I was a sickly, unhappy child---well, except for my earliest years when I was happier than happy can be, a madgirl, playing every minute of the day and night, discovering the world and fireflies and tornadoes and henbit, watercress under the outside faucet, thorns on rose bushes, poker (yes, poker) and marbles.
Something changed, however, when I was 6 or 7 years old. Suddenly, or so it seemed, I became a sickly child.
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Suddenly, I began bloating up like a balloon. Worse, I began having curious sick spells which almost always happened midweek during the school year. I would be stricken by the most horrible headaches and I would vomit and vomit and vomit to exhaustion. I won’t even get into the gastro-intestinal distress I was in most of the time.
Needless to say, much of what transpired during that time, I simply don’t remember. Why would I? I was miserable.
I do remember I was prescribed a syrup for anemia, and I was x-rayed frequently, although nothing ever seemed to come of it except my discovery of barium.
More telling, however, and something that proved very useful in later years: my problems stopped during summer breaks.
As I grew older, some issues resolved or improved, while others became much worse. My headaches weren’t constant, but were frequent, once a week or more—full blown classic migraines with lovely auras, I have to say, very Aztec in design.
By the time I reached my early 20’s, I was somewhat functional, but not really—and I was scared. I knew I was in trouble. Although I worked off and on, I didn’t see how I’d be able to hold fulltime employment because, as it was, I’d already had to flee the few jobs I’d had when the familiar aura crept into my peripheral vision.
You see, whenever that aura appeared, I knew I’d be unable to see within a matter of minutes unless I took quick action: run out of work, find espresso (thank doG, I was living in San Francisco at that point, so espresso was everywhere), down that espresso ASAP, run home, make myself vomit, then take the hottest bath I could stand. Then I’d pass out, usually until the next day.
And then … then a miracle of sorts.
Due to significant family issues and my own nostalgia for treefrogs and crickets, I fled the big city and returned home, determined to live a healthy, happy life. In pursuit of this, I began, among other things, making my own bread. The bread was delicious, especially slathered with butter and the jam I’d also begun making, but my migraines were getting worse. In particular, I began getting vertigo whenever I got a migraine.
One day, I woke early and whipped up another fabulous bread, feasting on it hot from the oven, butter and jam slathered thick. Then, some hours later, I went to the movies with a few friends--and all hell broke loose. Not only did a doozy of a migraine strike, so did vertigo.
Now, before I go any further, let me state I am not a scientist, but I am a huge proponent of science. Furthermore, I am not a new ager, nor do I support Dr. Oz or that Mercola fellow or anyone similar. I am a fairly simple person from a fairly simple people, and I do not pretend to have magical powers or regular visitations from non-physical entities.
Back to our story.
I was in trouble. My movie companions (who I’m pretty sure wondered if I weren’t just a tad neurotic) had to carry me from the theatre, in the midst of which I suddenly heard the following:
YOU IDIOT, IT’S THE WHEAT!
Now, given hearing voices emanating from The Beyond was an unusual experience for me—true, I’d seen a ghost at my grandmother’s house when I was 4, but that was it---I thought perhaps I should take this seriously.
And take it seriously I did. I don’t know exactly where I started, but I know Duffy’s Sugar Blues was in there, as I’d seen the book on the shelf of an adored aunt who lived in San Francisco, and what she read, I was determined to read. Sugar became history for me, but only after I’d dumped all the bread and flour in the house.
3 weeks went by: no migraines.
Next, somewhere I read that wheat and/or wheat derivatives were common ingredients in frozen and fast foods. And so they were BANISHED! No more of that nonsense for me!
I thought back and remembered how my summers as a child were oddly migraine free. I’d made the first connection: somehow the migraines were triggered by wheat. Then, I began thinking deeply and seriously about my diet as a child. It wasn’t wheat-free, but it was pretty simple. Lots of fish, thanks to the fishing trips we were always being drug on, and the fish, if fried, were always rolled in cornmeal. Also, lots of meat, much of it game, thanks to hunters in the family. Otherwise, potatoes, vegetables, fruit during the summer, cobblers … pretty simple stuff.
So I began practicing a simple, basic diet: meat and vegetables with some fruit. Little to no frozen foods, and absolutely no McDonald’s or other fast foods.
And the migraines disappeared. Any excess weight: gone. I became a different person. Which brought an entirely new set of problems, but hey, isn’t that what life’s all about?
It was some years before I first heard about celiac disease and, by then, my migraines were almost non-existent. I was curious about celiac because of its relationship to wheat, but I never went through the full battery of tests, as it seemed I was able to tolerate minimal amounts of wheat without issue which suggested to me I had an allergy or intolerance of some sort, and not a disease.
However, about 10-15 years ago, the Celiac Foundation (I can no longer find them online, so no link) issued a recommendation that all physicians with migraine patients have them tested for celiac disease. I was stunned. Years of being considered neurotic and prissy by old “friends” suddenly vanished in the wake of scientific evidence supporting my certainty that it was the wheat all along. And the evidence appears to be holding up. For example:
Prevalence of Migraine in Patients with Celiac Disease and IBD:
Conclusions:
Migraine was more prevalent in celiac disease and IBD subjects than in controls. Future studies should include screening migraine patients for celiac disease and assessing the effects of gluten-free diet on migraines in celiac disease.
Read more at celiac.org/...
So. That’s part of my story, perhaps the most significant. There’s more, of course. I’m also lactose intolerant which might be evidence I’m living in the Seventh Ring of Hell, thanks to my undying love for cheese. And soy … dear doG, can’t digest the stuff, eternally grateful it is no longer de rigueur, hoping it falls off the face of the earth soon, to heck with all you tofu lovers.
Perhaps I will return one day to explain how I operate day to day avoiding wheat (unless the biscuits looks really good), dairy (unless I’m forced to confront an awesome gorgonzola) and soy (to hell with you, soy), and continue enjoying a migraine-free life. In the meantime, for your entertainment: Migraine aura