Food Triggers - Yes or No?
G'day,
I was 11yo when I was diagnosed with Migraine with Aura, circa 1988. At the time I was experiencing migraines very frequently - maybe once a week - which would see me in agony hiding in my bed with a bucket for at least 6-8 hours.
At the time a whole bunch of tests were performed to rule out aneurysms etc, before settling on the migraine diagnosis. Blood tests indicated that I had high levels of (? E-something ?) that supposedly indicated that my body was reacting to consumption of particular foods. Without any actual specific tests, the doctor blamed chocolate, peanuts, and Nutella.
His instruction was to cut those foods out, so the blood levels would fall, and I could potentially then cautiously eat those items again, but made the analogy of a cup filling and spilling over if I eat too much of them, which would trigger another migraine.
So I cut those foods out, and my migraines settled to about one per month. Over time I toyed with those 3 foods, and whilst I have reintroduced chocolate in restricted quantities, I have found that consuming peanuts in particular - even a handful - will trigger a migraine with a day. I've tested this numerous times over the past 30 years, always with the same result.
As I got older, red wine has joined the list of things I cannot safely consume. Some red wines are a certified migraine inducer, whilst others are okay. Problem is - I can't guarantee which ones are safe.
Despite all of the above... In about 2011 I saw a neurologist because it had been some time since I'd ever seen a doctor about my migraines, and his opinion was that no particular food can trigger a migraine - the triggers for migraine are changes to your sleep patterns, changes to your eating patterns, and stress. So - go to bed at the same time each night, and get up at the same time too (no sleep ins!); eat your 3 meals at the same time each day, and - stay away from stress.
When I have tried to "improve" my sleeping habits (I usually go to bed around 1am and get up about 7am), I end up with a migraine. If I regularly eat a late lunch, I can get a migraine. (Or, am I getting them due to other things...)
Ok, not sure there's even a question here... I've had 3 migraines this year so far, and just... I really feel like a handful of peanuts.
Hi
- Sounds like you’ve really been through a lot over the years, and it’s clear you’ve put in alot of effort to figure out what works for you. Definitely frustrating when triggers feel unpredictable and you're not alone in trying to figure out what foods/drink to avoid or how they even impact your symptoms. I totally get the temptation to want just a handful of peanuts... It’s tough when your experience doesn’t always align with what doctors say about food triggers. For you, it sounds like you're feeling pretty confident that nuts and wines are an issue? But yes, I've also heard many here share about sleep and stress as triggers too. It’s so tricky to untangle all the pieces. Thinking about you getting migraine after trying to change up your sleep - I'd wonder if there's a timeframe when you are trying to change up a pattern that could be triggering until it becomes a new normal/routine? It's almost a catch-22 when a doctor says that changing in certain patterns can be a trigger but then they give a suggestion to change up your sleep pattern! If you’re curious about how others handle food triggers or want to explore them further, here's an article about common food and drink triggers that might resonate: https://migraine.com/migraine-triggers/food-and-drinks. There’s also a helpful piece, albeit a bit older, about elimination diets if you’re ever interested in revisiting how certain foods might impact migraine: https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-triggers-food-triggers-elimination-diets.
- Jake (Team Member)
