I live in the UK and was diagnosed with “a type of migraine” a month ago by the only balance specialist in the south of England. I have been suffering for over a year with all the usual non pain symptoms and only the occasional migraine. consequently migraines never came up as a possible diagnosis cos I never described it as a symptom.
I have been put on the basic migraine diet of the 6 C’s - no caffeine, chocolate, cheese and other dairy, citrus and banana, chinese take away (msg), chianti (red wine) and other alcohol.
I have done some reasearch online and the list given by the specialist on this board was very helpful. Some research says soya is a trigger, as well as onion which I still eat. However, at the moment I am just sticking to the foods on my doctor’s list. Presumably he wants to eliminate the most common triggers before extending it.
Every morning I now have 2 weetabix and soya milk and decaff tea/coffee and soya milk and even before I have even finished the bowl, I have non pain symptoms which last just a couple of minutes. Is this something I can live with or should I cut this out too.
Any advice for a newbie would also be welcome. Thanks
Soy can be a trigger because of the possibility of MSG in the product which is a big trigger for many.
Is there a reason you use this type of milk as opposed to regular milk? I guess he says to cut out dairy. You may want to try Rice milk or Almond milk as an alternative. There are some other substitutes but these are the ones easiest to find here in the states.
Hello Radhika, I use rice milk and get on well with it. I don’t eat onions but use shallots instead. Why not try substituting the soy milk and onions with rice milk and shallots for a week or so and see if it helps. Dietary triggers can be a very individual thing so it sometimes takes a bit of experimenting to find what affects us.
Soy can be a trigger because of the possibility of MSG in the product which is a big trigger for many.
Is there a reason you use this type of milk as opposed to regular milk? I guess he says to cut out dairy. You may want to try Rice milk or Almond milk as an alternative. There are some other substitutes but these are the ones easiest to find here in the states.
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Is there a way to know if a product labeled with soy actually contains MSG? Or is it pretty much a guess?
Thanks for the info. I have been drinking organic soya so I don’t think it has msg. But I have just realised that I take my vitamins before breakfast so there may be msg in those. I have just come back from 5 days away at a 3,500 capacity themed holiday resort which was very busy. The catering was a bit hit and miss and there were quite a few slip ups there. I wasn’t told to keep off nuts and was pigging out on them.
However, because the place was packed with highly visual and audial stimulii, they were enough on their own to cause attacks, plus constantly dodging people, children and pushchairs.
However, because the place was packed with highly visual and audial stimulii, they were enough on their own to cause attacks, plus constantly dodging people, children and pushchairs.
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You know Radhika, that’s a problem for me too. Too many variables. How are we supposed to work out exactly which one is responsible? It sounds a bit naive of me but it’s only recently that I’ve been thinking rationally about this. Have I been blaming food triggers when environmental factors are the real culprit? At present, almost everything seems to be a visual trigger for me. Does eating certain foods make me more susceptible to other triggers, or are foods triggers in themselves? After all, I’ve never eaten suspect foods and then completely isolated myself from any environmental triggers whatsoever to see how the foods singularly affect me. I’m certain wheat is a trigger for me and I’m sure I’m better off all round without MSG but as for everything else I avoid I’m beginning to wonder … Although I did see massive improvements when I first changed my diet. Or maybe it’s just all to do with the pool analogy again. Hmmmmm!
Brenda - I, too, find it so difficult to identify triggers. My sxs are so chronic that I just cannot pin them down. Perhaps, when I am doing a bit better, then I will be able to identify food triggers. for now, I pretty much eliminate them all, but that might not be necessary
Yes, for me there are significant environmental triggers. My neuro-otologist told me that stress and hormones are triggers which is why pre menopausal women are highly susceptible to having migraines and why they often only start at mid age. The thing is we can’t always control hormones, stress and the environment but we can control what we eat, thus reducing the biggest trigger. I have just come back from holiday which for my condition was a very challengin experience and have had several attacks daily, although they were quite short.
Lisa, - I too have eliminated all food triggers for the last few years, with good improvement I might add, but now I’ve hit a real rough spot, the worst since my change of diet, it’s making me reassess. Things are hard enough without being deprived of foods I really like as well. I didn’t mind the deprivation when it seemed to be keeping the vertigo at bay but now that I’m struggling again, temporarily I hope, I wonder if I’m puttting myself through more than I need to. But to be honest I’m scared stiff of falling off the diet wagon just in case. The thought of going back to my pre-diet condition is one that fills me with dread, so I think for the moment I’ll stick with what has worked for me for the last few years even though something has changed for the worse recently.
Rhadika - yes, my real problems began with perimenopause and then escalated with surgical menopause, abating slightly when I supplemented with estrogen. And stress has always been a huge factor with me. So I have a deadly combination of triggers there!