Talk Cancer

Question:

I do not know about your throry, but there are times–not every time—that when I have a headache and take the Midrin —it  will cause an upset stomach—-clearly  this does not help me or the headache at all Take care,  Joyce Carpe diem–seize the day    

Response:

Uh, Jim… it may be what you believe, but it may not be reality.  I had a colleague at work that was hospitalized because of his migraines.  The hospital gave him medications, but nothing was working.  They had no answers for him.  I told him about my findings. In short, he changed a few things and his headaches disappeared. Completely bowel related. The fact of the matter is, if you eat yourself a processed white-bread subb, 6 hours later have a dough-conditioned white-bun hamburger, and then white-bread pizza, very little fiber, and very little water, and you sit at your cubicle all day long, you can expect a nice rotten, toxic, putrified fecal element to be lying in your body for quite sometime.  The American diet is one big toxic waste dump that the body isn’t "meant" to ingest.  As I’ve experienced in my own life, and have seen it in others — headaches most certainly can come from that.  I know if I eat gum containing BHT, within a few minutes I have a headache.  That’s a very, very small amount of a chemical too.   That 5 inch fecal compost that’s fermenting and rotting in your body for hours on end isn’t going to send any signals?  Sedentary lifestyle + bad eating habits catches up.  It manifests itself in different ways — arthritis, cancer, back/joint pain, etc.  Headache is another signal. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Cue Dr. Evil:  "Riiiiigggghhhttttt". Actually, I hope you’re on to something to help your headaches.  Personally, I believe the correlation of headaches to fecal action to be very (very) low.  I haven’t been able to figure out many of my headache triggers, so if you’ve found yours, nice work! Jim Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

In a sense, it is a trigger… it is a toxicity trigger.  If something is laying in your body for a long while, and it starts to rot and putrify, it makes a lot of sense that this cause the body to set off an alarm.  The chemicals arising as a result of putrification might I wouldn’t be quick to write it off until you’ve checked it out. What could hurt?

hmmm..sorry but I don’t buy into the putrefaction "theory"…I have seen the inside of far too many colons….and there simply is NO place for these "toxins" as you describe them to collect… the GI tract is quite qualified to do the job of breaking down what one intakes…absorbing the nutrients..and expelling the rest as "WASTE" this is not abnormal..but normal bowel function I have been checked out..my entire large colon is pristine… not to say…that constipation etc cannot contribute to a headache…but relieving same also doesn’t mean no more headaches.. I do agree with your assessment of a Western diet…but I can eat like a textbook…and my headaches don’t change a bit again..whatever works..go for it.. hawki

Response:

while I am glad you have identified YOUR problem…most of us here have been thru the gamut for many many years…30 for me.. "triggers" are one thing…but that does not seem to be what you are describing..

In a sense, it is a trigger… it is a toxicity trigger.  If something is laying in your body for a long while, and it starts to rot and putrify, it makes a lot of sense that this cause the body to set off an alarm.  The chemicals arising as a result of putrification might indeed be a "trigger." I would bet "most" of us have normal regular bowel function…and still have normal (to us)..head pain..

What maybe considered "normal" might indeed not be normal.   You could be going twice a day, and it might not be enough, especially if the movements aren’t complete, if they’re hard, if they smell rotten, etc. I wouldn’t be quick to write it off until you’ve checked it out. What could hurt?

Response:

Cue Dr. Evil:  "Riiiiigggghhhttttt". Actually, I hope you’re on to something to help your headaches.  Personally, I believe the correlation of headaches to fecal action to be very (very) low.  I haven’t been able to figure out many of my headache triggers, so if you’ve found yours, nice work! Jim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

while I am glad you have identified YOUR problem…most of us here have been thru the gamut for many many years…30 for me.. "triggers" are one thing…but that does not seem to be what you are describing.. I would bet "most" of us have normal regular bowel function…and still have normal (to us)..head pain.. again…glad this has solved your problem for the rest of us…ifonly hawki

Response:

Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

I have seen the inside of far too many colons…

And it looks friggin GOOD on ya .. Who loves ya. Tom Jesus Was A Vegetarian! http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com Man Is A Herbivore! http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/manisaherbivore DEAD PEOPLE WALKING http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/deadpeoplewalking

Response:

Erik, it’s great that you found the cause for your headaches, but you shouldn’t project that success onto other people.  A headache that lasts a long time is not necessarily (or even usually) a migraine.  Did you see flashes of light before the headaches started?  Were your eyes or neck tender to the touch?  Were you sensitive to light and/or sound?  Etc etc. If a link existed between diet or inadequate bowel function and migraines researchers would have discovered it a long, long time ago. Rick – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

not to say…that constipation etc cannot contribute to a headache…but relieving same also doesn’t mean no more headaches..

And just what does that mean?  If it is known that constipation can contribute to headaches, then what aspect of constipation is causing that headache?  The body obviously is rejecting "something" — that something obviously being the chemical composition of that fecal matter. You don’t buy into the theory, but it certainly has held true for me as well as others.  So there must be something to it.  It’s not some "unique" thing … plenty of people have suffered headings as a result of fecal-related matters.  So there’s obviously SOMETHING to it. Why not check it out?  Why reject it outright?  There are PLENTY of things that are discovered "by accident" in science and medicine.  And just because it isn’t peer reviewed in a medical journal, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.  The reality is, many "incurable" diseases are truly curable by radical diet and lifestyle alterations.  I know someone whose heavy duty arthritis completely disappeared with a lifestyle overhaul.  I know someone who came back hopeless from a hospital regarding his headaches.  He started to take dumps regularly and his headache disappeared.  The doctors didn’t even mention it to him.  I know another who cured his acid reflux by doing a major juicing regime.  This is in no way to bash medicine.  Thank God for doctors and medicine. The fact is, athough the GI tract is working to assimilate nutrients and dispel wastes, it may only be able to do so with foods that it’s "made" to work with, and only under a certain amount of time.  It is simply unnatural to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and that is the typical American lifestyle.  It is entirely possible that the body is meant to expel matter at a certain RATE… if that rate is not met, the body reacts accordingly. If you had a fecal element in your colon for days, which some people do, and it’s rotting, and putrifying, you’re saying the colon is completely shielding that from the rest of the body?  You don’t think the body is sending up flags that something is horrible and rotten and is rotting inside of itself for too long?  It may be that the colon is only meant to deal with waste up to a certain point of putrefaction and only for a certain period of time. Also, I’m not just talking about the way you eat.  I’m talking about the exercise involved, which is just as important.  You can eat textbook well, and not exercise, and all that great food can rot just the same.  It happened to me recently.  I went on a diet of almost entirely fruits and vegetables, but didn’t exercise, and I was in headache village.

Response:

Maybe if one is constipated is it because they have their head stuck up their butt and the lack of oxygen is causing the headache. So maybe its your head that is causing all the problems. Its up there rotting and putrefying. Sorry, I just had to make a smartA$$ remark. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – not to say…that constipation etc cannot contribute to a headache…but relieving same also doesn’t mean no more headaches.. And just what does that mean?  If it is known that constipation can contribute to headaches, then what aspect of constipation is causing that headache?  The body obviously is rejecting "something" — that something obviously being the chemical composition of that fecal matter. You don’t buy into the theory, but it certainly has held true for me as well as others.  So there must be something to it.  It’s not some "unique" thing … plenty of people have suffered headings as a result of fecal-related matters.  So there’s obviously SOMETHING to it. Why not check it out?  Why reject it outright?  There are PLENTY of things that are discovered "by accident" in science and medicine.  And just because it isn’t peer reviewed in a medical journal, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.  The reality is, many "incurable" diseases are truly curable by radical diet and lifestyle alterations.  I know someone whose heavy duty arthritis completely disappeared with a lifestyle overhaul.  I know someone who came back hopeless from a hospital regarding his headaches.  He started to take dumps regularly and his headache disappeared.  The doctors didn’t even mention it to him.  I know another who cured his acid reflux by doing a major juicing regime.  This is in no way to bash medicine.  Thank God for doctors and medicine. The fact is, athough the GI tract is working to assimilate nutrients and dispel wastes, it may only be able to do so with foods that it’s "made" to work with, and only under a certain amount of time.  It is simply unnatural to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and that is the typical American lifestyle.  It is entirely possible that the body is meant to expel matter at a certain RATE… if that rate is not met, the body reacts accordingly. If you had a fecal element in your colon for days, which some people do, and it’s rotting, and putrifying, you’re saying the colon is completely shielding that from the rest of the body?  You don’t think the body is sending up flags that something is horrible and rotten and is rotting inside of itself for too long?  It may be that the colon is only meant to deal with waste up to a certain point of putrefaction and only for a certain period of time. Also, I’m not just talking about the way you eat.  I’m talking about the exercise involved, which is just as important.  You can eat textbook well, and not exercise, and all that great food can rot just the same.  It happened to me recently.  I went on a diet of almost entirely fruits and vegetables, but didn’t exercise, and I was in headache village.

Response:

And just what does that mean?  If it is known that constipation can contribute to headaches, then what aspect of constipation is causing that headache?  The body obviou

OK..no more arguing with you…just one small point do you think in 30+ years my mind splitting headaches..nearly daily are due to "fecal matter?""  I don’t neither do any of the headache specialists that I know… if it floats your boat..more power to ya hawki

Response:

OK, I’ve defended your viewpoint in the past when it provoked people, and I think you’re absolutely right that a healthy lifestyle can mitigate MANY health problems, headache – even migraine – included. To associate EVERY ill with a sluggish colon; to define the colon as sluggish if a person has a symptom like migraine (as opposed to a symptom like constipation); and to suggest that everybody’s migraine can be cured by diet and exercise really does insult the efforts and experience of many of us here. It also has a very strong whiff (sorry…bad image) of the scamming that drives people with a chronic condition wild after a little experience: just try it my way and you will be ALL WELL. And if you’re not, then you didn’t really try…. How many times have we all fallen for that? Some cures are cynical money-grabs; others well-meant nonsense. Let’s assume that you are well-meaning and describing your own experience. Instead of trumpeting it as a cure-all, how about telling exactly what that experience is? What were your HAs like; were they diagnosed as migraines; when did they start; what’s your family’s history; what other treatments did you try; when did you initiate your lifestyle changes; what did they consist of; how long did it take for you to get better; are you in fact completely HA-free? I slipped in that little question about "were they really migraines" to give you an idea of how your smugness feels to some of us. You define migraine as a by-product of a sluggish colon. But perhaps headaches that yield fully to lifestyle change cannot be defined as migraine…. Sincerely, Julianne

Response:

Thanks Jim.  That’s exactly what I meant. I’m reading the revised Atkin’s Diet book.  They’ve made a number of "healthy" changes. Erik – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Rick – I didn’t read Erik’s post as stating he found "the" cause of his headaches, merely that water, exercise, good carbs are helpful for headaches and "regularity".  This is simply good, common sense advice that you’d find in literally any book on headaches and general health (minus, of course, the Atkins Diet). Jim Erik, it’s great that you found the cause for your headaches, but you shouldn’t project that success onto other people.  A headache that lasts a long time is not necessarily (or even usually) a migraine.  Did you see flashes of light before the headaches started?  Were your eyes or neck tender to the touch?  Were you sensitive to light and/or sound?  Etc etc. If a link existed between diet or inadequate bowel function and migraines researchers would have discovered it a long, long time ago. Rick Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache. I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

Rick – I didn’t read Erik’s post as stating he found "the" cause of his headaches, merely that water, exercise, good carbs are helpful for headaches and "regularity".  This is simply good, common sense advice that you’d find in literally any book on headaches and general health (minus, of course, the Atkins Diet). Jim

Erik, it’s great that you found the cause for your headaches, but you shouldn’t project that success onto other people.  A headache that lasts a long time is not necessarily (or even usually) a migraine.  Did you see flashes of light before the headaches started?  Were your eyes or neck tender to the touch?  Were you sensitive to light and/or sound?  Etc etc. If a link existed between diet or inadequate bowel function and migraines researchers would have discovered it a long, long time ago. Rick

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong. this is not necessarily true.  as a matter of fact, a large number of migraine patients go through a battery of tests and they all come up normal, which is often the most infuriating thing of all!  especially when they are having chronic migraines.  sufferers end up almost wishing for a test to show something so doctors will take their pain seriously, but usually the tests are completely normal.

Just because it doesn’t show up on a test, doesn’t mean it isn’t so. And tests don’t test for everything, and tests don’t show everything. In the case of a lazy digestive system, there isn’t really going to be a clinical test for that.  I.e., a headache caused by bowel action is probably not going to show up on a test.  Obviously the tests aren’t telling you everything, because if they did, they would tell you why you’re having a headache.  If one is having a headache, the body is having one for a reason.  When I said, "the body’s signal that something is wrong," that’s basically what I’m saying.  The body is flashing a red light that it doesn’t like something… that something isn’t "right"… that something is "wrong."

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – OK, I’ve defended your viewpoint in the past when it provoked people, and I think you’re absolutely right that a healthy lifestyle can mitigate MANY health problems, headache – even migraine – included. To associate EVERY ill with a sluggish colon; to define the colon as sluggish if a person has a symptom like migraine (as opposed to a symptom like constipation); and to suggest that everybody’s migraine can be cured by diet and exercise really does insult the efforts and experience of many of us here. It also has a very strong whiff (sorry…bad image) of the scamming that drives people with a chronic condition wild after a little experience: just try it my way and you will be ALL WELL. And if you’re not, then you didn’t really try…. How many times have we all fallen for that? Some cures are cynical money-grabs; others well-meant nonsense. Let’s assume that you are well-meaning and describing your own experience. Instead of trumpeting it as a cure-all, how about telling exactly what that experience is? What were your HAs like; were they diagnosed as migraines; when did they start; what’s your family’s history; what other treatments did you try; when did you initiate your lifestyle changes; what did they consist of; how long did it take for you to get better; are you in fact completely HA-free? I slipped in that little question about "were they really migraines" to give you an idea of how your smugness feels to some of us. You define migraine as a by-product of a sluggish colon. But perhaps headaches that yield fully to lifestyle change cannot be defined as migraine…. Sincerely, Julianne

Julianne – If you read the post that started this thread, it is not smug, nor "trumpeting" anything that will work for all.  Read the post that started this thread, and all of my replies.  I might have sounded like that a long time ago (which I apologized for), but it is not at all what I sounded like here.  I was simply sharing my experience.  That’s it.  I do NOT define migraines as a by-product of a sluggish colon.  I said that headaches, including migraines, CAN BE a result of a sluggish colon/digestive system, and that I believe whole heartedly that it may be an oft-overlooked potential cause.  There are a variety of triggers, chemical, allergy, and otherwise.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And just what does that mean?  If it is known that constipation can contribute to headaches, then what aspect of constipation is causing that headache?  The body obviou OK..no more arguing with you…just one small point do you think in 30+ years my mind splitting headaches..nearly daily are due to "fecal matter?""

If 300 years ago I asked you, "do you think mold can treat bacterial infections?  ear infections?"  You and every other doctor would have looked at me cross-eyed. The hard fact of the matter is, it is ALREADY medically known that CONSTIPATION can cause headaches.  I’m just expanding on the definition of constipation a bit.  If CONSTIPATION can cause headaches, my question is, WHAT IS CAUSING that headache??  The presence of a "foreign" fecal element.  Period.  This is the truth! This is known by medical science!  If your specialists haven’t mentioned it, then they obviously have forgotten about it or never learned it… Laughable?  The hospital my friend went to didn’t even MENTION this to him, and it turned out to be the ROOT CAUSE of his problems.  I have had them, my father has had them, I’ve had friends that have them.  If you went to a doctor today, they would prescribe you a Prevacid-type medication for acid-reflux.  But proper enzyme-increase and tending to the digestion system can CURE acid-reflux.  If a specialist hasn’t mentioned constipation or proper bowel movement (elimination processes) to you, there’s a real problem… because, like I said, it’s already a medical fact that constipation can cause headaches. And constipation doesn’t have to be defined as the inability to go when you need to. The fact that you have mind splitting headaches EVERYDAY literally makes me think that could be the root cause, because digestion happens everyday.  Do you exercise 20-30 minutes a day?  Do you drink water? Do you eat right?  Over 30 years, I would think you’ve isolated everything else.  Why not try it?  If it happens to be the answer, what do you lose?  what do you gain? Honestly, I’m just trying to offer some help…  I hate to see people in pain.

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I persnally have five very specific types of migraine and my daughter has 1. Hers are directley related to dehydration. She does dance in college but began getting them in highschool doing flags in the heat. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the digestive system as water is mostly passed through the urinary system. She is one of those people who get nauseated by drinking water so pushing fluids was difficult. Now with a lack of fluids in your system you blood doesn’t cool and pumps harder during exerccise and lack of the fluids cooling you down, that I understand as causing a migraine. The bowel system just isn’t going my way. Most of the people I’ve seen on this pae have been fighting migraines for years we know our triggers? most of them at least. Maybe you have found yours congradulations but don’t over push it. It is just yours as I said I have 5 triggers none of which is food or bowel related. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Erik, it’s great that you found the cause for your headaches, but you shouldn’t project that success onto other people.  A headache that lasts a long time is not necessarily (or even usually) a migraine.  Did you see flashes of light before the headaches started?  Were your eyes or neck tender to the touch?  Were you sensitive to light and/or sound?  Etc etc. If a link existed between diet or inadequate bowel function and migraines researchers would have discovered it a long, long time ago. Rick Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache.  I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

Response:

The hard fact of the matter is, it is ALREADY medically known that CONSTIPATION can cause headaches.  I’m just expanding on the definition of constipation a bit.  If CONSTIPATION can cause headaches, my question is, WHAT IS CAUSING that headache??  

This should read, "WHAT ASPECT OF THE CONSTIPATION" is causing that headache.

Response:

I have to go with the Dog on this one. Triggers are too variable, even in an individual migraineur. If migraine is a single condition, then the cause must be something wrong with the wiring – making hormone changes, airplane travel, weather, wine, perfume, movies, head colds, sluggish colons, etc., intolerable some or all of the time. Exactly what that is remains to be discovered, in our lifetimes, let’s hope. –Julianne

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HI, I have tried the veggie way of eating. I ate as chenical free as I could, but it did not help all that much. The weather is one trigger and the soap and detergents in the store are another. Being around lot of people with all that stinky stuff on is another. The stuff they wash and dry their cloths in. All those chemicals that people spray on themselves because they think it make them smell better to others. I only need to smell good to myself. There are so many chmeicals out in the world and in our homes its a wonder any of us ever makes to 30 years old THe stuff I eat does not stay in my bowels long enough to rot. Its all just passing through, Leaves a few chemicals that my body wants and exits the back door. Then I flush twice because it a long way to Washington D.C. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Erik, it’s great that you found the cause for your headaches, but you shouldn’t project that success onto other people.  A headache that lasts a long time is not necessarily (or even usually) a migraine.  Did you see flashes of light before the headaches started?  Were your eyes or neck tender to the touch?  Were you sensitive to light and/or sound?  Etc etc. If a link existed between diet or inadequate bowel function and migraines researchers would have discovered it a long, long time ago. Rick Good hydration, exercise, and complex carb/fiber diet are good for both headaches and colons.   There’s a direct corelation between healthy behavior and headaches, so need to inject the colon into the equation. Erik Just wanted to share something that may be beneficial.. It is known that headaches are the body’s signal that something is wrong.  I.e., if you chew some sort of chewing gum that has a chemical in it, and you get a headache, the body is telling you "get rid of this chemical, I don’t like it."  Same thing applies to any other substance that the body is reacting to in the form of a headache. Headaches — migraine or otherwise — don’t just come out of the blue for no reason.  There is a definite reason and definite reaction to SOMETHING. Given the body’s pattern of reacting to something it deems toxic, I started to investigate the connection with digestion. Having a headache recently that was 4-5 days long, and not being able to isolate it with anything I’ve been ingesting in particular, it made me think that there was perhaps something in my body that was giving that same signal to "create ache in the head." Although I was having regular bowel movements, it seemed that recently these bowel movements weren’t as complete, and they smelled not too nice. So here’s the theory: you eat and eat and eat, don’t exercise, and don’t enough water.  The stuff converts to digested waste material and sits in your intestinal tract.  It moves along, BUT if it doesn’t move fast enough, the stuff ferments and rots, and the body is identifying it as a chemical that it DOESN’T WANT inside itself.  So it throws up the headache flag. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on bowel transit times, but it really needs to be done.  A lot of the processed foods that are eaten today don’t have nearly enough bulk to go through the body quick enough. I correlated a complete lack of exercise the week I had this headache. I’ve upped my exercise and water, began moving my bowels more, and I’m seeing the headache subside as the stuff is leaving my body. If you’re not exercising, not eating the right foods, and not drinking enough water, your answer for your headache is right there. I’m now jogging 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day. Just thought I’d share this… RB

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