Pamela's Story - Migraines and Gluten-Free Diet

I am a 45 year-old female. I first started getting migraines at the age of 12. I would get an aura, take 3 aspirin (Advil when it became available), and the headaches were very manageable as long as I took the painkillers during the aura.

Then I got pregnant at the age of 32. After that, my migraines continued to get worse and I almost never got the warning aura. My doctor sent me to a neurologist who gave me prescriptions for Imitrex (didn't work), then Amerge and Frova.

Over the years, the migraines became more frequent and lasted 2 - 3 days. By this past year, I was up to 8-10 migraines a month. I felt like I was constantly taking drugs.... I went through 18 pills each month and sometimes had to go to my doctor for samples if my prescription ran out. Migraines were making my life a nightmare... trying to juggle them with a teenage son, a husband and a full-time job was very difficult.

Then, last winter my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and put on a very strict gluten-free diet. His doctor suggested that my husband and I adopt the same diet to make the adjustment easier for our son. Basically, we now eat proteins (chicken, fish, lean red meat), vegetables, nuts and fruits. Absolutely no gluten of any kind.... no wheat, rye, barley or oats. This means no flour; therefore, no breads, crackers, cookies, cakes, pizza, etc. We can have ice cream and chocolate! We can also have potatoes and rice so it's not that bad. We basically stay away from any sort of processed foods.

Anyway, what I found after a few months of this diet is that my migraines have almost completely disappeared!!! Unbelievable! I last had one a month ago and I took one Amerge and it went away. It's been a miracle! My son's doctor wasn't surprised at all. He said everyone would be healthier if they followed this type of diet. If anyone who sees your website and wants to try this diet for just a month..... you've got nothing to lose! If nothing else, you'll be very healthy and you just might see an improvement in your migraines. It's worth a try! For more info. on the gluten-free diet, try www.celiac.com. It's a very useful website. Like I said, my life has changed dramatically. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to have a life that's not controlled by migraines! GOOD LUCK!!