Book Review: TMWtEiIhHaM

 

I'm going through a headache book reading spree, and my first review is the book with a mouthful title, "Tell Me What to Eat if I have Headaches and Migraines" by Elaine Magee, M.P.H., R.D. The foreword was written by Frederick Freitag, D.O., Diamond Headache Clinic.

This was an overall informative book of foods and drinks that commonly trigger headaches. I'm sure you've heard all about these, but here's a list (not all-inclusive, of course):

• chocolate
• caffeine
• red wine
• tyramine (aged cheeses, alcoholic beverages, some processed meats, avocados, overripe bananas, chocolate, nutes, seeds, pork, venison, soy-based foods
• nitrates/nitrites, MSG, & other possible additives
• aspartame
• fatty foods

Other tips:

• Eliminate suspect foods from your diet for 1-4 weeks
• "Ok" cheeses are: cottage cheese, cream cheese, Monterey Jack, and fresh or low moisture mozzarella
• Women 31 or older should take 320 milligrams of magnesium to help with hormonal headaches
• Nitrates/nitrites are mostly in cured meats and are usually on the ingredients label

What stood out as very negative to me was the part on MSG. I have MSG intolerance not related to my headaches and therefore have a lot of knowledge on the subject. The section only listed products that contain MSG and didn't even mention hidden names such as autolyzed yeast extract. The book is from 2005, so there are lots of new products not mentioned that contain MSG! Plus, some products now do not contain it because of the organic trend. And, some recipes listed in the book could easily have MSG in them if you're not careful.

This was a good intro to nutrition related to headaches, and it's a quick read, so I'll let you decide if you want to look into it further.

I'm still putting off going on a migraine trigger elimination diet because I'm enjoying food too much after ending my gluten-free diet.

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Headache update: I only had two headaches on vacation and they started in the evening my last two days and didn't get bad enough to require meds. It was great! I had a migraine when I got back but I took the red-eye flight and didn't sleep, and then napped the whole next day, so that was my fault. When I saw my acupuncturist Monday he said my neck and head felt great - hardly any knots and muscle tension like I usually have. He said I should take vacations more often. I wish. :)

Gluten Free Diet: The End

I'm a little ashamed to write this post. I feel like I might be letting people down. Two months or so ago I decided to do a six-month gluten-free diet to see if it helped my headaches. My celiac disease tests came back negative, but I figured I might be gluten intolerant. I blogged about going gluten free and was excited to be trying a natural way to fight my headaches. It wasn't too hard either, but I think that's because I'm used to reading food labels due to my MSG intolerance. I thought I'd miss cupcakes and such, but I found some awesome gluten-free places in town that make gfree cupcakes, zucchini bread, etc. and they were delicious! The one thing I did miss was pizza (which is odd because I hated pizza as a kid but it grew on me later in life). I tried gfree pizza and the crust, my favorite part, was disgusting. However, I only tried it at one place and was scared to try it again. If you do want to try gfree pizza, I hear Bella Monica's is good - they have a restaurant in Raleigh and Whole Foods carries their pizza - also they were very helpful to me on Twitter while I was gfree.

One more quick tangent. A lot of people don't understand Twitter or think it's dumb, but I am an advocate. If you want to try going gluten-free, you can search "#gfree" and find a ton of people who are helpful in answering questions or sharing tips. I also use Twitter for migraine support. If you find the right people, it's a great community. So a special thank you to my gfree friends who helped me the last two months.

But, I'm sorry to say I've ended my gluten-free diet. I saw an internal medicine doctor last week and we discussed my headache history and things I'm currently trying, including the diet. He said that I could keep trying it if I wanted, but I probably would have noticed a difference by now. Also, my acupuncturist said he supports having a balanced diet. So I slowly started adding gluten back the past week, and my headaches haven't gotten worse.

In fact, they've been better, and I think it's due to my acupuncture. I've been doing private sessions where I lie down and the acupuncture points are more intense (somewhat painful). Also, my acupuncturist has been doing deep neck massages at the end of the last two sessions, and I think that is making a difference. It's painful to the point where I'm almost in tears and am sore for days afterward (I go once a week) but I honestly think this is what's helping my headaches. I've had maybe one or two headaches a week now instead of every day or every other day.

I'm terrified to say I'm getting better, but I'm definitely making progress. :)

Oh and also my internal medicine doc gave me permission to taper off the Lyrica and Lexapro, so soon I'll be taking only vitamins and minerals. WOOT!

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!!!

HEP update

First, an update on my HEP (see post below). I have "Lamictal" written down on my headache calendar, as well as "calcium channel blocker." My memory is so bad that I have no clue how I found out about those, but I googled Lamictal and I think it's a seizure medication. I've tried meds for seizures for my headaches, but I haven't tried Lamictal. I think I've been on a calcium channel blocker too, but I'm not positive. Those are two things I will ask my neurologist about.

My health insurance's Web site is undergoing maintenance, so I don't know if a nutritionist would be covered or not. I have an intolerance to monosodium glutamate (MSG) which makes me think that maybe food could be affecting my headaches too. If I eat MSG, I get awful flu symptoms but no headache (MSG gives many people headaches, but not me, go figure).

I have a tip that most people know, but I wanted to emphasize it on here. If you are taking a prescription (pill form), especially long term, and the instructions say to take it with a full glass of water, please do that. My mom is a nurse and she told me that if you don't drink a full glass of water, the medication can mess up your kidneys over time. In the past I'd drink as much as I could but if I was in a hurry I'd take a few gulps and that's it. Now, of course, I drink a full glass - I like my kidneys functioning. The bad thing is that I have to take my medicine at night (because it makes me drowsy) and that means I end up waking up once or twice in the middle of the night to pee. Oh well, my kidneys will thank me.

I've been running around all weekend and I'm starting to get a headache, so I'm going to relax. I hope everyone had a fun weekend. If you're struggling with headaches remember that you are not alone and I am praying for you.

News Item - How to stop a headache before it starts

Interesting article from SELF magazine on MSN.com today...the first one relates to my last post. I shortened the others, but you can click on the link to get more information. I don't agree with the caffeine one, because why would you have caffeine every day if you can't skip it without getting a headache? That seems like a bad idea. I limit my caffeine intake to once a week, if that. I do just about everything else on the list though, especially the ones about drinking water all day and avoiding MSG (monosodium glutamate) - it makes me miserably sick, so I avoid it anyway.

How to stop a headache before it starts
8 drug-free tips to avoid agony and painproof your day
By Jaydine Sayer
Self
Updated: 2:17 p.m. ET Sept 23, 2007

7 a.m.: Abide the alarm
Snoozing in for more than an hour can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, and anything that tinkers with your body’s natural rhythms may prime you for pain, says Lisa Mannix, M.D., a spokeswoman for the National Headache Foundation in Chicago. Commit to waking up (and going to bed) at the same time every day — yes, that includes weekends, too.

7:45 a.m.: Get caffeinated
10:45 a.m.: Do a posture check
11:30 a.m.: Break for H2O
12:30 p.m.: Skip the sandwich
3 p.m.: Take a time-out
6 p.m.: Slip into your sneakers
8:30 p.m.: Wind down slowly

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