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Tuesday 11 September 2012

Migraine puzzle: gluten, dairy or detox diets?!


I have a confession to make.
I went to the National Migraine Clinic in January and was on a 3 month review. I haven't been back......

I am scared. Scared of what the next step will be. The Consultant mentioned detox which involves taking yourself off all your drugs you have for migraine treatment for 6 weeks. No analgesics, no triptans, nothing. Arggh! Panic!! I cannot see how I can do this with 3 young children. There is no time that would be a good time to inflict that on myself or my family. May be a stint in the Priory would suit?

So instead, I have chosen to cut out gluten and dairy on top of all the other things I have stopped eating and drinking. It is a last ditch attempt to change the migraine brain chemistry and see if I can make a difference......if it doesn't work (which it hasn't yet) I guess I will have to take a deep breath and face my fears.....

I do feel better on the gluten and dairy free diet. I have more energy, a feeling of desire to do things and play with my children more. I feel that my mood is consistently good, not many tears at all and my stomach behaves itself better. I am getting less head pain during the day and when I am well, I feel really well.

I chatted to a friend who is a dietician. She said after 2 months you should know if there is a link. I thought "whoopee! I've been doing it for at least 2 months so I can start eating and drinking what I want again!" I started the very next day with cows milk on my gluten free cereal......within 40 mins I had a migraine........

Then on holiday I thought "well, I keep getting migraines, so I will relax and treat myself to a bit of gluten, yum". That night I had awful stomach pains, nausea, cramps in my legs and arms and joint pains. Two days later I had a 3 day migraine and felt really low and teary again.

If I am intolerant to gluten and dairy(which I think I might be), why, oh why hasn't the pattern of migraine changed?!

Migraine is like an eternally evolving puzzle which you can't seem to ever finish. I know you get migraines for many reasons, but I just hoped that diet might have been a big chunk of the solution. I'm not ready to give up yet as at the back of my migraine brain I wonder (rather simplistically I'm sure!), that may be it takes longer for the healing to get from my stomach to my head!? Another couple of months and may be then I will face my fear at the Migraine clinic..........

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