Hi:
For about 30 years I have suffered from migraine headaches. Over the last five years or so I have averaged 1 severe (puking) and 2-3 moderate (non-puking) migraines a week. I used to take Imitrex or Zomig like it was going out of style. The good news is that since starting Atkins 3 months ago, I have had only one migraine; hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

I'm curious about the experiences of other migrainers with regard to LC eating.

Hiya
Same here! I used to get maybe 1 migraine a week. I was fortunate that the severity was not as bad as when I was a teenager - those were the pukey kind, but these were still debilitating.
Since I started, I have had 1 migraine. Day 2 of induction. I expected it - my migraines are triggered by low blood sugar mainly.

This is brilliant, it's such a weight off my shoulders!

Steven

Funny, I just discussed this in another thread of mine. I am/WAS a chronic headache sufferer not sure if they were migraines or sinus, all I know is they were bad....really bad. At its worst I had headaches almost daily. This year at least 2-3 days a week. And I can count on one hand how many I've had since low carbing, about 6 weeks now, and the headache was usaully preceded by me binging on something carb, so I guess I was really carb sensitive before......

Just on a side note, I can recall talking on my cell phone too my sister while driving in the car, and I busted out crying.........why you ask, b/c I had a headache and my turning signal was too loud!!!! How sad is that :-) Glad those days are gone.

I must have jinxed myself... I had my first migraine in three months last night. I think it may have been triggered by some OTC cold medication I've been taking.

My migraine with severe aura and cluster headaches have improved since I started low carb. I don't know if this is from the diet or the medications that my neurologist prescribed.

just curious, what are you taking?

I take verapamil (sp?). It is a blood pressure medication that they also use for migraine suppression. I have been through many drugs in the past two years and this is the only thing that has worked without weird side effects.

How effective is verapamil for you? I did 2+ years of trials on various prevention methods (depakote, verapamil, and some others I can't recall) but none of them worked for me; if anything, I had more headaches, not less. About the only ones I think I haven't tried are Botox and Paxil, which some people have had good results with.

Hi NickFender -

This has been a long road for me as well. Most of the stuff that they tried previously (depakote rings a bell, but I can't begin to list them all) were
anti-depressants or anti-seizure drugs. They all produced unacceptable side effects.

I've been on verapamil for a couple of months. Before this I had migraine symptoms (severe aura, sensivity to light, dizziness) almost every day that were not always controlled by my medications (Maxalt, Darvocet).

I now have about two headaches per month. My biggest problem, the almost constant visual disturbances, has almost disappeared. My quality of life has improved dramatically and the only side effect is a slightly lower blood pressure (my doctor has no complaints about that).

I am hopeful that this will be an effective long-term treatment for me.

I hope this is helpful. My mother's migraines, which used to be very bad, have not appeared since she started low carbing in May.

That's a very good sign! I'll keep my fingers crossed for her.

Newbie here, posting to a very inactive thread. But was very happy to come accross this. Suffered migraines for 12 years or so, increasingly severe in intensity, duration, and frequency as I got older. Started LC diet two years ago to lose weight. Was amazed when migraines disappeared. Stopped the LC diet, they came back. A year ago re-started the LC diet, no more migraines. Tested for food allergies, supposedly I have none. I'm convinced it is (was) the carbs.

Would be interested in hearing from anyone else on this issue, if anyone still reads this thread.

ps: my first post. hope it works.

I had daily migraines, only a few (one a month) with vomiting, until i began LC. Dr told me was a hypoglyceamic rebound migraine - occurs up to 2 days after blood sugar has been very low.
When first on LC it didnt take much of a high carb treat to bring on a migraine, but now after more than a year and a half, i have found that i can be a bit more naughty (as far as diet is concerned) and still either not have a migraine or have a mild "common" migraine. My dr's explanation of this is that i have become less insulin resistant and as such my body can cope with more carb.