Your GI Problems May Be Giving You a Headache!
There are some strong ties between your head and your stomach, it seems. Researchers have found that people who have gastrointestinal issues suffer from headaches much more often than others.
The study showed that people with reflux, diarrhea, constipation, and nausea - all common symptoms of GERD, Crohn’s, IBS, Lactose Intolerance, and other digestive disorders - are frequently burdened by headaches. What does this mean? Well, we don’t yet know yet. But it bears keeping an eye on.
Interestingly enough, other GI issues have already been linked to headaches, but in a more straightforward manner. For instance, if you strain to produce a bowel movement, as is common with the constipation caused by IBS/IBD, you could be giving yourself a headache.
I have two theories about this relationship. Of course, this is just conjecture, but might be worth looking into. My first theory is that the body is in pain/discomfort from the gastrointestinal distress, so that distress carries over to other parts of the body.
My other theory is that people who suffer from a digestive disorder get different amounts of key nutrients compared to other people. For example: lactose intolerant people have to steer clear of dairy, which provides vital calcium (and often added vitamins, such as A&D), and that could be throwing off an important balance within the body.
What are your thoughts on this? Talk about it in the forums or leave a comment below!
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March 11th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
MY problem is that I have Multiple Sclerosis, so EVERYTHING gets attributed to that.
But anyway, thanks for commenting on my blog!
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March 12th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I’ve gotten headaches my whole life.. only the last 5 months i’ve been having bad GI problems.. and my headaches now definately seem to correlate and come more often.
i assumed my GI (indigestion, heartburn) might have come from constantly popping advil… who knows. will definately be checking out this site.. as my doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and just prescribed me aciphex. I don’t want to be taking pills for the rest of my life though
Bobby Rio’s last blog post..Keeping Cool, and Plowing On
March 12th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Sorry to hear about your GI and headache issues!
It may help to only take Advil with food, and only food that won’t cause more reflux (see the GERD posts for some tips). I’m not a doctor, but it always bothers me when I hear that a doctor prescribes a medicine simply to counteract the side effects of another medicine. So hopefully, you won’t be stuck taking pills forever. Have you also tried other standard headache remedies (hydration, changing the diet, sleeping more)? Best of luck to you, and keep us updated on your progress!
March 12th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
What an interesting site. You have hit the main health problems that affect my and my loved ones lives. I will be writing a health post at my site at some point and be sure to highlight you. Great. Thanks.
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March 13th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Interesting information. I’ll take it to my next appointment. Thank you. Viveca
April 1st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I have both crohn’s disease and migrains so this reasearch is very interesting to me. Thanks for the “heads up” no pun intended.
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April 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
I did not know that. I will remember this article. neat post!
Hygeia’s last blog post..By: Roxanne
April 30th, 2008 at 7:22 am
The majority of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut, and there is a definite relationship between serotonin and migraines, although it’s not completely understood (yet!). I think that an imbalance in serotonin in the gut sets off a cascade of events leading to migraine.