Page Title

MIGRAINE HEADACHES
Is MSG Your Trigger?
A Personal History


	From age 19 to 48, I suffered from constant headaches. Once or twice a month, the headaches would blossom into full-blown migraines, with throbbing intense pain, nausea and vomiting, neck pain, muscle spasms radiating down to the shoulders, sensitivity to light, jaw spasms, and profuse sweating. The only way to deal with these migraines was a trip to the Emergency Room for shots of Demerol and Phenergan. At times the migraines were so intense, a second round of shots was needed to quell the pain and vomiting. During these years, I saw Neurologists, Pain Clinics, Migraine Treatment Centers, M.D.'s, D.O.'s, Chiropractors and Acupuncturists. I had brain scans, MRI's and every test known to man. Nothing could be found wrong, and no one knew exactly what caused the migraines. Over the years, every preventive medication and pain medication was tried. Oral pain medications were consistently ineffective in significantly reducing my pain. This is an important point because every MSG-sensitive person I have heard from in the last 10 years has said that they, too, get little relief from oral pain medications when MSG is the source of their misery. At Migraine Clinics, I would be given a long list of "Migraine Trigger Foods": chocolate, caffeine, bananas, nuts, aged cheese, preservatives, etc. MSG would occasionally find its way onto some lists, too. However, no list ever mentioned the fact that MSG is hidden under many other names. So, as long as the Ingredient List on a food container's label didn't say MSG of Monosodium Glutamate, I assumed it was safe. Nothing could have been further from the truth!!

Stumbling on the Cause of My Migraines!

Eight years ago, I began a medically-supervised liquid fasting diet for the purpose of losing weight. My doctor said, "Sometimes this type of diet will cause headaches." "Big deal," I responded, "I live with them every day of my life." After 3 weeks it was obvious: I began a pain-free existence a few days after starting the diet. The absence of food and beverage intake made one point clear: something I was eating or drinking was making my life a living hell of pain.
In the fourth week, I had an intense craving for salt. I tried a bouillon cube dissolved in hot water. The result? A 24-hour full-blown migraine requiring injections of Demerol and Phenergan to stop it. The second ingredient in bouillon? MSG! I waited a week and hesitantly repeated the experiment. My reaction was identical.
In subsequent weeks, I tried small amounts of 'migraine trigger foods' once every third day. I methodically went through the list my headache specialist provided, but nothing else triggered a headache or migraine. Then I tried something with a smaller amount of MSG in it. A migraine paraded through, but only for 12 hours.
Finally a 2" square of lunchmeat produced a 4-hour migraine that started and stopped as if someone had flipped a light switch on and off. Then I began my research by reading the paperback book: "In Bad Taste: The MSG Symptom Complex", by George R. Schwartz, M.D., Signet Press/Penguin Press. The next problem was the trip to the supermarket. With a list of "Hidden Names of MSG" in hand, my first trip took 4 hours! Then I dumped all the food in my refrigerator and pantry that had MSG in it. A new life -- without pain -- had arrived!