Migraine and Meniere's Disease
Migraine
Migraine is a complex clinical condition with many associated symptoms. It is a lifelong problem and can be very debilitating, hence impacting quality of life. Most commonly considered to be intermittent attacks of head pain, combined with other symptoms including nausea, sensitivity to head movement, light and sound. Headaches, however, are not always the dominant symptom for many patients who suffer from migraine. Other dominant atypical symptoms include vertigo or dizziness, lack of balance, head fullness or pressure and ear pain. Vestibular migraine includes migraine and vertigo symptoms. During a migraine attack, evidence suggests that abnormal electrical activity may occur in, on, and around the brain. There are many different triggers that play a role in the electrical disturbance that underlies migraine attacks. These triggers can be categorised into environmental, dietary and psychologic triggers.
Meniere’s Disease
Meniere’s disease is a disorder which affects the inner ear. Symptoms include vertigo, ear ringing or tinnitus, ear pressure and hearing loss, however, the exact cause of Meniere’s Disease is not completely understood. Evidence suggests that there is an association between Meniere’s Disease and migraine, however, further research is required to completely understand this relationship. Both conditions do share common triggers including stress, and certain foods, so this is where support from a Dietitian is important for the preventative treatment of migraine and Meniere’s disease.
How can a Dietitian help?
According to the literature surrounding the effect of diet on migraine and Meniere’s disease, a modified Atkins diet, the ketogenic diet and a low glycaemic diet have all shown promise in the preventative treatment of migraine and Meniere’s disease. There is however, significant individual variation in terms of which foods are related to migraine attacks and how much of a particular food is required to elicit symptoms. Consequently, an individualised approach is essential when it comes to providing patients with dietary advice. This is why an elimination diet for a 6-10-week period is important to reduce symptoms of migraine and Meniere’s disease. Provided symptoms settle, a reintroduction protocol will follow. During your initial consultation we will discuss the elimination diet and at follow up appointments we will cover the reintroduction protocol. The reintroduction protocol is important to work out which foods and how much of these foods lead to your symptoms of migraine and Meniere’s disease. An individualised long term diet based on your food preference can then be designed to prevent future symptoms of migraine and Meniere’s disease from occuring.