Need a bit of advice. I am giving up meat and fish for health reasons.

[KyndCulture]

I have been getting the most god awful migraines for about 2 months. I've had them since I was a child and it's ALWAYS diet related. I had another horrible one yesterday. Yeah it's a bit stress, but I've been eating a lot of fresh fish from the lakes here in Minnesota lately. I thoroughly believe it's the hormones and mercury that's setting off my headaches. I'm miserable!

I have to eat some dairy because of a medication I take - it aborbs better with dairy foods.

I just can't function with these ridiculous headaches anymore.

If this works I saved myself another round of expensive tests and doctors to tell me what I already knew. Change your diet.

So got any advice for me detoxing from meat?

I know the last time I tried this I was sick to my stomach all the time. I have no problem doing it, just want to not get sick.

[LeftyMom]

1. Are you keeping a food diary?

I would advise you to do that before and as you cut meat out of your diet. Sometimes as people go veg they eliminate some things that thier body doesn't tolerate well but add others. Since you had troubles before I'm thinking that that's a possibility to look our for.

How exactly were you sick to your stomach last time (heartburn, GI issues?) and what foods were you eating more of? I think thinking about that and keeping an eye out for sensitivities as you transition will help. You'll still probably feel pretty nasty the first week or so, I felt like I had the flu or something from roughly day 3-7 but really really good after that.

[KyndCulture]

2. That's a good idea.

It was GI issues and late night heartburn mostly. Cramps and more! I can take the stomach thing over the headaches ANY day!

Little pepto or some baking soda and water and that usually fixes it.

I want to add things gradually I think. I do eat a ton of salad and cold veggies on a regular basis, always salads for lunch. I think I might need to increase the starches though for a bit, I rarely eat potatos or rice. That might help.

I'm gonna do the diary thing. Pure juices affect me the same way, so I'm mostly drinking water for now.

[flvegan]

3. While I applaud your desire to dump eating meat, I still have to ask

have you seen a doctor about these migraines? You've stated that docs have told you to change your diet, but did they specify to what you should change it?

Going veg is no cure-all if you have some kind of medical problem, but it usually is a good start. You will detox when you quit cold turkey (no pun intended). You might want to ease off meat, especially if your diet causes wild fluctuations in your bodily reactions (migraines).

I'm curious, but don't want to pry into what medication absorbs better with dairy. Considering the actual absorption rate of dairy products, but not understanding the science behind why something is "better" with dairy, makes me go "hmmmm."

Lastly, the "last time (you) tried this" you state you were terribly sick. Tried what? A diet devoid of meat? If so, then an even better argument for weaning yourself from it. First, cut out red meat. Then pork. Then poultry. Then seafood. It just seems to me that your body reacts almost violently from caloric input, and there's no need to pull that trigger again.

My absolute last question is this...have you had any testing for allergies, specifically food-related allergies?

[KyndCulture]

4. Thank you for your concern but yes.

I've had these since I was 6.


I've had more tests and expensive doctors appointments than I can tell you. I am also under a doctors care right now. I discussed this with her on Tuesday and she agrees. Try a new diet.

My triggers are always food. Chocolate when I was little, salt for awhile, citric acid for a LONG while(try that living in Florida!!!) and now it's an unknown.

Don't worry, I'm not avoiding my doctor, just all those neuroligical inconclusive tests for the 5th or 6th time. I want to try this, then if it doesn't work, my doctor and I will discuss it again.


I don't want an $800.00 EEG right now if I can fix this with diet.


Not asking for medical advice, I got plenty of that. Just asking some general questions about detoxing from meat for some folks that might have gone thru this?

[pdxbecca]

5. I feel your pain

I understand what you are going through. I too have suffered god awful migraines since early childhood. I went through many tests when I was young and still have not found anything to help.

Diet DOES play a big part of it. You said you have had problems with chocolate and citric acid for awhile. Could it be those are STILL triggers for you? The things you mentioned do cause migraines and if you had problems with them in the past you may still have problems with them. I know that I could be fine if I eat chocolate but if I eat it in combination with other triggers then I am far more likely to have an attack. Dairy is also a trigger for me.

I wish it was as simple as only a single food item causing the problem but for me that is just not the case. Sadly you may also need to eliminate more than one food from your diet. I hope you get a handle on what your triggers are.

[KyndCulture]

7. Oh it's definitely combos of food.

It changes though.

It's hormonal and diet. I don't eat chocolate hardly ever. Citrus fruit is a never, those lil squeezy limes and lemons is about all I can handle - if I eat an orange I'm doomed. But they come and go, when they start happening there is something dietary going on. I have Imtrex nasal spray... for the bad days... but finding out the diet trigger is usually the best thing I can do. I have no time for an eeg right now! lol or the money!

This time I think it's the fish and meat. I've been eating fresh water fish and cheap meat so I am definitely trying this. I can make them go away for years at a time if I work on the diet thing. Alas, the hormone thing has a few more years! lol

[shockra]

6. You could definitely have a mercury problem.

Mercury poisoning increases food allergies and sensitivities. You said one of the things you reacted to was citric acid, and that will react with mercury.

http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9606d&L=allergy&P=1943

Foods high in sulfur will chelate mercury, and make you feel worse. Chocolate is one of those.

http://www.canarys-eye-view.org/challenges/food/sulfurfoods.html

Chocolate also contains caffeine, which is another substance that increases toxicity symptoms.

Milk will cause you to retain twice as much mercury, so it's advised to stay away from dairy and high sulfur foods like eggs if you're mercury poisoned.

http://mercurytalk.com/wiki/index.php/Living:Tips_for_living_while_amalgam_fillings_are_still_installed

I don't remember what meat detox was like, or even going through it. But when I cut out gluten (after a wheat-induced migraine) I started going through a detox that was like going off of a drug. And I got a bad rash on my face that wouldn't go away, so I figured it was detoxing from gluten (seems obvious). But it turned out gluten is another one of those things that can block mercury excretion, so once I cut it out I started detoxing more strongly from mercury.

I read that Algin (seaweed fiber) is used to absorb mercury in your system, and when I started taking that a few months later, my rash improved greatly by the second day. And it certainly helped confirm mercury was a problem.

I've had migraines since I was a child too. And even if you don't have or haven't had a lot of fillings, like me, childhood vaccines contain mercury as a preservative, and can be the start of problems with mercury poisoning. I wouldn't be surprised if mercury is behind my migraine trouble because it can really mess with your hormones, and there's some hormone fluctuation involved with migraines. Not to mention that mercury vapor released from fillings goes straight into your brain, and mere chewing causes extra vapor to be released!

[BrklynLiberal]

8. As another migraine sufferer, I can empathize.

I do not have any specific advice about detoxing from meat. I do not know if it is anything you have to do gradually. You can just start eliminating it from your diet, and be aware of your protein sources thru veggies so your health is maintained.

A food diary, as was suggested, seems like an excellent idea.

I have been off meat for over 30 years, but still get migraines.
They seemed to be related to a combo of hormones, food and barometric pressure.
I stay away from red wine and anything that contains nitrites. I try to minimize aged cheeses and chocolate.
The hormone thing took care of itself. :silly:
The bouncing of the barometeric pressure still kills me. It does not matter if it goes from sunny to rain, or rain to sunny, I get a headache.

I take Imitrex for the unbearable headaches, but it has been a while since
I had a horrible one.

I had read the CoQ10 was helpful. Been taking that. I did not find that feverfew helped.

Please post a progress report. I would love to hear how you are doing.

[ThomCat]

9. I have never been able to find the triggers for my migraines.

Sometimes I have headaches every day for weeks at a time. Other times I'll go weeks without a headache.

If I could find a food that triggers these damned things I'd give it up in a heartbeat, but I don't think it's food.

[flamingyouth]

10. I've suffered from migraines for 21 years.

I also have a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia, which causes terrible pain in the mouth and face. I'm on several drugs for both now and am finally getting some relief, but with side effects. There have been times in my life, however, where I couldn't get out of bed for days due to pain, so I'd take just about any side effect, to be honest. A minor car accident last summer caused three discs in my neck to herniate, which set off a whole new level of pain fun. There have been some days where I have felt like I was just going to die, to be honest.

Have you had an MRI? What drugs are you on for migraine? Have they tried any anti-convulsants yet, like Topamax? I'm on that and when I finally got to the 100mg/daily dosage I got some relief. I'm now down to about three or four bad migraines per month, from 15-18, which is a big help, needless to say.

As for the diet, in addition to cutting out meat and dairy (which helped me) I've tried to reduce preservatives as much as possible. And I used to be addicted to diet sodas. I drank gallons of that stuff. Between the caffeine and the NutraSweet, I'm sure that didn't help my headaches, so cutting that out was good too. I try to eat organic foods whenever possible and as much fresh fruits and veggies as I can get my hands on. I've limited sugar as well. I drink a lot of water. All of this has helped me (your results may vary, of course).

Living with pain is an awful thing, but it can be managed. I practice yoga, exercise and meditate daily. I went to some biofeedback sessions and enrolled in a course in stress management, based on the book "Full Catastrophe Living," by Jon Kabat-Zinn, at a hospital here. Just being with other people in similar circumstances has been a boost.

Anyway, good luck to you. Check out the Chronic Health conditions group or PM me anytime if you want to talk about migraines. :pals:

[flvegan]

11. Off topic: Kabat-Zinn rules.

If you haven't read "Wherever You Go, There You Are" I highly recommend it. That book was my biggest kick in the rump to, well, where I am right now.

[flamingyouth]

12. He does indeed rule

Have you read "Coming To Our Senses"? That's another good one. I think it's his most recent one. It came out in paperback a year or so ago. Great writer, and he's the son-in-law of Howard Zinn. How can you miss? :D