I suffered from really bad migraines for years...back when I was working, sometimes I would miss work because of the migraines. I've gotten rid of mine, so I thought I'd share what worked for me in case it will help anyone else.

I never used to drink water. I drank Diet Coke instead. Seriously...between my husband and myself we'd go through a 3 liter bottle in a day. I broke my leg in February and when the doctors were trying to figure out how my bones got so brittle (I slipped in the mud but my injury was something they usually see with motorcycle accidents) I told them about the diet Coke. They said if I ever wanted to walk again, I couldn't drink Diet Coke anymore. Of course I stopped...and my migraines stopped too. It was uncommon for me to make it through a week without one, much less a month. At first when I quit getting them, I thought it was because of the painkillers that I was on for my leg...but I quit taking painkillers in April and the migraines have not come back.

That's awesome!! I wish my bosses would do the same and stop drinking that crap.. They kill a 12 pack or more of the stuff a day!

My son gets migraines from artificial sweeteners or if he eats too much sugar and not enough protein. Congrats on figuring out what causes them!

Congrats! I have so many triggers, I eliminate one and they'll go away for a while and a new one will pop up.

For example, aspartame gives me sinus headaches that would turn into migraines. So I stopped drinking or eating anything with it.

Then I was diagnosed with TMJ and given a dental appliance. OMG, amazing results. I went from 4-5 debilitating migraines a month, to one or two.

Now they're starting to pick up again, but I think it's allergies. If I don't knock out a sinus headache soon enough, it WILL become a migraine.

Also, florescent lights. I am NOT happy about the future elimination of incandescent light bulbs because those don't trigger migraines. I have a lamp in my office because I can't use the overhead lights.

That's great texasrose!

Drinking water is so important. I only get a headache or migraine on days when I notice my water intake is lower then usual.

For me the best way to get rid of one of these headaches is to drink a few glasses of water. Dehydration is the cause of my headaches.

I try to drink at least 48oz each day, fortunately for me it's not hard I love water and hate soda or juice.

I'm happy that your migraines are gone, they're awful!

I've heard this, too. I gave up all Aspartame 4 months ago and so far so good! That stuff is poison-did you know that once it heats up to your body temperature, that it turns into a compound identical to formaldehyde? YUCK!

My friend emailed me an article about the problems people could have if they are sensitive to the ingredients in Diet Coke. I was drinking it every day. I had several of the symptoms listed, aching joints, headaches and some other minor things. I never gave it any thought. I considered it was just because I was getting old. I decided it was easy to find out. I stopped drinking it cold turkey. Yeah, it was like I was addicted to it. After a few days all of the aches and pains went away. I haven't had a Diet Coke since.
Unfortunately, I am, however, still old.

I just thought of something. My MIL is ADDICTED to Diet Coke and has been for years. She admits to drinking MORE then a 12 pack each and every day.

Her knees have been horrible for years and she was just told that she needs total knee replacement in both knees. She's 65 yrs old, never played any sports so it's not injury related.

I wonder if her problems are stemmed from her addiction to this stuff.

Does anyone have a link to these articles so I can forward it to her?

Thanks!

that's awesome! i have a negative reaction to that stuff too. my husband LIVES on diet mountain dew and pops motrin like candy for headaches. of course, he doesn't believe me when i say there is a connection...

The hardest thing for me is finding a "replacement". Like seriously my favorite thing in the whole world was going to the movies with a giant Diet Coke and tons of ice. So now I go to the movies and think OK, bottled water, or Coke with 500 calories? God knows I don't need the calories.
When eating out I drink tea, but for fun stuff it is really hard to go off the Diet Coke! And, I slipped up today. Had a Diet Rootbeer. But the in laws are coming into town tomorrow for a week, so I'll give myself a break about that.

The hardest thing for me is finding a "replacement". Like seriously my favorite thing in the whole world was going to the movies with a giant Diet Coke and tons of ice. So now I go to the movies and think OK, bottled water, or Coke with 500 calories? God knows I don't need the calories.
When eating out I drink tea, but for fun stuff it is really hard to go off the Diet Coke! And, I slipped up today. Had a Diet Rootbeer. But the in laws are coming into town tomorrow for a week, so I'll give myself a break about that.

Summernoelle...I'm still drinking sugar-free drink mixes that have sugar substitutes in them. I'm not sure I believe that it's really dangerous. http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

For me, what the doctors especially said to avoid was phosphoric acid. Diet Big Red and ginger ale and 7-up don't have it...so I let myself have about a glass a day of one of those and that way I get my fun stuff in.

I might try cutting out aspartame though and see if I feel different...I wish I could get past the bitter aftertaste of stevia.

I have read both the snopes internet report and the report from the medical community and I believe they are right. Diet Coke does not cause MS, nor does it turn toxic when you drink it. The article my friend sent me was from a very unreliable source. I knew that, but it did make me think. I always say a broken clock is still right twice a day. So, I did stop drinking Diet Coke just to see. There was a difference. I don't think there is with everyone. However, I do think some people may become sensitive to an ingredient in it, just like you may become sensitive to corn syrup, strawberries, or just about anything else. Just my opinion though.