Are there anymore ways of avoiding headaches?
 

I've been working through the "Search this Forum" section, trying to see what all the different causes of headaches could be. I had been a migraine sufferer for over 20 years, and just last year, thanks to a couple dental surgeries, about 65 - 70% of my headaches left me (thank you God!!!)

Now I am trying to figure out how many of my headaches are diet related. From what I have read, not enough water (under 64 oz/day), not enough potassium, not enough calories or carbs, caffeine withdrawl, a quick run-in with a 'piece of pie' (insulin rush), cheese consumption, PMS, ...they can all be causes for headaches. Might there be any other 'simple explanations' to what causes headaches?

I started taking in potassium about 2 weeks ago due to muscle cramps. It has taken away my cramps but I am wondering if maybe I am taking in too much therefore an increase of headaches. I am taking 100 mg in the morning along with my other supplements, and 100mg before bed along with my calcium-mag-vit C-vit D-zinc tablet. Can too much potassium cause headaches?

Also, how long does it take a body to 'detox'? My dental surgeries resulted in eliminating a partial denture that I had been wearing since a teenager ...the denture plate had been solid metal (beats me what metals were used to make it). In hind sight, the dentist feels that maybe I was allergic to it, or possibly one or 2 of the metals used were making me toxic. Does it take years to rid your body of heavy metals ...can your body ever fully get rid of these toxins?

Are there any other things for me to consider / question myself in regards to headaches? I know lack of sleep can trigger headaches in me too. I'm just trying to figure out what all the angles are. I'd like to make a 'check list' for myself so that when I get a headache, I can quickly go through all the possibilities & see if I did something wrong. Any help sure is appreciated!

wow, some good questions there I can't answer. I can maybe help with migraines

I've suffered migraines for awhile now (mostly menstrual migraines).

I've discovered these things can trigger them for me:

1) not enough sleep, or even changing my sleep schedule by a couple hours
2) nuts, red wine (not cheese for me)
3) certain food additives--sulfites, nitrates, I think.
4) missing a meal
5) when I'm in PMS, being under flourescent lighting or getting any kind of strobing light effect, like looking at venetian blinds or being in a car driving through dappled light. (It's this, btw, that had me convinced years ago that migraines and epilepsy are related--and now research is showing they are)
6) being in too warm a room in winter (something heating systems put out? or a temperature thing?). I am in a room right now that's 55 degrees, and I feel much better for it.
7) teeth grinding at night (have no idea why I do it some nights and not others)

I'll also share my home rememdies with you. :)

A) ice packs on neck + dark room
B) napping the instant I feel one come on--can often knock it dead
C) orgasms (sorry to be so blunt, but they really work--maybe shifting dilation of the blood vessels on brain's surface? Maybe the muscle tensing/release process? Maybe just distraction?)
D) for awhile, taking feverfew prophylactically did seem to help. Also extra magnesium can help some folks--I'm still trying it out myself.
E) yoga
F) hand warming (hot water) at onset of "aura"
G) if all that fails, I use the massive doses of controlled substance remedy. ;) I also clean house while I have them--I hate cleaning house and it combines two unpleasant experiences into one period of time.

HTH!

I have been a severe headache sufferer since elementary school and started getting migraines in junior high. I have often suspected a dietary link, but now am positive. I have not has a single migraine since I started LC. While I have had a few normal headaches in that time, all but one were minor and responded real well to a single dose of ibuprofen. The exception was on a day that I only ate one small meal and let myself become dehydrated and went away very shortly after having a good breakfast the next morning.

Thanks razzle & wbahn.

I'll put nuts, 'strobe' lighting, food additives, room temperature, missing meals, and teeth grinding on my list (I don't think I grind my teeth at night).

I've come a long way from the deady drugs I used to have to take (one of them ...can't remember the name ...was related to Opium). Ibuprophen usually helps now. Sometimes I have to cave in to codeine ...fortunately that's not too often anymore. Something I still do often, however, is tie a bandana (or scarf) tightly around my head. It'll never cease to amaze me how well that works to relieve pain. If my pain is super bad, the bandana around my head helps to take the sharp edge off the pain until the medication kicks in.

Nutrasweet?
 

It was Nutrasweet that caused my migrianes...

Undiagnosed allergies, and food sensitivities, can both cause unwanted headaches. I was tested for allergies, but it never showed up a wheat allergy for me. I found that out after I started low carbing and was no longer getting eczema break outs. It seems I am sensitive to the gluten in the wheat. If I eat too much wheat I get headaches as well as other symptoms. I also found out I cannot handle rice, potatos, or corn.

You can also develope allergies to something you eat several times a week. That's one reason the book suggests rotation of foods. Allergies change every 10 years as well.

you could try cutting down your potassium to 100mg a day for a week and see if your headaches go away?

i just got my labs back, and it looks like my potassium is within range but close to being too high. and, i'm only taking 100mg of potassium a day. it is not good to get too much potassium, don't know for sure if it would cause headaches though. you could get a metabolic panel done and see where your potassium is.

No, too much potassium shouldn't cause headaches but it can cause heart problems. Unless your doctor tells you to take potassium supplements, it's safer to just use "No Salt" on your food. Because of the taste, you can't overdose on it any more than you could eat too much table salt.

Aspartame
 

I've suffered from migraines since I was 17, and I'm now 45. Several years ago I went to a nutritionist for advice and she suggested I remove aspartame, (also known as Nutrasweet or acesulfame potassium) and caffiene from my diet. It has worked miracles for me. Since then I've gone from 2 migraines/week to 1 every 3-6 months!
*A note of caution, one week after quitting my daily diet coke, I awoke from a deep sleep in the middle of the night with a migraine (first and only time that's ever happened to me). As the nutritionist explained it to me, my strong reaction to withdrawal from caffeine and nutrasweet actually indicated how necessary and important it was for me to quit them both.

Maybe sodium, too, since it can affect hydration and blood pressure. My cousin had horrible migraines for years, and then a couple of years ago they found out she had high blood pressure and put her on medication. I don't think she's had one since!