MAV - What Not to Eat or Drink - List 'em

Non-Pharmacological Treatment Diet
1

Here’s some food and drink items that have sent me in the wrong direction.

  1. Anything MSG-laden. Chinese food–which I used to love–is the #1 culprit.
  2. Citrus - Orange or orange juice will do it.
  3. Peanuts
  4. Red Wine or Beer
  5. Tomatoes
2

Msdxd,

I also have difficulty with MSG and Wine rather it be red or even white zin. I can drink maybe a half glass but no more than that. Same with Coffee…i can consume a half cup daily of lower strength coffee like Folgers (not Starbucks)…and i’m ok but more than that the caffeeine will affect me. Chocolate is another Trigger…and too much Sugar. Have to manage my stress too.

Joe

3

— Begin quote from “joseph0952”

Msdxd,

I also have difficulty with MSG and Wine rather it be red or even white zin. I can drink maybe a half glass but no more than that. Same with Coffee…i can consume a half cup daily of lower strength coffee like Folgers (not Starbucks)…and i’m ok but more than that the caffeeine will affect me. Chocolate is another Trigger…and too much Sugar. Have to manage my stress too.

Joe

— End quote

I’ve had mixed experience with chocolate.

I can’t drink decaf or regular coffee at all. Regular coffee will hit me within minutes, whereas decaf is a slower process and does last a while.

4

I have been dealing with this dizzy condition for 15 years. It has not been till the last 2-3 years that i have begun drinking a little regular coffee with caffeeine…because before that i only could drink decaf.

Joe

5

I got the book by Buccholz, and he has a fairly restrictive diet. It was recommended by Dr. Rauch. I follow the diet pretty carefully, with the exception of still drinking a cup of coffee a day, and it’s seemed to help. He is anti-onion, and I emailed him at John Hopkins, and he responded personally, and suggested that I try to stop the coffee, but his worse offenders were red wine, cheese, MSG, aspartamine and onions.
The book is Cure your headache 1-2-3. The diet is more restrictive, and slightly different than that standard migraine low tyramine diet, and it’s based on his long clinical knowledge of tough migraine patients.
Kira

6

Hi joseph and MSDXD,

I am still trying to work out my food triggers. When you say, for example, that red or white wine will hit you in minutes, do you mean you will get a migraine in minutes or you will get dizzy in minutes, or maybe both?

Thanks.

7

— Begin quote from “robsydney”

Hi joseph and MSDXD,

I am still trying to work out my food triggers. When you say, for example, that red or white wine will hit you in minutes, do you mean you will get a migraine in minutes or you will get dizzy in minutes, or maybe both?

Thanks.

— End quote

For me, it’s a lot of pressure behind my ears, up both sides of my jaw (sometimes into my facial area), and then to the top of my head. I wouldn’t say that I become dizzy. Rather, the pressure behind my ears creates increased unsteadiness/disequilibrium.

8

I have found that my biggest trigger is smoked meats. Particuarily arificially smoked foods. I have eaten things that I wasn’t aware were smoked and ended up with my head on table in the middle eating.

Caffiene for me is a double edge sword. I drank so much of it as a kid that I now need it in small quantities. To much and I get midly dizzy and suffer a headache the next day. To little and I suffer a headache period. I have tried going caffiene free, but even after 6 months, I still had a headache.

Low blood sugar is another trigger for me, so I don’t eat foods that will cause it spike, such as sweets.

9

Anything with MSG does it for me. Caffeine, for some reason, makes me start spinning, and we’re talking someone who, 3 years ago could (and would) drink a 6-7 cups a day.