Nexium causes migraine - what to do for reflux?

Hi,

It's been a while since I've been on here.  Last posted in 2013 re Mollaret's meningitis being the cause of migraine/vertigo/daily headache/ad nausem.

I am not getting as many migraines, but they still knock me for 6 when I get them.  Still on 60 mg verapamil and 5mg of endep (probably for life).  My go to drugs of choice are now aspirin 1st line, maxalt 2nd line, and valium 3rd line (no more than 1x per week), or sleeping tablet (no more than 1x per week).

Still have problems exercising and not getting a migraine, and heat is a killer but I am hoping to change my work situation soon to reduce stress and work on strengthening and building up ability to exercise.

I read some posts here on Cefaly - sounds like it does help so I will aim to give that a try.  it's AUD400 in Australia, not sure how that compares to US prices. I'll chat to my health insurance company to see if they will cover any of it.

I have been having problems with gastric reflux.  I can take Nexium for two days, then on the 3rd day I start waking up in the middle of the night with a migraine.  I last 4 days on Nexium (or two migraine days).  That's happened the two times I've tried to take Nexium, so I don't think it is coincidence.

I'm starting to think that anything that messes with the stomach messes with serotonin and dopamine and then affects my brain.  

any non-medication suggestions for reflux?  

Thanks
Lynn

Hi, I used to have acid reflux pretty bad when I was younger and was at some point prescribed medication for it too.  I found that certain items I was eating were big culprits.  I had to significantly cut down on caffeine, in fact I completely stopped caffeine for a year or more and and eventually had no more acid reflux at all.  Now I do drink caffeine occassionally and if I overdo it, I get acid reflux again for a day or two.

Other things that cause it for me are MSG food such as ramen noodles, alcohol (if I drink quite a lot) or oats such as oatmeal (if I eat it a lot).

After looking online, webMD lists these other causes:
citrus, tomato, chocolate, mint, garlic, onions, or spicy or fatty foods (I have not found any of these to cause it for me)
Drinking certain beverages, such as alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, or tea
Smoking

There are other potential causes but those seem to be the ones you could have control over and avoid.

Hi,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Wow, I eat oatmeal every day in muesli or porridge. And do a fair bit of garlic. I have two caffeinated coffees a day.

Ok, sounds like maybe I need to try going off some of those foods for a couple of weeks and seeing if I notice a difference.

Have you ever found anything that if you added it to your diet, then reflux was less?

Thanks,
Lynn

You might also try using an extra pillow at night so that your head and chest are a bit more elevated. This often helps with reflux.

thanks for the suggestion, I'll give the extra pillow a go.

Lynn

Lynn65 wrote:Have you ever found anything that if you added it to your diet, then reflux was less?

Thanks,
Lynn

No, I can't think of any food item that seems to decrease it for me. If it's really bad I'll eat Tums of course but that's only a short term solution.

From the foods you listed, you might try reducing the caffeine first at least for me, that was by far the biggest cause.