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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Diet?
        
(Message started by: simplevox on Jul 31^st, 2003, 1:30pm)

Title: Diet?
Post by simplevox on Jul 31^st, 2003, 1:30pm

Has anyone ever tried a specific diet that has helped with cluster headaches. I wonder if there is something that I'm eating or not eating (besides the obvious "migraine" trigger foods) that either causes or could help stop the CHs. When I'm in a cycle, all I want to do it drink sugary sodas because the caffeine and sugar makes me feel better... but should I specifically stay away from sugar? If anyone has any advice, let me know.

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by vig on Jul 31^st, 2003, 2:42pm

I tried avoiding food altogether....still got CH.
...and I had to buy new clothes, so I didn't even save money.

-p

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by ave on Jul 31^st, 2003, 3:33pm

There actually was somebody who tried to go on an "all-vitamin-drink-and-nothing-else-diet". We never heard from them again.

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by simplevox on Jul 31^st, 2003, 3:35pm

Yikes!! :o

I hope they are OK!!

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by floridian on Jul 31^st, 2003, 7:51pm

A high carb diet (sugars and starches) will increase your serotonin levels somewhat. Maybe that cola is really a form of self-medication. (!?) The increase in serotonin is mediated by insulin, which affects the type of amino acids transported across the blood-brain barrier.

Ice tea is an alternative that might be better for clusterers; the catechins in tea supress inflammitory molecules that are elevated in most cluster patients (including nitric oxide and Interleukin 2), No guarantees that it will make you all better, but ice tea is less acidic and usually has less sugar than a cola. Less expensive, too.

There has been a fair amount of discussion on magnesium and clusters, though most people probably take a supplement rather than changing their diet.

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by jmorgan52 on Aug 4^th, 2003, 7:56am

Wheat seems to be having a major affect on me. I am trying hard to avoid it but it is not easy!

In the past 16 months I discovered what is perhaps the cause of my CH and avoided wheat products pretty well until just before Christmas when it got more difficult. I started getting the tell tale signs of a new cycle starting with almost daily mild headaches back in march this year so I did another Detox diet for a few weeks and cut out bread and cereals etc and they went away without getting a full blown attack. Trying hard to stick to it but the temptation and craving gets the better of me at times.

John

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by CJohnson on Aug 5^th, 2003, 10:11am

I read an article in Men's Health magazine in which a man drastically lowered his intake of carbohydrates for health reasons, and, coincidentally, he stopped getting migraines everyday.
A diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates enables you to stabalize blood-sugar levels, which are thought to be a factor in migraine.
While CH and migraine are different entities, they share enough commonality to think that, perhaps, carbohydrates could be a factor.

PFDANs
-Curtis

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by forgetfulnot on Aug 5^th, 2003, 10:59am

This is from an artical on OUCH

Quote:

General measures and patient education

Patients should be advised to abstain from alcohol during the cluster bout. Otherwise, dietary factors seem to have little importance in CH. Anecdotal evidence suggest that patients should be cautioned against prolonged exposure to volatile substances, such as solvents and oil-based paints. They should be instructed to avoid afternoon naps because sleeping can precipitate attacks in some patients.

Goadsby

Lee

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by floridian on Aug 5^th, 2003, 9:18pm

Standard wisdom is that diet doesn't play a role, but here is an article to suggest that blood sugar/insulin are messed up in cluster patients.

The insulin tolerance test and ovine corticotrophin-releasing-hormone test in episodic cluster headache. II: Comparison with low back pain patients.
Cephalalgia. 1994 Oct;14(5):357-64; discussion 318-9.

It doesn't say that insulin or low blood sugar causes the problem - it may only be a response to something else. But we don't have it figured out.

There are other indications that the pancreas is deranged in CH - including altered somatostatin secretion. So the idea that some type of diet change could help is not far fetched, though it is only speculation.

The dean of the medical school was speaking to new students. "Fifty percent of what we plan on teaching you will ultimately be shown to be wrong. Unfortunately, we don't know which half."

Title: Re: Diet?
Post by BobB on Aug 6^th, 2003, 12:34am

I avoid Chocolate and food with MSG. Both seem to trigger CH.

I've also heard that too much caffeine is not good, but a little doesn't urt.