Migraine

I probably should post this in the gripes section but I am having a hard time finding anything I can eat without getting a migraine!!

No lunchmeat, peanut butter, pork, yogurt, cheese, anything packaged like Weight Watchers or Lean Cruisine, no junk food, no salad dressings, crutons, onions, citrus fruits, not to mention chocolate or caffeine.

I was so used to eating packaged foods or junk food at fast food places or going out to eat at resturants before I got migraines. I didn't cook so now I am really having a hard time. I did order some migraine cookbooks but it is still hard for me.

I went completely off everything that was a trigger for 3 months and then tried to add some things back but there are plenty of foods that still trigger a migraine. It's such a shock for me to not be able to eat like I used to for 58 years!!!

I am getting ready to try the NAET method to see if it will cure me of my migraines. Has anyone heard of this? Chinese alternative method of acupuncture and herbs and chiropractor care that treats food and chemical allergies; Pain management and headaches. My OBGYN's son was completely cured of his food allergies by this method, so I am going to give it a shot!!

She said she got so tired of trying to avoid his food allergies and cook for him that trying this and having it work was a godsend. Now he can eat anything!!

I will keep you posted as to how it works for me. And if anyone has any wisdom on the migraine diet, let me know.
parisbabe

I've never heard of or tried the NAET theory. However, I do have experience with a large number of food triggers and the feeling of not being able to eat anything. If you try the NAET method, I wish you the best with it.

In the meantime, I'm sure you're going to have to eat and I know how hard it is to have to change your eating habits and avoid some of your favorite foods. I've finally gotten to the point where I can accept what I can't eat, but it can take time.

I found many of my food triggers from doing the elimination diet. When I did the diet, I went down to the ingredient level as much as I could. I've been able to still have some of my favorite foods just by changing an ingredient or two which will trigger me all of the time. The best part is, I can even order out and have them change the one ingredient too. I wrote a SharePost about this when we had a catered event if you want to read it in No Trigger Today plus you can get individual orders the way you want them too.

Most of the foods on your list I cannot have either including the packaged meals. I've looked at the on-line diet menus as well and most of those foods have at least one ingredient that will trigger me.

I want to let you know that you are not alone. You will find your balance. It's not easy and can take time to accept. I wish you the best with NAET and please keep us posted on how you are doing.

Puppet
http://migrainepuppet.blogspot.com/

I have a work colleague that swears by the NAET thing. She says it helped her eliminate quite a number of food allergies

I've never heard of the NAET thing, but I'll add my roots for luck to your pile, should you try it.

parisbabe,
I have gone through the whole NAET treatment. I did this all last year before finally being diagnosed with migraines last fall. I was really miserable and thought my allergies and sinuses were causing all my problems, when really I was having migraines too. I would say that I got some relief from the treatments, but they were not a cure for me. The chiropractors advertise NAET as a "cure", but its just like with migraines, there really are no real cures for allergies.

As far as foods triggering my migraines, I found that NAET did not help me with that. Nuts are my main migraine trigger and I still can't eat them even though they did the NAET treatments on me over and over. I think an allergic reaction is different from whatever happens in our brain when a substance triggers a migraine.

I would suggest that if you try NAET, look at it as a treatment, rather than a cure. My chiropractor told me this was a cure and I was heartbroken when I realized that I was only a little bit better from the treatments. You may get great results or you may not.

Peggy

parisbee,

Sweetie, there is no cure for Migraine disease. It is a chronic condition that is managed by trigger identification and management, some simple lifestyle changes and medications.

Your statement in your post: "I am getting ready to try the NAET method to see if it will cure me of my migraines," is concerning because rather than looking for a cure where there is none, time could be spent (not that you're not doing this already) on accepting Migraine disease. Does that make any sense?

It has taken me a lot of years to accept Migraines, coping with them on a daily basis is another story. When I realized there is no cure, I kinda felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could now figure out how to treat them, not cure them...

Nancy & Peggy,
Thank you for your reply and input. I had not checked back on this post till now and that is why I am late on replying.

I do realize there is no cure for migraines. I went to see a new GYN and she claims her son was "cured" of his food allergies by NAET. I had NO food allergies before getting migraines. I could eat anything.
Now I have many food triggers that cause migraines. But the biggest trigger I have is fragrances or smells. So, this GYN said she thought that NAET could help with that. I can avoid the food triggers, but not the fragrances, and it is ruining my life. I can't work, I can't go out in public places!! It's a nightmare!

I am on a preventative. I have accepted my migraine illness. Lord, it took awhile but I am working and doing everything I can to handle it and live my life. But the fragrance thing is horrible. And unless you have it to the degree I do, you cannot understand. We are talking about EVERYTHING that has a fragrance!!

I am definitely one of those people who knows that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. The NAET website uses the word, CURE and that does bother me. And here I am, desperate, so that makes me a bad candidate. But I am going to give it a try and limit it to so many treatments and see what happens.

But I do appreciate your input and concern. I know you have my best interests at heart.
And I welcome any other comments on NAET either postive or negative as I am open minded.
parisbabe

parisbabe,
I don't know if you've gone in for your first consultation yet, but I would suggest that you be very specific on what you know is bothering you such as fragrances, perfumes, etc. I remember getting treatments for the typical things people are allergic to such as pollens, dust, and foods, but I think they had certain types of chemicals. You may want to check out if they can run the treatments on the specific fragrances that bother you the most and if they can't, then decide whether it would benefit you or not. They should have all the major foods that you are sensitive to. But again, I've found that an allergy and a migraine trigger are two different things for some crazy reason. I think my body went hyper-sensitive because my hormones changed. Finding the right combination of migraine preventives have helped a lot to calm down my nervous system.

Peggy

Hi Parisbabe,

I've been away for a while, so this is another late reply

I've read through your initial post and my immediate impression was that you can't possibly be triggered by absolutely everything you eat. And I mean this in the nicest possible way! We are all triggered by some things we eat, some people are triggered by many things they eat, but I can't help but wonder if your problem isn't rooted somewhere else. Speaking of 'food triggers' is quite common amongst migraine sufferers, but you should also investigate other possible causes. Stress for instance, or hormonal issues is usually also a biggie. Poor lighting in the office perhaps? You've already established that you're sensitive to perfumes, which is great . What I'm trying to say is: what about a scenario where you're actually triggered by something else (for instance direct sunlight) but you don't become immediatly sick from it. You then eat something for supper/lunch and when you eventually have the migraine attack later that day you automatically assume that it was the food you ate? Is there anything specific (other than food and fragrances) that you've noticed bothers you? It could be that specific foods exacerbate the problem, but doesn't necessarily cause it.

I'd be interested to know how the accupunture is going. Three years ago I started going for back-and-neck massages once every month. I go religiously and never miss an appointment. Stress is one of my triggers, and the massages have definitely helped. I hope your treatment also brings relief.

Parisbabe - I can sympathize on the foods - there are really tons of things you can eat, even if you avoid all the things you listed, but yes, it does involve cooking and makes convenience foods much harder.

People confuse food allergy with food triggers a lot, and I think that's why someone would suggest NAET. I've had NAET treatments and they worked pretty well with foods that caused congestion and sinus problems - that's largely cleared up for me.

But the difference is, the allergic mechanism is a reaction of our immune systems to a perceived threat - the immune system decides that the allergen is a toxin and attacks it, flooding our system with histamines which cause problems for us - kind of "burn the village to save it" approach.

The migraine mechanism is not nearly so well understood medically but it is a nervous system reaction to a trigger, which causes neurons to fire off in a particular pattern - more like a short-circuit in the nervous system. Foods can be triggers, as can other chemical substances (since that's what foods are too at the molecular level - chemical substances we put in our bodies), but that doesn't mean we are allergic to what triggers us.

Plenty of people who are into nutrition (including my PCP for a while) have said to me "oh if you just got rid of your food allergies, you wouldn't have those Migraines." Nope, sorry, different issue.

- Megan

Hi parisbabe,

Anytime are body has an alergic reaction to a certain food, smell or even bug bite it puts our system under "stress." When our system is more "stressed" a reaction to something like a certain food, or maybe we have a cold, we become more susceptible to our triggers.

So--

Let's say you have hay fever. Ok - your body is now under "stress." Then you don't sleep well for a few nights(more "stress" and possible first trigger), then a weather front moves in (second potential trigger), and then you eat a turkey sandwich (potential third trigger) and BAM ! a Migraine hits you. These are called stackable triggers... life is kinda stackable for some of us. Others know for sure that only red wine will do them in. Continue reading more on stackable triggers HEREin Teri's podcast, and a help free Migraine Diary

I'm sorry you are having so many food trigger issues! That really stinks!

I have a few food triggers (probably have more if I really looked). I found something that was pretty interesting when I was on Topamax though. Cured pork products (like taylor ham) always seemed to trigger me. It could be a regular trigger or a stackable one, depending on what other things had affected my day.

While I was on topamax, for some reason, the cured pork products did not trigger me! I was so excited....being a "Jersey Girl" we love taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwiches - heck I think Jersey was brought up on them! I could eat them and not get a Migraine! The funny thing is - since being on the Topamax this trigger is only stackable now! Isn't that weird?

The reason I bring this up is that maybe when you find the right preventive, you will have the same odd luck I did and you will be able to eat whatever you want again!

I have an issue with Splenda. If I have too much, it will get me. The only sweetener I can use is sweet and low or sugar, so I use sweet and low to avoid extra calories.

Maybe by now you have tried this new diet thing. If so, let us know how it is working for you!

This is precisely why keeping a really good migraine diary, and learning to intently be on the lookout for any potential trigger can be golden. It's not that you have to list every little bit of your day to look for patterns, but if you do take the time to be systematic, open-minded, and analytic, you can sometimes ferret out patterns and triggers that you weren't suspecting.

quote:

Originally posted by Cornflakegirl:
Hi Parisbabe,


I've read through your initial post and my immediate impression was that you can't possibly be triggered by absolutely everything you eat. And I mean this in the nicest possible way! We are all triggered by some things we eat, some people are triggered by many things they eat, but I can't help but wonder if your problem isn't rooted somewhere else. Speaking of 'food triggers' is quite common amongst migraine sufferers, but you should also investigate other possible causes. Stress for instance, or hormonal issues is usually also a biggie. Poor lighting in the office perhaps? You've already established that you're sensitive to perfumes, which is great . What I'm trying to say is: what about a scenario where you're actually triggered by something else (for instance direct sunlight) but you don't become immediatly sick from it. You then eat something for supper/lunch and when you eventually have the migraine attack later that day you automatically assume that it was the food you ate? Is there anything specific (other than food and fragrances) that you've noticed bothers you? It could be that specific foods exacerbate the problem, but doesn't necessarily cause it.

Thanks for everyone's reply! I cancelled my NAET appointment. Going to think more about it.

Peggy-They do say they can "cure" you for an allergy to fragrances and it's the cure word that bothers me. I cannot identify by name the specific perfumes I react to. I really react to most all of them but it would be impossible to name them all.
I think you are definitely on to something with the hormone issue. I'm having some success lately adjusting mine.
And I also agree that finding the right preventative is key. I'll keep trying to find that key. Thanks for your great input & concern!!!!

Cornflakegirl-I have to apologize-I was losing it when I wrote that post! Certainly, I can eat many things. It just seemed like I couldn't that day!! Stress is a big factor I know now from keeping a diary. I'm not working now so an office situation is not a problem nor is the light or sun. But I do hear ya on the explanation you gave that it could be something else. Boy, have I learned alot in the last 2 weeks!!!

I have learned how I can't compare myself to anyone else. I'm learning how my body is reacting to the triggers and keeping a diary is the best thing I have done. It has revealed so much I couldn't see before.

Megan-yeah, I realize that food triggers & allergies are not the same. It's still hard for me, though, to grasp how when I never had any food allergies before, how I can NOW have so many food triggers, but I'm getting there.

Nancy-I'm finding LIFE is stackable for me!!! And knowing that has helped me to not be so stressed out. Stress is one of the biggest things I need to work on now. It's getting the better of me lately. So, I do understand what you are saying, girlfriend!!!

Eileen-yes, I heard ya on wanting to eat your favorite foods. Two of mine are yogurt & cheese. Right now can't touch either. But maybe later on I can.
For some strange reason I can handle Butterfingers. Chocolate & peanut butter. Can't handle peanut butter by itself but loving it in the candy. I guess that's whats in there?

Dragondrool-You are so right!!!!Amen!

This sweet lady in my church had me over last night for dinner and a cooking lesson!! She showed me how to fix some vegetables and chicken with herbs & seasonings that wouldn't trigger me. It was great! I just need to be patient. I'm learning. Thank goodness for this site so I can rant & rave. I'm Texan & Irish. Not a patient combination!!!

And thank you all for your great advice and concern!! Appreciate it!
parisbabe
Pam

I've had my temper fit and it's out of my system...accepted that I have to learn how to cook and eat differently. It'll be ok. I've discovered marshmellows!!!

Hi Pam (a.k.a. Parisbabe)

Thanks for your last post, it seems so positive compared to your initial one. You've come a long way in a short time!

One last note from my side, please PLEASE schedule an appointment with your doctor/gynae as soon as possible. From what you've mentioned in your last post you have already identified some issues in the hormones department. Fixing this will go a long way towards preventing future migraines, or even just decreasing the severity. Don't put it off, you have to go a.s.a.p. You've mentioned quite a few things that you've learned about "our" condition. Here's my #1 lesson: Don't put off doing something that could possibly prevent a migrane. Change what is in within your control, the Lord will control the rest (but will give you the stregth to deal with it).

On a lighter side, of all the things I've changed I still miss eating bananas the most!!

Let us know how it goes!
Michelle (CornflakeGirl)