Migraine and Keto


(Julie Pegler) #21

I have tmj too, I found when I was less stressed it went away. I was constantly gritting my teeth. yoga and meditation helped!


(eileen.zollinger) #22

So, 0 carbs is what got rid of them for you? Thatā€™s what Iā€™m wondering about. I was thinking I might need to go that low, but am sort of resistant to it for some reason. I think itā€™s because I really love a few veggies. But I could try that for January. I think there is a thread where people are going zero carb for the month of January. I could hop on that. Thanks for the insight. Itā€™s easier to find info on epilepsy, a sister disease, but not much on migraine. Thanks for your insight. :smile:


(eileen.zollinger) #23

Just learned how to quote!! I will definitely ask about this type of therapy tomorrow. Thank you so much!!


(Sondra Rose) #24

Second going zero carb. Though the key is really zero plants.

Many folk in the zero carb groups I used to frequent have eliminated migraines completely.

Some plants have salicylates that can trigger migraines in sensitive folk. Keto-friendly plants like coconut, olives and avocados are particularly high in salicylates.

http://salicylatesensitivity.com/about/food-guide/fruits/

If you go zero plants for a month and still have migraines, you may want to investigate histamine intolerance.


(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #25

My 0 carb period was 0 plants, I didnā€™t understand the science 20 years ago when I was 0 carb. I ate meat and cooked with butter, I ate plain cheap meat (little $$ @ the time), no cold cuts, bacon, cheese, etc. I occasionally used a sprinkle of dried herbs, but it was maybe a 1/4 tsp once every few weeks because it was a cheat. I felt amazing, but ignorantly concerned I was doing more harm than good because of the lack of veggies, I didnā€™t listen to my body.


#26

I used to get dreadful migraines and had got into a really bad cycle of rebound attacks with my medication - triptans. I read a useful book called Heal your Headache - The 123 program for taking charge of your pain by David Buchholz which made me realise that I was in this rebound cycle and that the only way to break it was to stop the meds. I did this and it was hellish for a while as I had to deal with the migraines without the meds. I was getting migraines for up to 2 weeks at a time, every day. It was a nightmare. I also started taking some supplements that I think help - high dose omega 3 (I was actually already taking this for depression), magnesium, B2 (riboflavin) and feverfew. Because I have thrown everything at them, I cannot say for sure which of the things I am doing is the most effective or whether actually it is the combination of things that works. I do know that being keto is a huge part though because I have ended up with a migraine when I have had too many carbs. I have also found that taking extra magnesium and some salt helps if I get a migraine now - I am still avoiding triptans and standard painkillers.
I used to average 3 migraines a week. The last few months, I have had maybe 1 per month. This is a game changer for me.


(Amanda Jones) #27

I am also doing keto to gain control over chronic migraines that Iā€™ve had since 2011. I had already cut out all sugar, grains, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners, due to the horrible inflammation these foods were causing in my body in the form of four day long debilitating migraines. To me, Keto was the logical next step to help keep my inflammation under control and try to help my body heal from the damage that had been done from years of not caring about my health. My two month keto anniversary is the 31st of this month, and so far other than weight loss, I havenā€™t seen a huge improvement but Iā€™m not giving up. Iā€™m actually dealing with a migraine right now, most likely from all of the sugar free keto treats that I ate on Christmas that were sweetened with Swerve. On the bright side, I guess Iā€™ve identified erythritol as one of my trigger foods to stay away from. Iā€™m hoping to find some relief and healing in the future, and Iā€™m confident that I am on the right path with this woe. :relaxed: Sorry for the long reply! Lol


(eileen.zollinger) #28

@SondraRose I will spend a little more time looking at the salicylate. I am allergic to aspirin so it could be a consideration, but aspirin has the extra acetyl group so the likelihood is small. I just havenā€™t added that in as part of my elimination diet. I am aware of histamine intolerance and know that histamine is an issue for me, but on Keto it really isnā€™t an issue. Thanks for the link. Lots of good info in one place.


(eileen.zollinger) #29

I actually admin a Facebook group based on an elimination diet using Heal Your Headache book by Dr. David Buchholz. Thatā€™s how I figured out all of my basic food triggers. I use a great Magnesium by Pure Encapsulations, a B Complex, Potassium, CoQ10 and my preventives. I had medication overuse years ago (triptans as well) but that is a long gone thing of the past. I really improved doing the elimination diet and then Keto came up in the group I admin. I decided to try it with another admin to see how it stacked up against the other diets we use. Frankly, even if I donā€™t improve beyond the 2-4 migraines a month Iā€™m at now, Iā€™ll stick with the woe. just the lack of brain fog and more energy is enough to recommend it. I feel like i will continue to get better. I told the group that I was committing to it for a minimum of 6 months for a solid test. I am giving them my 4 month update in January. I also take magnesium when I get a migraine now.


#30

I knew your name was familiar!


(Amanda Jones) #31

@EileenZ do you mind sharing the name of your group?


(eileen.zollinger) #32

I did an extensive migraine elimination diet before going Keto. I wonder if there are some foods that are common to Keto that you are still eating that are ā€˜commonly known triggersā€™ for people with migraine. There is a site that has two lists that I used for 19 months. They are not Keto. They are trigger foods. You might look at the Foods to Avoid list and see if there are foods on there that you are regularly consuming and try to eliminate some of them? The site is www.gottaheadache.com and on the right side of the page under Diet and Lifestyle (click that) scroll down and you will see the Foods to Avoid list. Ignore the Foods Allowed list because it is not Keto. This is a neuroscience clinic and it helped me tremendously (the list, not the clinic) to determine my food triggers. Raw onion will drop me like rock falling from the sky within 20 minutes. Hope this helps. Definitely donā€™t give up!! :wink:


(eileen.zollinger) #33

Itā€™s called Heal Your Headaches - Migraine Diets

We use the HYH Diet and elimination protocol, the Charleston diet listed at www.gottaheadache.com and obviously, Keto. :smiley:


(eileen.zollinger) #34

:wink: Iā€™m everywhere!! At least where it concerns migraines and diet!!


(Amanda Jones) #35

I have the Autoimmune Paleo diet book (obviously I would avoid the non keto foods that are on the safe list), but I havenā€™t taken the plunge yet. Iā€™m cutting one category at a time and seeing how I do; itā€™s just easier for me that way. I recently cut out dairy, and eggs are next on my list. Then nightshade if thereā€™s still no improvement. Itā€™s a process. Lol


(Amanda Jones) #36

Thank you! I just sent a join request. :slight_smile:


(jketoscribe) #37

I only have visual migraines, and I found out that oranges were a trigger. I donā€™t eat oranges any more on keto, anyway, but sometimes a little orange juice or essence is a hidden ingredient. I can eat other citrus (except kumquats) without a problem, so at least I still have lemon and limes.

Itā€™s just surprising what foods might trigger a migraine and worth keeping a food diary if going keto alone hasnā€™t completely eliminated them.

I still have the occasional visual migraine, and I can almost always trace them to stress. Unfortunately not something you can simply avoid. But I figure I am exceedingly fortunate because I donā€™t get much pain with migraines, only an interruption in my daily activities until the aura clears. I can pretty much set a timer from the first glimmer to the last shimmer is about 30 minutes.


(eileen.zollinger) #38

Oranges are a trigger for me as well, but lemons and limes in small quantities are fine. Stress, or rather stress let down, is another big one. Trigger stacking is something that Buchholz talks about in his bookā€¦it makes triggers difficult to figure out because they combine to trigger the migraine. For instance, If you start with a ā€˜migraine bucketā€™ every day and in it you have stress, hormones and weather (the triggers you canā€™t control), my bucket might be about 1/3 full. When I start eating, each trigger has a different volume that can affect my bucket level. An orange may have the volume of a small rock, parmesan cheese has the volume of a super bouncy ball, a bit of lime juice the volume of a feather and raw onions the volume of a three softballs. Once the level of my bucket has been breached, a migraine is triggered. If I can keep the level of the migraine triggers below the top of the bucket (threshold)ā€¦no migraine. On a day when there is no incoming weather, no stress and no hormone, I might get away with some parmesan and vodka with lime. But if weather is coming in the next day and I try that same combination, that might set my head off. Thatā€™s why some people say parmesan isnā€™t a trigger because it isnā€™t consistent. The only way to figure out triggers, is an elimination diet. They arenā€™t fun, but they do provide good information.


(eileen.zollinger) #39

So glad you will join us to check out the group. I recommend reading the post in our Files about the difference between avoidance and elimination diets. It was written by our nutritionist who specializes in migraines and is on the Keto journey with me as well. She is one of the other adminā€™s. Eggs can be a surprising (to me) trigger for a lot of people. After a few months on Keto, she has been able to successfully reintroduce eggs, but at a reduced number per week at this point. Either way, itā€™s progress. I have also been able to have a few triggers that I wasnā€™t able to have before. I explained the ā€˜Bucket Theoryā€™ in another reply here, but I would also read that to explain trigger stacking. Helps to understand why pinpointing our triggers can be difficult. :grinning:


(Amanda Jones) #40

@EileenZ Thank you so much!