Craving junk food during migraines?

Hey all,

I generally eat healthy and don't crave junk food, but when I have a migraine all I care about is greasy pizza, Chinese, french fries et cetera... I don't know why, but I seem to really want processed carbs. If I as much as think about a healthy meal, I feel like I'm going to be sick. Don't know why, probably just my will-power is really weak when in great deal of pain? Or is anyone else like that?

please don't blame your will power. blame the pain. when my migraines are at the not-yet-ready-for-bed stage, i'm ravenous. when it's full blown, my appetite goes away completely for 40 hours. (this is likely because i'm barfing for 12 of those hours.....)

i keep only healthy, organic mostly, food in my house, but i can see how you would crave not as good stuff. nothing is safe from me food-wise when i'm in the above state. dianne

I crave the same sorts of foods while I have a migraine. Anything sweet or carbs, I wonder why?

I have the same problem.

The cravings are really hard to resist too.

Processed food that usually doesn't even appeal to me, I will want to eat when I have a migraine.

Also if there is any sugar in the house, I am going to eat it.

Thankfully I don't keep junk food in the house except maybe what the kids want sometimes, but I have even talked hubby into going to the store for me and getting me chocolate or some kind of candy the craving is so strong.

It makes me feel so much better that I am not the only one that has this problem.

Now that I am on a low carb, no sugar diet, this has been very difficult for me.

I am doing my best but at times during a migraine, it seems almost impossible to stop myself.

Usually I try to just find something that will satisfy me with the least carbs and sugar I can find.

It has to be the migraine because it all goes away when the pain stops.

Anyway, thanks for this post.

Cindy

Oh it does feel good not to be alone in this. Now I know it's not only my will power. Thanks, all. It's true that these cravings are hard to resist - I also don't keep junk food in the apartment and sometimes I need my husband to go get me some pizza or chocolate cake. It's pretty weird. Maybe I need to tell my doctor and see if he has any ideas what might be causing this.

I noticed that my cravings at such times are often limited to carbohydrates, but nothing sweet, since the very idea of anything sweet makes me feel nauseous. I just crave baked potatoes with plenty of fresh unsalted butter
or with some baked beans, or thickly cut fresh bread which I can eat in unusually large quantities (normally I do not have big appetite). I can happily get up from bed at midnight and wait for my baked potato, the need is so compulsive, and believe me, I love my sleep.

As to chocolate, well I dislike chocolate anyway so this is not a problem for me, but it is best to avoid it for migraneurs as chocolate is one of the worst M triggers so it might contribute to longer spell of M for you.

The same is true about cheese in pizza, so try to find something else that will do to satisfy those cravings. I am sure we can all think of some other "forbidden foods" that we can treat ourselves with, such as chips, other types of cake etc.
NO you are definitely not alone with these cravings.
Sometime ago I read something that it can all be explained by sudden changes in the brain chemistry that signal the arrival of the next M spell. Sorry I forgot the specific scientific detail beyond that.

Well, you know, sometimes I feel like I don't have any food triggers. I've had chocolate and different cheeses a lot of times and nothing happened in the next two days. And also if I resist to the cravings, the pain is just as intense and long as if I don't resist. But still, I'm trying to gain healthy weight since I'm a bit underweight, but I need to lose the fat I gained from Sibelium (right now I'm a chubby skinny person  ) and I want to eat healthy, but these cravings and honestly killing me. Grrrh.

I am SO glad to see this post because I, too, thought I was the only one. My cravings are out of control. The pizza, fried foods, etc., I'm there. But I also crave sweets really bad. I never eat ice cream except with a headache and I want cookies but only with milk and my favorite of all....Pepsi. None of which are good because I'm diabetic! Double whammy. 

Sometimes I wil tough it out for a whole day and finally give in, eat what I want, and the headache will go away in another hour. It doesn't always do that and plenty of times I eat junk food and the headache continues. I never throw it up but if I eat a salad or broccoli or something healthy, that won't stay down long. It's a real problem.

I have read that it has to do with the cadida yeast but who knows. My symptoms overlap so much who knows what's going on!

Me too. I think it is when the seratonin drop hits. I'm trying to make myself feel better with a sweet treat. It never seems to really work, but it always sems like it might. Anyone else notice a mood drop when this is happening?

I also get cravings. Sometimes I can't stop eating, but mostly I just want fruit--juicy, sweet fruit--or chocolate. I drink a lot too. And salty foods, like crackers, sometimes help. So funny, its hard for me to actually remember these things now that I don't have a headache, but they are SO irresistible when I'm in pain.

These are my theories:
sugar/carb cravings have to do with blood sugar fluctuations (which could trigger M)
salty snack cravings have to do with imbalanced electrolyte levels (because Sodium + Potassium control neuronal activation)
chocolate cravings because of the caffeine + endorphin release
all cravings (food + liquid) happen because of a metabolism change/increase. I can't be the only one who pees every 15 minutes and eats as if there is no tomorrow

I've been interested in this for a while, but so far haven't read any good research on the subject.

I also have a request: I don't eat anything pickled, but pickles are very very good for you, especially in times of physical stress. I'm wondering if anyone has tried (or could try) eating pickles when they feel an M just beginning, or when they have cravings, and report back.

You're certainly not the only person peeing away their life. Sometimes it's the most certain predome I get. Once I've peed three times in under an hour I'd just better take something, because if I wait the aura gets so bad that I can't judge distance and do things like break drinking glasses (six since June) or pour the soda on me, rather than in my mouth (just last week). Since things spiked again I've had a bunch of trouble with Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

My cravings tend to be caffeine and carbs, and the carbs are natural endorphin boosters.

I crave ice cream during a migraine. I rarely want ice cream when I don't have a headache. Lately, I have been craving some specific things post-migraine...like Frosted Flakes or baked, gooey, cheesy Italian food.

For me a craving for sweets almost always signals that a migraine is coming. The craving subsides when the migraine begins.