elimination diet eve

To make a long story short, on March 6 I had a headache and it has never stopped.

For the past three months I have been poked, prodded, tested, scanned, journaled, and MRIed. All normal. This should be good news, except I kept hoping they would find something wrong, something that could be fixed so my head would stop hurting. The last doc I saw, a neurologist, was the last straw. She diagnosed me with chronic migraines and prescribed pain meds that I need to take everyday, forever. Not my idea of the good life.

Given my recently developed food and medication intolerances, I think it is fair to suspect that one or more of the foods I eat everyday are making me sick. After much research about testing for such things I decided that a Ouiji Board would be just as helpful as any of the current testing methods. The answer is one I tried to avoid, thinking there must be an easier way. Turns out there is not. It is going to be difficult, but will provide the best results. An Elimination Diet.

I start Monday, so here we are on the eve of my turning my entire life upside down. I know it is going to be difficult, but if it offers relief it will be worth a few months of deprivation. The literature says that your intolerance is often something you love and eat almost everyday. That means that potatoes, corn, and eggs are the prime suspects. Of those three, I would miss eggs the most, and corn would be the most difficult to avoid, so potatoes would be the best option.

If you have advice to give, I would love to hear it.

 

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Comments

[kate]

My thoughts are with you Terri. Keep really good notes, and do it slowly. Many people with IC turn to an elimination hoping to find a food at the root cause.

I just hope the headache clears.

(My mum gets chronic headaches and swears by the chiropractor, although they come back after treatment as soon as she tries to overdo things bending her neck at a certain angle - she suffered permanent whiplash 23 years ago.)

[Patty]

Good luck Terri, I hope you find the cause soon. Headaches are not fun. Once you've determined the cause and eliminated it for a time, hopefully you will be able to add it back into your diet in small amounts occasionally. I know that's what my daughter has done.

[Angela]

I have chronic migraines and it just sucks. I see a neurologist and a chiropractor so while that does help it hasn't completely eliminated them. I'm sure you've already done the research but keeping a migraine journal really helped me figure out my triggers. I no longer drink alcohol or caffeine. I have to be careful in the sun and heat which makes summertime oh so much fun at my house. Drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep does help but there's nothing I can do to avoid the menstrual and stress triggers. Good luck and keep trying until you figure out what works for you.

[Julie]

I found that caffeine and raw onion were both migraine triggers for me. I also found a mind body course in "medical symptoms reduction" helpful. Meditation was what worked best for me out of all the techniques we learned in that class. You can use biodots for a couple of weeks to look for situations that cause you stress. If your neck and shoulders are tight then massage therapy or physical therapy can also be super helpful.