Food Cravings - in my case it's cookies

Does anyone else crave cookies during a migraine attack? I left work cause i can't think with this head pain and I feel so weak. But I am SO craving cookies. Big soft warm chocolate chip cookies. I just want to eat a batch of cookies and pass out.

I really crave carbs big time, especially soft white bread thickly buttered. I can eat a whole loaf of the stuff before and attack.

Unrefined carbs - why do we crave these things? It is not good for my waistline. And I get migraines so often, it is an uphill battle to resist. I always hear about nausea and vomiting as a hallmark of migraine. I rarely experience that. But 99% of the time I crave bad carbs.

I think it could be an attempt to self medicate as carbs can alter your brain chemistry such as get it produce more serotonin although it doesn't happen fast enough to head off the migraine after the craving hits. I do get terrible nausea and vomiting and yet I am still overweight mainly because exercise is a trigger for me chronic migraine means I avoid exercise.

Still I need to try and find something I can do and alter my diet as I am sure a low GI and inflammatory diet along with low impact exercise is the best for migraine managment long term.

oh Thankfully I am gluten free ans just the thought of a cookie makes me tunny hurt - but it could a self medicate thing - either the carbs or the sugar.......... do they help?

For me I don't think they help so much but they are comforting and the thought of eating anything other than something quite bland such as buttered white toast or a milk pudding makes me feel sick but I am sure that in the long term these foods are not helpful. There is a book called The Mood Cure by Julia Ross which talks about foods effect on brain chemistry which I think could be relevent to migraine sufferers. People have also mentioned to me about books by Dr Amen who is a sort of american celebrity neuroscientist but I haven't yet looked into his work in much depth, it looks interesting though.

Sounds interesting - I am defo better since I went gluten free

I think I'm the opposite! When my head is at its worst, that's about the only time that I don't crave stodgy cakes, as I feel too sick. The only types of food that ever help me (most of the time they don't but occasionally they do), are protein, fat and salt; so something like a greasy fry up.

We all hear of food which trigger migraine - but what foods help you?

I've found that a high dose of carbs in the form of an energy bar and a sports drink seems to abort an attack if the aura appears suddenly instead of insidiously. If I go from being normal to light headed with visual distortions within a few minutes, I notice, and if I take something like an energy bar and a sports drinks immediately, the symptoms go away within 10 minutes and the migraine rarely appears.

Unfortunately, when a migraine arrives slowly, one of the first things to go is my self awareness. So even if objects/faces are shimmering in and out of view or I stop using my right hand (I'm normally right handed), it doesn't occur to me that a migraine is on its way.

I don't know why a sugar rush works like this, as I seem to have a better than average regulation of blood sugars.

Cokes, cookies and cake all definitely offer me some relief form migraine. Found this article by a PhD in psychology which decsribes carb cravings in Migraineurs: http://slbmi.com/pain_management /headache_article_migraines.html

A couple of quotes:
"Many migraineurs report that if they eat something (usually CHOs [abbreviation for carbs]) early in the prodromal phase they can abort a headache or later on, lessen one."
"..data from varied sources compellingly implicate impaired carb metabolism as a pathophysiological hallmark of migraine. Migraineurs who will likely respond with complete cessation or dramatic improvements alone on a nutritional protocol designed to correct impaired carb metabolism."

So now maybe I need to research a diet to "correct impaired carb metabolism." If I can fix my metabolism, maybe I won't get as many attacks and also would not crave the carbs as a fix so often.

Thanks for the link I have started to add in a baked potatoes (microwaved actually lol) n my mig abortive plan... It is only one thing but I am sure its helps..........

The other thing I ave noticed is that I often want Chinese food in the last run over stage........ anyone else???

When I'm completely wrung out, I want chicken wonton soup from a Chinese restaurant.

KFC is my migraine 'cure'. Not that it works often, but sometimes it does!

I also use electrolyte drinks to stave off migraines, if I catch it at just the right time! My main problem is that most of the drinks are disgusting and contain way too much sugar.
I am always too nauseated to eat anything except dry bread or salt crackers when I am in the worst part of my migraine. After it tapers down a bit, broth and bread stabilize my blood sugar and keep the migraine from sticking around too long. But I have never eaten anything that got rid of the migraine! Interesting thread!

Are those the sports energy drinks?

I have just read this -

http://www.achenet.org/resources/hemiplegic_migraine__the_basics/

I am on the verge of mig at the moment - so I may have missed the point here - but since HM is at a basic level a calcium problem,...... do you think milk would help or hinder? - When I had my allergy tests done dairy came up as one to limit.......... I have not really done that if I am honest and I have never kept track of milk and migraines... has anyone else done this?

(The one drug which helped me gain some control was Flunarazine which is a calcium channel blocker)

Tee,
The rehydration drinks I use are actually a jelly form of a concentrated non-energy, non-sports drink. It is actually for people with severe dehydration, such as the elderly and people with diarrhea. I hate the taste of energy or sports drinks! Too sweet for me!
As for dairy, that is one of my biggest triggers, as I had an allergy to milk as a kid and even a tiny amount gave me a severe migraine within hours. Interesting article, though. I have read that migraines are sometimes caused by a mineral imbalance, like magnesium or calcium. I wouldn't suggest milk, though, if you are supposed to be limiting it. Do you have calcium-fortified orange juice in the UK? We did back in the States (though not here in Japan), and it was supposed to be as much calcium as in milk, glass per glass. There might be other drinks you can get with calcium, but liquid form is probably better than pill form as it is more quickly absorbed.
Tell us if you try it out!
Carla

Are those drink easy to get - I ask as do use the sports drinks - but like you find the taste a bit horrid...................

I have had good results with Magnesium and Zinc - so I think I will add a little calcium in and sew what happens...........

I was think more down the lines of a abortive - ie drink a glass of drink for a calcium shot - but maybe that would not work........... and it needs to be in a pure mineral form as a preventative

Tee,
Yes, the drinks are sold at every pharmacy here in Japan. It's called OS-1 and it is manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, but I don't know if it is available outside Japan. Basically, it is a gel form of an electrolyte drink. The liquid form is pretty disgusting, but the gel form is tolerable, especially when refrigerated.
I haven't tried minerals as a preventative, but I am planning to ask my doctor about that when I see him next.