I’ve declared my passionate involvement with peanut butter before; suffice it to say that the flame still burns strong. But my my beloved has betrayed me. It’s time to face the facts: Peanut butter, the most perfect food ever, triggers some a lot of my severe headaches.
While the breakup is painful, I am equipped to resist temptation. The killer headache that followed a particularly intense rendezvous revealed how vengeful my dear peanut butter is. My immediate response was to exact revenge — I went for peanut butter’s cousin, sunflower seed butter. Oh. My. God. Big mistake.
I’ve finally learned that enough is enough.
To avoid giving in to peanut butter’s seductive powers, I have printed this skull and crossbones and stuck it on the jar. It’s the kind that has to be refrigerated, so I’ll let Hart finish it. After that he will have to buy and hide Jif, just in case my resistance strategies aren’t enough.
It’s a sad day in Seattle. But I am strong. I crank up the ABBA and know that I will survive.
Thank you for all the info on pb and headaches! I found Almond and sunflower butter (not exactly the Jif but oh well!) so does anyone know why this happens to us in our 40s? I’m clueless-oh PB I will miss you, but not the pain in my head!
a couple days ago I realized that every day I had a peanut butter sandwich my head started hurting, and I also got really tired, I wasn’t sure if it was peanut butter but now that I’ve seen this post I know that it was for sure 🙁 the is sad especially since all my favorite candies have have peanut butter or nuts
I’m not giving up peanut butter right away because the headaches aren’t the bad, but I have a feeling they will get worse so I will eat less
Thanks for posting
Oh why why do you do this to me peanut butter. For the first 30 years of my life you were enjoyed by the spoonful. Now you give me the 2-3 day waxing and waning headache. I thought I could give you up but after several months of not having a jar in the house, I couldn’t resist. Your trickery is evil. The first couple days after the long break are pure bliss as I gobble you down with no adverse affects. Then it all builds up and feels like someone stuffed a sweaty tube sock into my sinuses. Damn you peanut butter.
I have sadly discovered that chocolate is my nemesis. I moped about for at least three days when I discovered this. Then just five short days after I came out of mourning, Valentines day came. I thought, maybe I’m wrong about chocolate. Nope. I ate a small dove chocolate and a small truffle, I spent the following 24 hours in bed. Yes It is a sad sad thing.
i have recently begun to see a gentleman who suffers from sever migraines. When he has these attacks he doesn’t contact me or see me. He says he needs to be by himself until the episode subsides and that he won’t change for anyone. I am very concerned because I am spending each weekend by myself, worried about him and worried about our relationship. I am not sure if the relationship can survive if I can never see him and the last 5 weeks I have been seeing him the last 3 weeks, every weekend I don’t hear from him. I really do like him and want to be supportive but shutting me out is killing me and it makes it difficult to have a relationship when I am on my own. I have discussed this with him but he says it is the way he deals with things but I also sufffer from chronic pain but would never shut anyone out. I want to build a loving relationship not spend my weekends alone. Not sure what to do.
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No matter the type of illness, some people like to have others around and some don’t. Like your boyfriend, I hide from the world when I have a migraine. If I have plans, I usually let the person know that I have a migraine.
Perhaps you and your boyfriend could agree to have him call you when he has a migraine, but not talk about anything else. A sort of guarantee that the conversation would be short and simple.
I know you didn’t ask for this advice, but I think it may help your boyfriend: Migraines are often triggered when stress is released. Many of people get them on the weekends when they relax after the stress of the workweek. This used to happen to my husband a lot. He had to consciously reduce his stress gradually so he wouldn’t get a migraine.
I wish you and your boyfriend the best of luck.
Kerrie
Ugh – sunflower seed butter. Yuck. The only brand in my store is candy sweet – they totally spoiled it by adding all that sugar.
Kerrie – can you try other nut butters? Or is it better to go cold turkey?
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I’ve since figured out that all nuts are triggers, so no nut or seed butters for me. It’s been about six weeks since I’ve had any and, while frustrating, isn’t too much of a pain.
Kerrie
I have discovered sunflower seed butter! hooray, it is even yummier than peanut butter (which, true, was one of those love affairs I was sad to end). Trader Joe’s carries it. Good and good for us too
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Glad to hear sunflower seed butter isn’t a trigger for you. For me, it’s just as bad as peanut butter (it is also a legume).
Kerrie
I have discovered sunflower seed butter! hooray, it is even yummier than peanut butter (which, true, was one of those love affairs I was sad to end). Trader Joe’s carries it. Good and good for us too
Thanks for this, I don’t think it is melodramatic at all.
It has made me reconsider.
This may be a big epiphany day for me.
I want for food triggers to be an all or nothing answer, but in truth I may need to see that certain foods make just make the headache worse. It is so difficult to judge whether it is the foods or any other factor.
I kept hoping through all my food elimination trials that something would be THE answer and that when I found IT, then my constant headache would go away. Obviously, I did not find one.
Now, I will reconsider, and I especially need to reconsider peanut butter. I have a deep love affair with it also. I don’t think it is an uncommon one as I understand it.
I see my relationship with overeating food as something that I have to end my love affair with. Like the earlier post, I am not ready yet.
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I know what you mean by finding IT. It just seems that there should be answers somewhere.
Best of luck figuring out your food triggers. It took many years for me to find that peanut butter is a problem for me. After deny it for so long, a switch suddenly flipped one day and I decided to not fight it anymore. So, don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll figure it out eventually.
K
Thanks for the sympathy! I may have been a tad melodramatic in my post. The problem is that it’s my default food. Often I’m not interested in food, but am hungry. But I’m coping better than I expected.
K
Oh no!!! And Sunbutter was worse? 🙁 I won’t even suggest Soy nut butter (my son can eat it, but quite frankly, it’s icky).
Oh no, a day without peanut butter is a day without sunshine. How will you survive? Peanut butter better not break my heart, or I’ll strangle him (her, it).
You’re breaking my heart. And illustrating why I’ve been so resistant to trying a migraine elimination diet. I’m far too weak. You are a strong woman.
Oooohhhhh I understand what a big sacrifice this is. Be strong! Maybe your peanut butter fast won’t have to last forever.
I mentioned your post in a recent post. 🙂
Now I mourn for ME. I put my LAST name into the info box by accident. Probably no big deal, but is there any easy way you can remove that? (Sorry!)
Kerrie, I mourn for your loss of the peanut-butter life, for I love it too. I only hope you can eventually take heart in the fact that you can avoid at least SOME of your headaches by making this painful break. While there is no substitute for true love, Almond Butter is pretty yummy, in case you haven’t tried it. – You just need a nearby lumberjack or superhero to stir it the first time you open each jar, because of how it settles while awaiting purchase, but it’s good. Go forth and be strong. My thoughts are with you during this life change.