Cravings with migraines?!?

strawberru314

Anyone else who get migraines get cravings with them. I tend to crave carbs when I have a migraine. When I have migraines is also when I am most likely to go off diet and gain any weight back. It isn't any fun and I haven't found a solution for it yet. Any one with experience or advice?

Illona88

I get really nauseous and sick whenever I have a migraine as well. All I can eat is soft fruit.
Anything hard will make my head hurt more from chewing it and anything with fat or wheat in it will make me throw up instantly.

strawberru314

Yes... I often feel nauseous. For me, when I get migraines they tend to last for about a week or more. And in that time I end up eating a lot more pasta, sweets, etc. than normal

ZugTheMegasaurus

When I get migraines I crave only ice-cold regular Coca-Cola (and it's usually the only thing that stays down). My neurologist speculated it was something about the sugar and caffeine content that caused it, or simply that it's a comfort or feel-good thing. I think it makes a difference, but who knows? When I'm laid out with a migraine, I don't really care about the why, haha.

slugkiller

I can sympathise with this, I eat loads when I have a migraine as the act of chewing/eating takes away the pain. I haven't had one in a while thank goodness, and I'm not sure I'll be strong enough to have celery or whatever - I normally crave something like cookies, bread and cheese etc.

If we do have one, I suppose the best thing to do is not worry about it. It'll be over soon-ish, we'll eat whatever we feel we need to in order to get through it, then get back on track when we're ready. How about that?!

Jellyphant

When I get migraines, between my aura and the onset of nausea and vomitting, I'm craving anything with sugar. A n y t h i n g. Pepsi usually covers it though. Or cinnamon rolls. :S But then again, I usually end up later barfing them up anyways.

AZKristi

Migraines make me nauseated rather than hungry.

strawberru314

I won't worry about it too much. I just don't want to gain to much either. I crave carbs, but usually protein (especially red meat) makes me feel better.

PinkyFran

Anyone else who get migraines get cravings with them. I tend to crave carbs when I have a migraine. When I have migraines is also when I am most likely to go off diet and gain any weight back. It isn't any fun and I haven't found a solution for it yet. Any one with experience or advice?

i crave mashed potato, and bread so carbs lol.....i have just been to see my neurologist and he has no bright ideas bar abstaining....easier said than done!!!!

elle18287

I always want french fries or pasta. Now I just try to take meds and sleep instead.

saverys_gal

I don't get cravings with mine but I do tend to eat far more starch than normal for the simple fact that I'm sick as can be and the meds make me sick and generally very weak/exhausted feeling. Eat what you need to eat within reason and move on. Just remember high sugar items may not be your best choice as they can make the migraine worse for some.

Eafears

Definitely sugar. It makes me feel better, especially chocolate. I've had a migraine for 4 days today I finally gave in and had chocolate and bam...migraine gone. It doesn't always work this way, sometimes it just gets worse. Plus depending on how bad it is, sometimes I can't stomach anything.

AmberJo1984

Personally, when I get a migraine, I get so nautious I couldn't eat if my life depended on it. I just want to lay in bed and stay there.

strawberru314

I don't get cravings with mine but I do tend to eat far more starch than normal for the simple fact that I'm sick as can be and the meds make me sick and generally very weak/exhausted feeling. Eat what you need to eat within reason and move on. Just remember high sugar items may not be your best choice as they can make the migraine worse for some.

It usually does for me, that's why it drives me nuts that I crave them

NextChapter60

When a migraine starts, I take a couple of no-doz with a mt dew (diet is fine). A kick of caffine eases the intensity of the pain. A friend of mine began tracking her eating and found that eating red licorice triggered her migraines. I can't recall craving anything but a dark room and undisturbed stillness.

msacurrie

More likely, it is that your cravings are causing the migraines instead of the other way around - like withdraw. If you used to eat a lot of carbs and now you are cutting back on them, your body might be going through withdraw. Caffeine, sugar, etc. have been known to cause this when you give it up or cut back.

Edestiny7

As a life-long non-coffee drinker with four migraines per month since age 12, I have found in my 30s that drinking one 16 oz. coffee gets rid of them. And Excedrin never worked! I have also been eating a plant based mostly non-processed diet for the the past 2 years, which may have something to do with it as well.

marypatmccue

I suffered from migraines for 18 months, and I really couldn't eat much at all when I had one (about 4 days a week, consistently)... That's not the best answer, but perhaps you should try to figure out the cause of it...

lilreddress

I crave caffeine. Anything with caffeine. Which could actually be the CULPRIT of my migraines, and my body depends on it so much that it craves it more when I'm in pain. The ONLY thing that gets rid of mine is phennergran. When I'm nauseous due to a migraine, I don't crave anything. I have to FORCE myself to eat something. Like today ... nibbled on saltines, which only helped for a couple of hours and nausea came back with a vengeance. My doctors have said to try and wean myself off caffeine to see if it helps the migraines, but after a month of being incredibly sick from puking, I give up. So then they said "Well you must be one of those people that has to have it, just try to limit it." Gee thanks for letting me put myself through torture before coming to that realization! However, most headaches (even migraines) are caused by dehydration. I've kind of become a headache expert through personal experience lol. I guess that's what happens after 14 years of suffering from them. There is no known "one" cause for them, it can be cause by a colage of many different things, and there is no cure for them. Everything is a temporary fix. Some people are just lucky to "outgrow" them eventually. Piece of advice, I've found that since I can't take myself off caffeine, I just increase my water intake. If your body is craving sugar or carbs with a migraine, aim for the good kind like fruits. This should help with your fear of putting on weight due to migraine cravings

lilreddress

As a life-long non-coffee drinker with four migraines per month since age 12, I have found in my 30s that drinking one 16 oz. coffee gets rid of them. And Excedrin never worked! I have also been eating a plant based mostly non-processed diet for the the past 2 years, which may have something to do with it as well.

I agree! There has been suspicion that processed foods are a BIG contributor! I just can't afford to eat natural foods lol. That's the main problem with eating "healthy" ... they make the healthy foods so dang expensive!

lilreddress

When a migraine starts, I take a couple of no-doz with a mt dew (diet is fine). A kick of caffine eases the intensity of the pain. A friend of mine began tracking her eating and found that eating red licorice triggered her migraines. I can't recall craving anything but a dark room and undisturbed stillness.

Actually red dye in anything can cause lots of things like migraines and ADHD in kids. Lots of ways to modify your diet to prevent migraines, if you can afford to.

myf1101

I am a chronic migraine sufferer (diagnosed by a neurologist) and Epilium was the medication that broke the cycle for me. I used to have migraines that lasted 14-19 days then have 1-2 days off before the next one started. Bed and sleep was the answer. I do find that coffee does help me but I crave carbs and ready salted crisps. At the moment sumitriptan keeps my migraines at bay and walking seems to have reduced the number of migraines, which is a good thing.

strawberru314

I am a chronic migraine sufferer (diagnosed by a neurologist) and Epilium was the medication that broke the cycle for me. I used to have migraines that lasted 14-19 days then have 1-2 days off before the next one started. Bed and sleep was the answer. I do find that coffee does help me but I crave carbs and ready salted crisps. At the moment sumitriptan keeps my migraines at bay and walking seems to have reduced the number of migraines, which is a good thing.

I wish migraine medications worked for me. Most of them knock me out completely, some make them worse altogether. My neurologist said it was due to low blood pressure. When I am regular with walking or yoga, lighter activities, my head tend to hurt less frequently. I have been somewhat inactive recently. Thank you for that reminder.

Effpcos

I USED to, turns out it was a magnesium deficiency, .

Effpcos

Oh and I have very low blood pressure too.

saverys_gal

I don't get cravings with mine but I do tend to eat far more starch than normal for the simple fact that I'm sick as can be and the meds make me sick and generally very weak/exhausted feeling. Eat what you need to eat within reason and move on. Just remember high sugar items may not be your best choice as they can make the migraine worse for some.

It usually does for me, that's why it drives me nuts that I crave them

How about some super dark chocolate? Also maybe just a cup of coffee with a bit of sweetener. That will give you some sugar without being too bad for you. :drinker:
Don't give up on the migraine meds! There are so many out there. My neuro just introduced me to Cambia-it's not a heavy hitting triptan and seems to have very few side effects.

strawberru314

I USED to, turns out it was a magnesium deficiency, .

it is amazing all the different causes of migraines. Each person is so different.

wtfusernameisnttaken

Mine are stress induced. Generally speaking they can last anywhere from a few moments to a few days. The ONLY thing I crave when that happens, is a dark, quiet room and an ice cold glass of water.

ladytinkerbell99

There is no research on this, but in my case - I had migraines so bad I would go blind. Ended up in the hospital more than once when I loss my sight. Nothing worked. I was overweight and eating a high number of carbs and eating out 3 times a week.

Since I started eating clean. I have had only one (1) migraine. That was the beginning of Fall. Get that every year.

Now, I am off all med's.

Edit: I wanted to add - that this has been like this with only 1 migraine for almost a year. Before I was getting them every week.

Works for me. :drinker:

strawberru314

There is no research on this, but in my case - I had migraines so bad I would go blind. Ended up in the hospital more than once when I loss my sight. Nothing worked. I was overweight and eating a high number of carbs and eating out 3 times a week.

Since I started eating clean. I have had only one (1) migraine. That was the beginning of Fall. Get that every year.

Now, I am off all med's.

Edit: I wanted to add - that this has been like this with only 1 migraine for almost a year. Before I was getting them every week.

Works for me. :drinker:

What diet are you following?

gnrshelton

I don't know if I get a craving exactly but i usually eat ruffles and Mt. Dew. Because the salt on the ruffles tends to help the stomach and the mt. Dew is more clear than coke. It always seems to help ease the symptoms as long as it stays down. When I get a migraine I am not worried about eating right just feeling better. I feel for all migraine sufferers.