Random Headaches!! Need advice please page

[Canuckgirl]

Hi

This week I've gone full PB but I took all of last week to transition. Last week, I had to deal with the sugar withdrawals, mainly headaches, but by the end of the week, they were gone.

Now, I'm dealing with them again. I know I haven't switch my mindframe from CW to PB and I'm a little worried that the extra meat/protein that i'm eating is giving me the headaches. I'm eating more shrimp, bacon, and red meats than I did prior. Unfortunately, cholesterol runs in both signs of my family and I'm just worried about this.

Any words of wisdoms? Thanks

[Metric]

Could you give a more detailed food log? Do you have a journal on MDA? I get migraines easily, but after having been following PB for a few weeks, migraines have disappeared. Also, are you drinking enough water and getting enough variety. If you are switching from a very processed and very high carb diet to Primal low-carb, you will continue to get headaches until your body has transitioned. Also, ensure that you're getting enough fat. Please provide more details since these are just assumptions based on what you wrote. Also if you could include age, weight, height and activity level, can help to determine if you're even eating enough.

Cheers,
Jennifer

[mnuffins]

Your brain may just be looking for glucose, since it's not used to running off of fatty acids. Try slicing up a sweet apple and eat bites of that throughout the day as needed. Give your body time to adjust! And give yourself some grace - good job for starting to make the change!

Headaches usually occur because 1) we need to breathe 2) we need some water 3) we are tired and need to sleep 4) we are needing some food. So step one to cure a headache, sit up straight, stretch your arms, center yourself, close your eyes and do three full bellied deep breaths. Then have a glass of water. And see how you feel

[Canuckgirl]

I haven't figured out all the stuff on the forum or how to personalize it.
the headaches hit hardest after eating, as if i'm having too much fat....but i'm just speculating
I wasn't eating much of a processed lifestyle anyways since i'm celiac and can't eat 90% of the stuff on the shelves.
I was eating more candy than usual, had a two week sugar habit that I couldn't kick, but it's been almost two weeks since i've munched on candy.

i'm 29, 185lbs, 5'8. activity level i think is high..??? monday is spin or step, tuesday is zumba, wednesday i usually walk, thursday is strength training class, friday is rest day or spin class if i'm not doing spin on saturday. sunday, i volunteer at the animal shelter so i walk and play with dogs.

I drink quite a bit of water, at least 8-10 glasses a day.

breakfast: 3 strips of bacon, 1 egg and egg white, some tomato slices
snack: half an apple and some almonds
Lunch: shrimp stirfry with shrimp, carrot strings, bean sprouts, brocolli-all gluten free
snack: veggies and some ranch dressing, full fat-just finishing the bottle
lunch: salad with protein (fish, or beef)
I have protein shake after my work out. my meals aren't that big anymore, i've noticed my appetite decreasing as well.

thanks

[Canuckgirl]

i drink so much water in a day and listen to my body when i'm hungry. i will try that technique. hopefully it works. thanks

[meeshar]

Check the ranch dressing, some have MSG, which for me is a big headache trigger. Also, check the sweeteners in the protein shake, another trigger for me is artificial sweeteners. I never really noticed how badly those things affected me until I cleaned up my diet (pre-Primal, but when I cut out artificial stuff and started eating whole foods).

[Primal123]

I experienced this too the first few months I started primal eating. It was weird, random, and inexplicable. I had not had headaches in years and suddenly I was getting them regularly. They have stopped now which is good. I never could figure out what caused them. I also started from a "healthy" no grain diet so the real difference for me was adding in protein and fat and giving up the ton of fruit I ate. Hope you find relief soon

[sbhikes]

You may have electrolyte issues, which is normal at first due to water loss. When you restrict carbohydrates compared to what you once ate, your kidneys flush a lot of water from your system. Try putting some added salt on your food and you might try taking a magnesium and potassium supplement for a little while.

[Sandra in BC]

Also pay attention to your cycle. Hormones play a part in headaches. I wake up with a wicked headache 24-48 hours before my period starts. (incidentally, PB has helped with PMS symptoms and period pain, but I still get the warning headache/backache.)

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Canuck girl - not sure what causes my headaches either, however possibly a combination of some of the above............... however put peppermint oil on the back of your neck if the headache becomes too unbearable. It cools your neck down, which in turn cools your head down, which in turn shrinks those little headache pumpers in your head !!!!!

good luck with finding the cause