Headache after eating

[captainheadache]

I get intense, throbbing headaches 2 hours after eating food.  The more sugar content, the more intense the headache, and the longer the headache lasts.  If I eat something like a snickers bar or a piece of cake, the intensity is debilitating and the pain can last for days.  Just about anything with more than a few grams of sugar gives me a headache.  I've dealt with this since I can remember, and I've been physically and mentally drained for most of my life (ie, if I can go 2 or 3 days a month without having some kind of head pain, I'd be ecstatic).  

Here's some extra information:
I'm very underweight.  I am about 5' 10" and I weigh 120 ~ 125lbs.  The most I've ever weighed was 135, and I had to work very hard lifting weights at the gym for months to reach that weight.  I have about 5% body fat.

My mom is diabetic (type II) and her parents were diabetic (needed insulin shots, so type I?)

My half-sister has Grave's Disease.

I've been to the emergency room a few times because of headaches, but my blood sugar is always "normal".  MRI's have shown nothing abnormal.

I yawn incessantly after eating - especially during the afternoon.  I can yawn 20+ times a minute for over an hour depending on how much I eat.  After the yawning stops, the headache usually starts to kick in.

I wake up and have to go pee at least 1 to 3 times a night.

I've wasted lots of time and money seeing internists and specialists.  No doctor has ever run a test outside of standard "blood work", which shows my blood sugar as being "normal".  Every doctor is eager to treat the symptom, but the best "cause" I've heard is that "headaches just happen to some people".  The diagnosis is always given about 5 minutes after I say that I have headaches, and then I'm sent off to the pharmacy to pick up the latest prescription migraine medication.  I'm very frustrated by this.

Any recommendations?

[captainheadache]

Forgot to mention, my upper thighs and quads cramp up a lot during times where I am suffering particularly bad.  I also have very poor flexibility in my legs.  I took a physical and got 5/5 on everything except flexibility, which I got 1/5 on.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Sudden rush of sugar after meals is known to trigger headaches in some people. Make sure to balance the sugar in your meals with proteins and fats to avoid the post meal headaches.
Also make sure to drink lots of water after meal and during the day.
Headaches after meals can also occur if one is allergic to some food additives, this also needs to be looked into.

Hope this helps!

[marileew]

Have you tried going on an elimination diet? They are awful to deal with and very boring. But, you can find migraine triggers that way. Do it only under the advice and care of your doctor. So, before you start, go to your doctor and ask them about starting an elimination diet to find migraine triggers in what you are eating. Your doctor will then give you a lot of information on how to start doing this and what you will have to do.

You absolutely must do this under a doctors care because it is dangerous to do so otherwise since it requires that you eliminate quite a lot of different types of food from your diet, which can be quite dangerous, ESPECIALLY if you MIGHT have diabetes (just because you haven't tested positive for diabetes yet, doesn't mean that you don't have it, because it is in your family history... you could have the genes that put you at risk for diabetes, just because they haven't been "turned on" yet doesn't mean that they won't ever "turn on", and just because the tests haven't shown your diabetic doesn't mean that you aren't either... sometimes tests are wrong, it's rare, but it can happen).

The elimination diet might help you discover what you are eating (other than sugar, because the sugar might be a red herring) that is triggering your headaches.

You might also want to buy a blood glucose monitor and strips (although this usually isn't covered by medical plans, just to warn you) and start testing Yourself. Test the moment you wake up and then before meals and 30 minutes after meals. Record all of your test results for a month and take them into your doctor for your doctor to look at. Your daily results (that show all the different lows and peaks) might reveal something that the "average fasting" result that you get done at the doctors office or hospital isn't showing.

In the meantime... just don't eat sugar!! I know that sounds awful, but you'll feel so much better! If you know sugar makes you feel bad, don't eat it!

When I was a teenager, sugar made me feel very similar to the way you are describing (just minus the headache). I would get so tired after meals that I sometimes fainted. When I stopped eating sugar and "white things" (white rice, white pasta, white bread) and replaced everything with whole-wheat this and that, and made sure that most of my meals were focused on protein (i am a vegetarian, so most of my protein consisted of tofu, veggie-meats and edemame), I stopped feeling tired all the time and I stopped passing out after meal-time! My mom is a diabetic too.

In the end, my doctor diagnosed me with "hypoglycemia" which is "low blood sugar" which is why it was so important for me not to eat tons of sugar (oddly enough)... because too much sugar would just make me crash. I needed to eat lots of little meals throughout the day with lots of whole-wheat carbs and LOTS of protein in each meal, and I needed to get my sugar from whole fruits instead of sugary pop and candy. Part of what helped my doctor figure that out was the fact that after meals... my blood sugar would read lower than it did prior to the meal! When I started eating properly, my blood sugar would stay within a healthy range.

Anyway... that's my story. As for you, I would for sure talk to your doctor about an elimination diet if you think that your headaches are directly related to food. And, if you really think that this is could be a diabetes thing, then yeah, buy a blood glucose monitor (or try to get one for free by asking the pharmacy if the companies are giving them out for free at any point or have any coupons... they do that sometimes) and the strips to go with them (which you can never get for free and health plans never seem to cover even if you ARE diabetic...) and test yourself for a month just to make sure.

[tomsant]

This is unusual headache and one may have to think outside the box. So keep us posted.

You said after eating sweet food you have headache. Does that mean if you don't eat anything sweet at a meal you can avoid a headache?

Also, did you have your teeth checked by a dentist? Some teeth can be very sensitive that sugar can trigger severe pain felt as headache.

Best rgds,

Dr.Thomas Antony

[captainheadache]

@marileew

I've been experimenting with various foods for about 2 years now.  I first determined that chocolate candy bars (twix, snickers, etc...) were causes.  However, after completely eliminating chocolate bars, I still would get intense headaches, but there was improvement in the intensity of the headaches.  I then started looking at foods that contained ingrediants that chocolate bars had (namely, high fructose corn syrup), and removed those from my diet.  This drastically cut down on the intensity of headaches.  However, I still had headaches on a regular basis varying from extremely intense, writhing pain to a dull ache.  

On a whim, I decided to eliminate corn starch and modified food starch.  This further reduced the frequency and intensity of headaches, but I still had them quite often.  By this point, I'm eating things like plain white or brown rice, potatoes, steak, etc... with no seasonings or sauces.  My headaches were reduced in intensity, but I still had them.  Then, I had the chance event of eating half of a potato and feeling fine, and a few days later, eating an entire potato and feeling absolutely miserable.  Then it dawned on me that the amount of starch/sugar I was ingesting played a direct role in the headaches.

If I eat about half the recommended serving size for a low-starch/low-sugar meal, I'm generally okay as far as pain goes, but I'm really hungry for most of the day.  I know that I could eat small snacks, but most snacks have some sort of refined sugar, which tends to make me feel lousy and causes a dull pain at the least.

@tomsant

Interesting suggestion, and brings a new meaning to "sweet tooth"!  I do in fact have teeth that are very sensitive to hot and cold.  The dentist used to be unbearable for me...  If for some bizarre reason this turns out to be the cause of my headaches, what solution could exist?

Some additional information:

If I eat any and all that I want, I have extremely bad digestion problems... for lack of a better description, I have non-stop diarhea (diarrhea).

The only thing I've found that makes my headaches go away is to take 2 or 3 advil.  That makes the "throbbing" non-existant.

I was really hyperactive as a child, and had focus problems.  Eventually, the hyperactivity was replaced with head pain.  The only "headache-free" time in my life that I can recall was when I was on the wrestling team in high school, and I suspect it was because I did strenuous excersize daily (ran for an hour, did lots of cardio, etc...).  Soon after quitting, the headaches resumed and I lost about 15 lbs.  

[marileew]

About the "snack food"... when snacking, just don't eat typical snack food. eat a small meal instead. so... if half a potato doesn't trigger a headache, but a full potato does... then eat half a potato and then an hour later eat the other half... so, lots of small meals throughout the day. think like 6 or 8 small meals through out the day. so, although you are technically "snacking" you aren't eating snack food... you're eating healthy foods with low sugar content that will provide you with the nutrients you need to stay healthy. also, if you find that eating half a potato and then the other half later is still triggering the same headache... then, eat half a potato and find another half of something to eat an hour later that doesn't trigger your headaches when you eat it in a small portion. i know that for me, eating too much of the same type of food over and over again can begin increasing the trigger effect of that food. if i only eat chocolate, cheese, or drink tea (common migraine triggers) very rarely, they very rarely trigger migraines... but, if i start including them as daily parts of my diet, they start triggering migraines every single time i eat them. if i mix up my diet to include lots of variety... then i can sometimes get away with some of the softer cheeses in my diet and the occasional cup of tea....

[tomsant]

Post sweet food headache, digestion problems, low body weight...

1. Your dentist will have sort out the problem with your teeth, he may advise special tooth paste for sensitive teeth. Maybe the roots or dentine of the teeth may have got exposed. But this paste may not help it if it is due to root infection or problem with fillings.

2. (a)Your post-food excessive yawning has to be investigated. (b) "Diarrhoea" and underweight, even if you eat well; Did you consult an internal medicine specialist? One may have to consider situations like 'gluten enteropathy' ( sorry, I am stretching my imagination. But this is what one can do without seeing the person)

(c) Did you have a Glucose Tolerance Test? (Measuring glucose level in blood every half our after a meal, for 2 1/2 hrs)

Hope this helps.

Best,

Dr.Thomas Antony

[captainheadache]

2a.) What sort of tests can I request as part of this investigation?  The first doctor I told about these symptoms put me on adderall (adderrall) to treat "having a headache and a hard time focusing", and so you see why I might want to go in with specific suggestions.
2b.) I've seen several internal specialists.  None of them have given a response when I tell them about the digestion problems.  In any case, I seem to be okay eating wheat.
2c.) I've suggested a GTT to my current internist, but he said "that's usually done for overweight people", and insisted that I take the prescribed migraine medications.

I bought a glucose monitor recently.  Could I administer the test myself or are there special considerations that must be made?

[alagirl]

Have you had your heart tested at all?

[PTMama]

Has your thyroid been tested?  You mentioned that your half sister has Grave's Disease which is an overactive thyroid. I had mine treated about 15 years ago.  My symptoms were not at all typical, but I was very underweight and ate constantly.  I do not recall headaches being a problem for me personally but I would definitely have it checked out.

[tomsant]

1. Yawning in itself doesn't suggest anything. But with your other unusual symptoms, one has to scratch the brains. (But there are unrecorded observations which we get through discussions. One is that while getting some injections if the patient starts to yawn, it may be a warning that the patient's BP is falling)
2. Your diarrhoea: If it is persisting, you may have to consult a gastro-enterologist. There are many reasons, and there is an algorithm to follow to find out what may be the cause.
3. GTTs were designed before they invented glucometers. In GTT venous blood is drawn as I know. But here you will be checking capillary blood. But it may give some clue. No harm done, except you have to suffer the pain :-)

About the 'sweet-headache' again; if you avoid eating sweet food for a day, headache will be absent?
And on such a day, why not apply 'honey' (or other sticky sweet food) on your teeth and wash it off after some time (like what you may do after eating food) and see if it brings on a headache.

Keep us posted!

Best,

Dr.Thomas Antony

[captainheadache]

@alagirl
My heartbeat is normal, though I occasionally experience palpitations preceeding a headache.

@PTMama
My thyroid hasn't been tested.  Would I go to an endocrinologist for this?  What tests would I request?

@tomsant
2.) I don't get the digestion problems anymore.  I eliminated things like tv dinners, cheap boxed items (like ramen noodles), and fast food, and that seems to have cleared up that problem.

I will perform a controlled "honey" test and see what happens.  Thanks for this suggestion!

Oh, and one other thing that has been commented on.  Nurses who drew my blood asked if I was on any blood thinners, because my blood was very thin.  At the time, I hadn't taken advil in well over a month, and other than that, I wasn't on any kind of medication.
Just mentioning this incase it means anything.

[tomsant]

About honey; see that your application includes the exposed area of teeth.Up to the gums.

"controlled honey test" : You seem to catch the academics fast. What do you do for a living :-)?

Best,
Dr.Thomas Antony

[marileew]

I have a thyroid problem. I get my thyroid levels tested every few months and I have to take a medication called synthroid.

To get my thyroid levels checked, I go to my family doctor (my GP) or to the walk-in clinic if I can't get a convenient appointment with my GP in order to get a req form for a blood test. If it is a clinic doctor, I tell them that I have a thyroid condition and ask them to give me a req form for a thyroid test. Then I go to a blood lab and get the blood drawn and ask them to send the results to my family doctor as well as the doctor who wrote the req (I ask the clinic doctor to put this on the req form as well... but I always mention it to the lab tech doing the blood work as well just to make sure that my family doctor gets the results too).

In your case, if you went to a clinic, just explain that you have concerns about your thyroid because of your headaches and energy level. That will usually be enough to get a req form. If you're in America, you'll be paying out of pocket for the blood work anyway so it's not like they'll really care. If you're in Canada, they might ask you a lot more questions before giving you the req... but that's okay!! You might actually find something out if they ask you questions!! Maybe you'll happen upon a clinic doctor who'll figure out what's wrong with you. If it's your family doctor, then just explain why you want the blood tests and I am sure that he'll give you a req form... then just go to a blood lab and if you are in America I guess you pay out of pocket for the blood work? or if you are in Canada you just give them the req form and they draw the blood and then you wait for the doctor to call you to come in and discuss your results!!

No need for a specialist or anything! :) Pretty simple!

[marileew]

P.S.

The addresses of all the labs in your local area where you can get blood work done will be on the back of the req form usually. So... once you get the req form, it is pretty self-explanatory. And there is no prep for a thyroid test either like there is for a diabetes test. You don't have to fast or anything, so you can go in when ever it is convenient for you to get the blood work done. And, they only have to take one vial to run the tests (although the doctor will always run a complete blood panel... but still, this will only be another one or two vials... and it will all be drawn at the same time) so you don't have to wait around for them to draw multiple samples from different sites or anything like that. It is pretty much the simplest blood work you'll get done! :)

[captainheadache]

Thank you all for the helpful information!  Also, I'm a software developer, and so I spend a lot of time coming up with experiments to test ideas.

So, I just remembered some stuff that might be useful information.  I've had two experiences in my life where my headaches have "magically" disappeared.  Once, while driving with a throbbing headache, I had to make a sudden stop to avoid a wreck.  Immediately, the pain went away and I felt normal for the rest of the day.  The other time, I was jogging strenuously with a very painful headache, and when the pain was just about unbearable, I heard a tiny "popping" noise in my head, and the headache went away.  I think both times I had a surge of adrenaline.

Of further note, I stumbled upon the idea that "DHEA" could prevent migraines.  Taking this naive assumption, I've been taking 25 to 50mg of the supplement per day for about a week.  Surprisingly, I've yet to have a headache, and I've been eating anything and everything.  The only headache-related symptom I've felt in the last week is that I feel worn out in the morning.  However, I used to feel far more worn out when I was just dealing with the head pain without medication.

[tomsant]

So your problem is settled, at least for the time being, but you don't know how.

About DHEA (Hope it is Dehydro Epiandrosterone) I am unable to comment.

About the two occasions when there was a jolt associated with a 'snap' when the headache left. It might have been a 'cervicogenic headache' where the cervical vertebra malalignment might have been the problem. Next time just in case you get such a headache, alert your neuro about this story of yours.

Still wondering about what could have caused headache after eating sweets :-)

Best,

TA