Food is an overrated headache trigger, but since I’ve identified that nuts and legumes are problematic for me, I’ve approached food triggers with a more open mind.
Completely fed up with nearly nine months of nightly migraines, I decided to subsist on boiled chicken, romaine lettuce and rice for three days, then add other foods back in slowly. In usual fashion, Hart helped me see how absurd that plan was. Cutting out wheat and dairy seemed like a sufficient start. My diet is heavy in both, so this was reasonable.
I’m now on my third wheat-free round. Whether it has been useful for my migraine and chronic daily headache is up for debate. (I am, however, pretty convinced that there is a correlation between giving up gluten and eliminating my omnipresent canker sores.) The story so far:
Wheat/Gluten- and Dairy-Free Attempt #1
This lasted a week. The first five days, I felt awful. Then I figured out that almond butter was triggering some of that agony. Interestingly, I remember a low migraine phase with lots of energy. Looking at my post on almond butter, things weren’t as rosy as I thought.
I reintroduced wheat and dairy with a slice o’ triggers from Pizza Hut. Duh, of course I got a migraine. I had the pizza on a Friday and the headaches didn’t kick back in until the following Tuesday. This could mean that I can have small amounts of wheat over two or three days without triggering a migraine.
Saturday we went for cupcakes with friends (no migraine after that), but I just couldn’t stop eating wheat after that.
Wheat/Gluten and Dairy-Free Attempt #2
I re-eliminated wheat and dairy on May 25. I felt awesome — low pain, lots of energy and a clear mind — until June 11. I have no record of how I felt those days, so I can’t be sure how accurate my memory is. I did accomplish a lot and Hart noticed a substantial improvement.
Then my brain returned to its usual self. Even though I still wasn’t eating wheat or dairy, I had three weeks of as much pain, fatigue, nausea and foggy-headedness as before. I did really push myself during the good two weeks.
On June 29, I discovered that 10 pounds melted off me in four weeks (not a desired effect). I looked haggard and was exhausted. Having just read the virtues of milk, I bought pasteurized, unhomogenized whole milk from pastured cows that afternoon.
By July 1, I felt great. Wheat slipped back in on July 3. Still, I felt good until the until the 8th, when the migraines came back with a vengeance.
Gluten-Free Attempt #3
Still eating dairy, I cut wheat again on July 9. I’ve felt pretty awful for the last week. Whether this is related to heat, diet or something else is up for debate. After a doozy of a migraine on Sunday, my pain has been low yesterday and today, but the exhaustion and sluggish mind are full force.
Who knows what this all means. Some people will read this post and think that wheat is a clear culprit. Others will think just the opposite. It is fuzzy enough for me to keep trying. I do wonder about what Laurie brings up:
What if part of the reason people who do not have celiac disease but feel better when they go GF has less to do with their physiological sensitivity to gluten and more to do with the fact that the GF diet is, on the whole, a lot healthier?
My diet is still pretty healthy when I have eaten wheat and dairy again. I haven’t gone overboard when I have eaten wheat. A cookie here, a slice of french bread there. Besides, having found some awesome cornflakes and corn chips, I can eat plenty of junk even without gluten.
What’s next for me? I’m back to being gluten-free but still enjoying dairy. I’m toying with an anti-inflammation diet (that’s another post. . .), which doesn’t include wheat, so I’ll keep going without it. I’m officially in the wait-and-see stage.
Gluten and dairy are oft vilified. What are your thoughts? Have you tried going without one or both?
I used wheat and gluten interchangeably even though they aren’t the same thing. I avoid non-wheat gluten sources without a problem. I haven’t been able to resist the seductive call of wheat. I do come from a family of wheat farmers.