Exclusion diets

Jessica:
Hi there,

Just wondering if any of you had ever been on an exclusion diet to try to figure out what was causing your migraines, and if so, what the outcome was ... 2
of my docs are recommending it, and I'd like some firsthand info on if it really works.

Thanks!

Katie:
I've tried a lot, but there were only two that worked. MSG is a big trigger for me, along with too much sugar and carbohydrates. I really have to watch the sugar. I can't eat any refined sugar, and only a little bit if it's in something like fruit or milk. This is going to sound weird but eating sugar actually makes me really angry and depressed, which in turn triggers a migraine. Without fail, every single time I eat too much of it, I get really mad. I never knew it was possible to not feel so angry all the time until I cut most of it out of my diet. I guess I'm just weird....

Susan:

Hi J -

Yes, I've done the migraine diet. One of the best books out there is called Migraine Headaches & the Foods You Eat. It explains the whole reason behind why some foods cause migraines for some people & has the most complete list that I've found for tyramines. My neuro recommended the book & asked if I could give it a try.

Here's what happened for me... I spent 6 weeks avoiding ALL foods listed in the book. It didn't lessen the frequency of my migraines, but they did go down in intensity. Then I started adding certain foods back & could tell when I'd ate something wrong - like MSG. I must add that they also had me start on feverfew at the same time, so that could have helped my migraines too, but I was having near daily migraines & would have done anything at that point.

Then they added verapamil to the mix & I saw a drastic reduction in the number of my migraines. It became very obvious what foods caused migraines & what didn't. My main trigger is MSG, but sometimes nitrates (like deli meats) will set it off too. It depends on the quantity & how faithful I've been to the rest of my migraine prevention routine.

Well, that's about it. I hope it works for you.

Michele:
No, Katie. You are not weird. I am happy for you that you found the problem - what a big help. I am really angry sometimes. I think it is partially hormonal. It seems to run with anger/depression/migraines all together at the same time. Came home with a doosey today. Spent the whole day in bed. Feeling a bit better though.
Michele

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