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Migraines gone

Hi I have suffered from Migraines from age 8 to 47
My Migraines made me very light sensitive I just wanted to be in a dark room, my fingers would often go tingly and often I would vomit, usually after which the migraine would slowly fade away, I would get these types of migraines 1 to 3 times sometimes 4 times per week and sometimes when all was going well, just once or twice per month.
then almost 18 months ago when I was going through a real bad patch of migraines (I was getting them nearly every day) I decided to cut all processed food out of my diet so if it came in a bag or a packet I decided not to eat it ( I was desperate). This mean't I only ate vegetables and meat (no bread, no flour, nothing out of a tin, or packet. Well it worked. my migraines stopped within about two days.
after about 2 months of this diet it dawned on me (after trying a small splash of soy sauce on some fried vegetables ) that it was the flour and more accuratly glutin that was the problem.
I have had only 3 migraines in the last 18 months and each time I had consumed something unwittingly containing gluten about 6 to 12 hours prior. one time it was Soy Sauce, another time it was mild chilly beans in a can (with added wheat flour in the can) another time it was Bluebird potato crisps which the packet said contained wheat flour in the coating (I had't read the ingredients)
I had been to many doctors since a child and not one had suggested anything about cutting out gluten I was instead given all kind of other Meds that seamed to releave the symtoms slightly but didn't stop me getting the migraines.
I have since been able to go back to eating most processed foods and once again enjoy the odd bit of chocolate and an occasional coffee or other non flour or non gluten treat, as long as there is no gluten i.e 100 % (not 99.(%) I am very sensitive to it.
As gluten did not bring on a migraine in me every day even though I was consuming it every day.
I have read that gluten can cause inflamation and so I do wonder if it was causing inflamation in my brain ( well thats what it felt like was happening)
I do wonder how many other people may be this sensitive to gluten and not know it??
from David S

  1. Hi David,

    Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I'm so glad to hear about the improvement in your migraines! What a wonderful discovery! I am also sensitive to gluten (I do not have celiac disease). I am usually gluten free but notice if I do eat something with gluten it triggers a migraine. I still have migraines when gluten free (possibly less frequent) but my other symptoms from comorbid conditions seem to improve somewhat.

    You may like to read about some studies looking at the link between gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, migraine and headache here:
    https://migraine.com/blog/gluten-and-migraine-is-there-a-link/
    https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-among-patients-with-celiac-disease-inflammatory-bowel-disease/

    Best wishes and thanks again,
    Gemma

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