Migraine

For those of you who are triggered by chocolate, does it depend on which type?

I'm pretty fond of the dark variety, and I've only found one brand of milk chocolate that I like (outside of those cheap, foil-wrapped chocolate easter eggs, I don't know what it is about them!)

I think that chocolate is a stackable trigger for me...On its own it doesn't seem to affect me. But paired with other stimuli, I notice I get a mild throbbing afterwards. But it only happens with milk chocolate as far as I can tell right now.

Last night I had these brownie cookies my store sells and later I ate some of those Rolos. After the Rolos I didn't feel so well, and still am kind of wishy-washy today.

I was just wondering, because I thought that the dark variety was supposed to be worse for migraineurs? Or does it just not matter? If chocolate becomes a trigger I think I will cry!

Huh, I'm not really sure.

I know when I was younger, everyone thought I was allergic to chocolate because I would always get sick when I had it.

Thank my lucky stars I grew out of that!!! I LOVES me some chocolate!!!

I'm with you...dark chocolate is my all time fav. If you like lime as well - check out Godiva dark chocolate key lime truffles....they are to die for!!! But you can only get a few because they are, of course $$$ - but so worth it!!!

I think chocolate is a stackable trigger for me. I can eat a little bit, but I'm too scared to go beyond a few bites.

I'm with you on the dark chocolate. But give me a bowl of Hershey's kisses, and I'm in heaven. I think it's the unwrapping and the shape of the kiss.

Things like chocolate pudding trigger me. I haven't tried it since I realized that chocolate is a trigger.

I'm looking for something to replace chocolate for emotional eating. I love licorice, but good licorice is hard to find. Any other suggestions?

Gretchen in Mississippi

I would cry too, if chocolate was a trigger for me.

I think dairy is a stackable trigger for me. I've been avoiding milk chocolate ever since I figured out cow's milk isn't good for me.

I've found chocolate that doesn't contain dairy though to get my chocolate fix that way.

Chocolate's not a trigger for me - tho it is a major addiction! Leeloo I imagine if people are triggered by milk, milk chocolate would be worse, if by chocolate then dark because it's more concentrated. I hope you don't have to cry over this.

Chocolate is a major comfort food for me when I get a migraine - and I think the mild dose of caffeine in it helps me with an early stage migraine. I don't know what I'd substitute - Gretchen there's some awfully good Dutch licorice (I'm not talking about the salty stuff - that's an acquired taste) - maybe you could find it on line?

- Megs

I noticed it's not necessarily whether it's milk or dark chocolate, but the richness or denseness of what it is. A chocolate chip cookie is okay, but a piece of Godiva chocolate or an expresso brownie from Starbuck's isn't. Too bad, because I'm an absolute chocolate freak!

Valerie

I'm so glad to see this thread! I've found through keeping my diary that chocolate is one of my stackable triggers. I haven't figured out what type of chocolate or exactly how much is too much to land me with a doozy. I seem to be OK with Hershey's kisses, but if I have ANY headache at all and eat chocolate other than kisses, I'm going to have a doozy!

I LOVE my chocolate too and can't stand to give it up completely. At my last dr. appointment, he suggested I give it up if it was a stackable trigger. He got the message loud and clear when I ask him if he wanted to work with a PMS-ing woman who couldn't have chocolate? He got the point and told me to just watch it.

It's tough being a choco-holic and having to limit it!
Lynn

chocolate yummmmmmmmm

If it is a trigger is it immediate or delayed?

Still trying to figure out my relationship with the stuff.

My dad actually gave me a bag of gherdali chocolate chips after he read somewhere that there was a study that found out that CFS for some people was helped by daily consumpumtion of a couple ozs. of dark chocolate. Couldn't afford to keep testing that theory
But it was fun while it lasted.

Mary in NM

Licorice!! MMM like the good hard kind - not the Twizzlers kind! If you have a Gertrude Hawk near you - they sell boxes of it, but I don't remember the brand name of it....it has a panda bear on the front, that's all I remember. It's good though, right amount of sweet and bitter.

quote:

Originally posted by gwp:
I think chocolate is a stackable trigger for me. I can eat a little bit, but I'm too scared to go beyond a few bites.

I'm with you on the dark chocolate. But give me a bowl of Hershey's kisses, and I'm in heaven. I think it's the unwrapping and the shape of the kiss.

Things like chocolate pudding trigger me. I haven't tried it since I realized that chocolate is a trigger.

I'm looking for something to replace chocolate for emotional eating. I love licorice, but good licorice is hard to find. Any other suggestions?

Gretchen in Mississippi

quote:

Originally posted by gwp:
I'm looking for something to replace chocolate for emotional eating.

Coffee ice cream! Works for me! (well at least it did before I decided to forgo dairy).

Not only do I love dark chocolate, but I love it as dark as I can get it. DBF found me a gluten-free brand that is 87% cacao. He hates it, thinks it's bitter and disgusting. I love it. I've found that if it's nice and dark I won't eat very much of it. And sometimes the bit of caffeine in it will take the edge off my migraine.

Dagoba is the brand I buy. It's the only brand I've found that's actually completely allowed in my gluten-free, dairy-free, (mostly) sugar-free diet. And it has to be the 87% dark. It doesn't come cheap but I don't care!

I just discovered on their website they sell a 100% cacao bar. I may actually have to try it. DBF really does think I'm crazy. This is one the one he found for me, HERE.

I'm glad you gals are into this discussion. Whatever would we do without chocolate (or candy, for that matter)? Glad I am not the only one!

The last time I had chocolate during a migraine it actually got worse. I'm not sure if it was a natural progression of the migraine itself or a result of the chocolate ingestion, but it occurred RIGHT after. And I definitely eat chocolate out of a frustrating need to pamper myself out of misery, so I was kind of surprised and upset that my head got worse. I haven't tried to experiment again; my head hurt pretty badly that one time and I don't care to revisit it!

Hm, I like licorice but I tend to stick to Twizzlers Pull N Peels, which is probably less like real licorice and just mass-produced sugar in a hard jelly form!

Otherwise my favorite candy on the chewy side of things are the Lifesavers Gummies, the mixed berries flavor. I'd take down and entire bag if I didn't constantly stare at the nutritional contents while eating it.

If chocolate is a stackable trigger, I'd be loathe to give it up completely. Cutting back I can do, but dropping it altogether when I am unaware of the magic combo would upset me. If I knew what stacked before the chocolate pushed it over, then I'd avoid it. But I don't--and maybe eventually I will pick up the clues.

Lynne - LOL:

quote:

At my last dr. appointment, he suggested I give it up if it was a stackable trigger. He got the message loud and clear when I ask him if he wanted to work with a PMS-ing woman who couldn't have chocolate? He got the point and told me to just watch it.

My sister has a sign up on her refrigerator - this very sweet sort of 30's girl, with dark curly hair, poufy red lips, in a cute little flouncy dress, that kind of thing, looking very demure, surrounded by bon-bons, and it says "Give the dangerous witch her chocolate!"

I love it! Leeloo I agree, it's a total comfort eating thing. I'm lucky I've never noticed any triggering effect for me, more like MJ, it seems to give me a helpful small dose of caffeine. And love the daily dose of chocolate for CFS idea - maybe that's why I eat so much! On the other hand I think the chocolate is the main thing that keeps me from taking off any weight!

- Megs