Hi all,

My mother (age 66) has suffered from chronic headaches for years. Most
often she wakes up with them and they'll last all day. Not migraines, just
bad "regular" headaches. In the last year or so, she's found a new Dr. that
actually *asked* whether she had headaches and then took her seriously when
she said she did (very unusual in my mother's experience). The Dr. put her
on Nortriptyline (Pamelor) capsules, starting with a 10 mg dose (at
bedtime) and working up to 75 mg over a period of approximately 6 months.
She had been on 75 mg for 3 weeks when she suddenly started having bizarre
side effects - saying crazy things like asking where my grandfather was
going to sleep that night (he died in 1975), and where her cats were
(they'd both been dead for 10+ years). The 75 mg dose did seem to "break
the cycle" of headaches, but of course the side effects made it impossible
to stay at that dose. To make a long story short, they have decreased it,
and her conversations are now normal, but the headaches are back.

She has also had the headaches come on very suddenly while eating or within
an hour of finishing a meal - both at home and in restaurants.

In addition, her total cholesterol is around 220, and the last time it was
checked, her total had gone down slightly but the good/bad ratio had
worsened. She said her BP at her last Dr. visit was something like 145/75.

I also suspect she has some degree of lactose intolerance. She can drink
milk okay, but if she has a day where she has say, macaroni and cheese for
lunch, milk with dinner and frozen yogurt or ice cream for dessert, she'll
have  an intestinal upset and be making multiple visits to the bathroom in
the evening. Of all the dairy products, ice cream seems to be the worst
trigger.

She also has arthritis in her hands and in one knee, and she has had
psoriasis for the last 8 years.

About four years ago, she had acute pancreatitis that put her in the
hospital for 10 days. Ever since, she's tried to eat low fat on Dr's.
orders. What's interesting to me is that when she was in the hospital, she
had nothing to eat for 7 days. I guess you don't "cure" pancreatitis, you
manage it by letting it calm down before reintroducing food. During the
time she was in the hospital, and for a short time after she came home, she
had no headaches, and her psoriasis nearly disappeared. She credits Demerol
for this, but I suspect it's because she wasn't eating any foreign proteins.

Any ideas? I haven't seen much mention of chronic headache as a "disease of
civilization", but IMO, she is probably somewhat hyperinsulinemic and the
foreign proteins from grains are raising havoc with her immune system.
Somehow, I think her headaches fit into this. Her diet is pretty typical -
lots of carbs (breads, cereals, muffins and other baked goods, some candy),
not much meat or vegetables. I think if I could get some good information
from other people on the ways that her diet might be causing these
headaches (which is her biggest problem, and the one she would most like to
solve), she might be willing to give Paleo a try, especially if she hears
it from someone besides me. She is certainly impressed with my "numbers"
since eating low or controlled carb, so that's points in favor of eating
this way. However, I think I need some evidence that's more tailored to her
situation. I have searched the archives of both Paleo lists but didn't find
anything I could use.

So does anyone on here have compelling evidence (anecdotal or otherwise)
that links all these ailments that I can pass on, to convince her that
*all* these problems could very well be related to her diet - particularly
the headaches?

TIA

Kathy Partridge
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Artworks website: <http://www.borg.com/~atelierk/>
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Atelier Golden Retrievers & Goldens Portrayed
Member GRCA, up in central New York