Allergy test

I met with an allergist last week to see if allergies were giving me headaches. I had awful allergies - ragweed, dogs, cats - as a kid, but I grew out of them (either that or they went away when I moved to the city). But I thought maybe they transformed into headaches instead. Crazy thought, but I at least wanted to rule it out.

So I got a scratch test (see image below). This is not me - I wanted to take a picture, but I wasn't allowed to move my arms so that would have been difficult.

(Phanie/Photo Researchers/NY Times)

The results were expected - allergic to ragweed and molds. Certainly not bad enough to cause headaches or even bother me much. I even had the doctor check for foods - tomatoes, chocolate and something else I forgot. No reaction, but I could still have intolerances. So my next plan is to do a food elimination diet to see if common migraine triggers affect me. I've checked out a ton of books from the library and hope to do some book reviews soon. I probably won't start the diet for a few weeks though because I just finished the gluten-free diet and I need a break from restricting my diet. That's a headache in and of itself!

A few more brief updates: acupuncture's going well. I've switched to private sessions with deep neck massage and they seem to be helping. I'm off all prescription medications (so no more Lyrica or Lexapro, woohoo!) except for when I have headaches; if they're bad enough I'll do rotations of Toradol (for REALLY bad migraines), Butalbital, 800 mg Ibuprofen and Aleve.

I'm also taking the following supplements:

• fish oil
• magnesium potassium
• B complex
• Iron (not for headaches but because I have low levels)

On a more personal note, my husband and I were talking the other night and I told him I was mad at God because he has the ability to heal my pain but he won't. I took it back right away and said that Christians shouldn't be exempt from pain. This is earth after all; the pain-free time is yet to come (heaven). But I still felt bad, and I feel like I settled it with God at church this morning - I had a feeling of peace and joy throughout the entire service and I asked God to forgive me...and yes, to heal me. It doesn't hurt to ask. God might want me to use my pain to witness to others. So if you're not religious and this paragraph is gibberish to you, know that God's helped me through the pain and really does provide strength and peace. I'm not saying he'll take it away, but there's always hope. :)

One Month Gluten Free

First of all, an inspiring read on migraines and going gluten free. This blog post is by the person I met on Twitter who inspired me to try a gluten-free diet. She has celiac disease, and when she cut gluten from her diet, her migraines went away. While I do not have celiac disease (according to a blood test) I'm still thinking there could be a chance I have some level of gluten intolerance, which is why I'm trying a gluten-free diet. Here's her blog post, My Migraine Story - A Gluten Free Miracle.

Second, a VERY helpful read if you're planning to start a gluten-free diet, How to Start Living Gluten-Free.

And to add my own experience...I started a little over a month ago by eating up all my food and giving away extra flour, Bisquick, Kashi bars, etc. Then I went completely gluten free immediately by eating mostly unseasoned and unbreaded fruits, vegetables, meat, rice and potatoes. Throughout the past month I've tried gluten-free foods from Whole Foods, Kroger, Harris Teeter and Earthfare. They all have pretty good selections, and I was happy to learn that Kroger, which is my primary grocery store, labels gluten-free items (such as cookies or cereal that would typically contain gluten). When I shop I carry a list of ingredients that contain gluten so I can check foods I'm unsure about.

For breakfast I have gluten-free breakfast bars or fruit, for lunch gluten-free frozen dinners or a salad, and for dinner I'll usually have a veggie, rice and meat. I've also tried GF pasta (made from rice or other grains), quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), which is a healthy herb/grain that you can eat like rice or use in recipes like meatloaf, and Tamari - gluten-free soy sauce (yes, soy sauce contains wheat). For snacks, I have corn chips or gluten-free cookies. Eating out has not been too difficult. I'm used to having to check to see if restaurants have MSG-free options since it makes me sick, so now I check online menus for gluten-free options as well. Many places like PF Changs, Chili's, and Outback Steakhouse even have special gluten-free menus online. I've also tried a kitchen in Raleigh that lets you pick up meals that are guaranteed gluten free. They have a killer zucchini bread! And just yesterday I bought a gluten-free chocolate cupcake from a bakery selling at the local Farmer's Market that was out of this world! :)

I went an entire month without cheating, although I wasn't 100% strict either. I did check my pills and lip gloss, but I don't worry about lotion, shampoo, makeup, and cross-contamination issues. Since I don't have celiac disease, I'm guessing I don't need to be super-sensitive. BUT yesterday, I could not resist a bite of wedding cake and the crepes station at a wedding. I wanted to see if I'd get an instead headache. However, I already had a headache before the wedding, and although it did get worse, I think it's because of the two strawberry mojitos I drank!!!

So the big question is have my headaches improved? In June I had 26 headaches. Today is July 12 and I've had nine headaches so far. But the three non-headache days were in a row, which is unusual.

Of course if you read my blog, you know that I'm also doing acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and some different types of vitamins. Any of those might be helping.

For now, I'm going to stick to my gluten-free diet for five more months, or at least that's my goal.

P.S. Thanks for all the gfree people on Twitter who have been happy to answer questions and who post helpful tips!!!

Acupuncture Update

I've had four acupuncture visits so far; one per week. Unfortunately I'm still having headaches almost every day. I had a total of 26 headaches in June. A friend told me today that she saw a Duke study on acupuncture and headaches, and it took about 12 sessions for improvement, so I've decided to give it that many. Here's an article on acupuncture - it explains how it works, which I wonder each time I go! Thanks to @ManageMigraines on Twitter for the link.

In addition to the community acupuncture, I've been doing what I guess is acupressure where I tilt my head to the side and use that side's hand to push on the opposite side's area between my neck and shoulders, if that makes sense. When I push it, the pain radiates to my head. I'm supposed to push it until the knot that's there breaks up.


Also, as you can see from the picture, I'm on lots of fun non-big-pharma pills. So in addition to the Lyrica and Lexapro that my neuro put me on and I'm going to get off as soon as I see her next, I take the following: women's multi-vitamin, iron (not headache-related), magnesium, fish oil/omega-3, vitamin B complex, Chinese herbal migraine pills which are the black beads in the picture (10 twice a day) and 800 mg Ibuprofen or 2 Aleves when I have bad headaches.

My gluten-free diet is going very well. After eliminating food I couldn't eat from my kitchen, I printed gluten-free menus from restaurants that have them, printed a list of ingredients to avoid, and visited several different grocery stores to see their gluten-free foods selection. I'll blog more about it soon.

Hope all my American readers have a wonderful Independence Day, and I hope all my readers are headache-free for the weekend! :)