Celiac Disease and Migraines
Migraines affect 30 million Americans, 75% of whom are women. They usually begin between the ages of 10-40 and recede at 50, although some people have them throughout their lifetime. They are not the typical tension headaches that we all know and love (see http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/migraines for a description of the various types of headaches). Migraine symptoms often include nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, smell sensitivity, sound sensitivity, blurred vision, fatigue, dizziness, temperature changes, and possibly seeing bright spots (aura). A whole series of tests is often ordered to diagnose migraines, and the blood screening test for celiac disease might eventually become one of them.
A Turkish team of researchers led by Dr. Fusam Alehan studied 73 migraine patients from age 6 to 17 and discovered that 5.5% of them had celiac disease. Only 0.6% of those in the control group of 147 people had celiac disease. The connection between celiac disease and migraines still needs to be explored more fully, but there does appear to be one. In his book Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, Dr. Peter Green explains the possible connection. Migraines are caused by the constriction and dilation of arteries and a study of untreated celiac patients has revealed alterations in their blood flow. In that same study 4% of the migraine patients had celiac disease as compared to the 0.4% in the control group (89).
So if you are a migraine sufferer ask your doctor for a blood screening test for celiac disease. If celiac is causing your migraines, actually, it is good news! The gluten-free diet has been shown to decrease and even eliminate migraine symptoms in celiacs.
11 Responsesto “Celiac Disease and Migraines”
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I am hoping this is the case with me. The migraines are terrible!! I also have memory problems which are getting progressively worse. The more I find out about celiac disease, the more I’m praying that I am diagnosed with it!
Prior to diagnosis, I suffered from terrible migraines – sometimes missing many days of work a month. I didn’t equate the two at first but almost immediately after going gluten free, I would estimate the frequency of my headaches dropped to 2-4 migraines a year and their intensity has most definitely subsided. I’m still under the care of a Headache DR, but I only see him annually just to monitor my progress.
That’s incredible. Thanks so much for sharing that. I hope your story gives hope to other migraine sufferers.
I had migraines from age 16 until I went gluten free at age 38 after discovering I have Celiac Disease. My migraines don’t occur any more unless I accidentally consume gluten.
I hope that people who have migraines will check for Celiac Disease.
This is very good to see. Prior to eliminating gluten from my diet I was experiencing migraine every five weeks, regular as clockwork. Like Amy, they would wipe me out completely for days at a time — I used to describe it as something that took my personality away for three days, I was just migraine and nothing else — and it would take two weeks to recover to my normal state, which as I know now, was far from healthy.
Since being diagnosed in 2002 I have had only one experience that came close to migraine and that was due to my own silliness when I decided to try drinking some beer. Trace gluten, I thought… Experiments can be cool but I don’t recommend it in this case! Beer definitely contains gluten.
Thank you for the excellent post.
When my daughter tested positive for celiac, I got tested. I never showed positive on the blood test, but decided to go gluten free just until I got my next migraine. ( I had been keeping an excel spread sheet on my migraines, having tried four different drug regiments.) I went gluten free three years ago and haven’t taken a migraine medication or had a migraine since (except when I accidentally glutenated).
Getting rid of caffeine relieved me of my migraines and getting rid of gluten got rid of the rest of my frequent headaches. I don’t know if I have celiac disease as I never had a biopsy – I used Enterolab. Living GF has given me back my life.
I got my first migraine at 8 years old and have suffered with them my whole life. Now I have 2 young daughters who also have frequent headaches. We were all diagnosed with celiac disease 6 years ago & although I can’t say that we are headache free, I can say that we are much improved due to our gluten free & nutrasweet free diet.
I couldn’t believe when I found out that migraines were one of the many symptoms of celiac disease – I’ve been a migraine sufferer since I was 3 – 29 years…..I’ve been GF since August and haven’t had 1 migraine – whereas before I used to get them at least once a month……
There are alternative therapies out there aimed at migraines and other stress related conditions. For those who have issues with prescription meds, it’s worth investigating. Here is an article about one alternative therapy for migraines:
http://biovedawellness.com/2010/06/an-alternative-approach-to-migraines/