten free and within a few days saw improvement and after 3 weeks no more joint pain of swelling. Christmas came and i made the traditional pecan sticky buns and cheated by having some on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. by the night of Christmas Day I was miserable as all my joints were once again swollen and in pain. Returned to gluten free and after a few days subsided again.
Due to a chronic leukemia I was diagnosed with a couple years ago, my body has increased histamines so things I was never notably allergic to before in the last 3 years I have developed numerous severe even anaphylatic allergic reactions. I had an anaphylatic reaction to sulfa antibiotics which has lead to severe reactions to sulfates which means i have to eat organic anything that grows in the ground (fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, grains etc) because non-organic farming methods use ammonia sulfate as a fertilizer and that is enough to cause my lips and throat to swell.
My quandary is finding the combo of gluten-free, corn-free and organic – very challenging to find all three. i have yet to find organic almond flour. Anybody have any ideas?
Deb
I grind my almonds in the food processor to make flour. It is not as fine as some, but still works well for me. Have used it in breads.
I was told that its hard to grind almonds without having them turn into nut butter which is why haven’t tried that. how long do you process them?
I have given up Gluten, Dairy and corn and it is life changing! Corn is not a good thing for me ether and I really think its worse for me the gluten…but I still need to stay away from all of the above. Headaches are gone, losing weight, less sleepy and things are moving along so much better!!