Get headaches after Communion

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Paul_theApostle

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Sometimes after Communion for the next day or so i get a sore head or headache

Its happened a few times to realise somehow they are connected

Has anybody had the same experience?

Am i taking Communion unworthily perhaps?

Or could it be a good thing?

I know my father also used to get a headache from Communion ,because he didnt recieve it once and said he didnt do so because he didnt want to get a headache.
 
Never happened to me. Could be a food allergy ?

Perhaps talk to your priest about it and ask if he can give you a much smaller piece of host when you come up to receive.
 
Paul_theApostle said:
Sometimes after Communion for the next day or so i get a sore head or headache

Its happened a few times to realise somehow they are connected

Has anybody had the same experience?

Am i taking Communion unworthily perhaps?

Or could it be a good thing?

I know my father also used to get a headache from Communion ,because he didnt recieve it once and said he didnt do so because he didnt want to get a headache.
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Gluten intolerance
 
From a brief bit of Googling, if you do have a gluten intolerance, you can develop headaches about 30 mins after consuming. Since the accidents remain after consecration, you can still be subject to this intolerance.

I’d do two things.
  1. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to see if you do have a gluten intolerance/allergy. Let him know that your dad had a similar issue with communion. If the good doctor isn’t Catholic, you can let him know that communion is just wheat and water. 👍
  2. Like someone else said, ask your priest for a smaller portion of the host in the meantime. Hopefully he can facilitate. If not, try to receive just the Precious Blood if it is available.
    Better yet, call the parish secretary and ask if they have low gluten hosts/options avaiable for those with gluten intolerance.
 
Thank you all for your replies,gee i didnt know about these allergies,sounds like you all could be right.

I will talk to the priest about it,i think i would be happy to just recieve the Blood/wine only.

Im not sure how i would go about that,would i go in line for the Bread/host also and get a blessing perhaps or just go straight up to the Chailce with the wine without going into the line for the Bread?

Im sure i’ll work it out and my Priest will tell me what to do,im just curious because i would be doing something different to what everbody else is usually doing when its time for Communion.
 
Please don’t rush to say that this is due to Receiving Communion, and therefore is an intolerance to gluten.

Gluten is contained in many foods as well - bread , pasta etc

Your headache could be due to other causes - incense often does this.

By all means see your doctor for advice
 
Paul_theApostle said:
Im not sure how i would go about that,would i go in line for the Bread/host also and get a blessing perhaps or just go straight up to the Chailce with the wine without going into the line for the Bread?

Im sure i’ll work it out and my Priest will tell me what to do,im just curious because i would be doing something different to what everbody else is usually doing when its time for Communion.
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I would say to just go straight for the Chalice. You’ll be blessed at the end of Mass, no need to get an “extra” one in the communion line. At my parish, you receive the Body of Christ and then move on to the Precious Blood (if you so choose.) If your parish works on a similar system, I’d just slip by when the person in front of you is receiving in the main communion line and go to the chalice 😃

But yes, do chat with your priest! Don’t worry about “doing something different.” For example, I kneel to recieve, but nobody even gives me a second glance. Or, my dad, who is non-practicing accidentally got into the communion line (instead of going back into the pew) and slipped past me after I received communion to head back to the pew.

In short, no worries, my friend. God, you, and your priest will work this all out! 🙂
 
The_Idiot said:
Please don’t rush to say that this is due to Receiving Communion, and therefore is an intolerance to gluten.

Gluten is contained in many foods as well - bread , pasta etc

Your headache could be due to other causes - incense often does this.

By all means see your doctor for advice
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Oh, and I agree with you here! Though, in the meantime, it might be prudential for him to just receive the Precious blood for now, right? It can’t hurt! 🙂
 
I note in another thread that the OP was Orthodox at some point - in which case, if he Received Communion there - both Body and Blood which were administered together . Now the Body of Christ in Orthodoxy is indeed bread - leavened bread - so the question arises - did he get a headache then ?

I just can’t understand this rush to blame his headache on gluten intolerance
 
The_Idiot said:
I note in another thread that the OP was Orthodox at some point - in which case, if he Received Communion there - both Body and Blood which were administered together . Now the Body of Christ in Orthodoxy is indeed bread - leavened bread - so the question arises - did he get a headache then ?

I just can’t understand this rush to blame his headache on gluten intolerance
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My reasoning was really just from a whole lot of conjecture. 😊 but, you know, that’s ok sometimes. haha He mentioned this happening to his dad (is gluten intolerance genetic, who knows?) and that he noticed the two things together enough to draw his own correlation.

Maybe this happened when he was Orthodox too, we’ll wait and see if he decided to share. 🙂

So, its really up to him at this point…but what will be will be. Regardless, we definitely both agree he should talk to his doctor!
 
Its been a long time since Communing at Orthodoxy,i cant really remember all the times,but i do know that at both churches after Communion ,sometimes i have no bad symptoms and sometimes i do.

At RC as ive said, after Communion many times i get the headaches,so if it has been found that gluten intolerence can cause this ,what else am i supposed to assume

i do eat white bread regularly and pasta (as we’re Italian and mum loves cooking pasta:) but i dont get headaches from this

also our church doesnt use incense at Mass
 
Paul_theApostle said:
Its been a long time since Communing at Orthodoxy,i cant really remember all the times,but i do know that at both churches after Communion ,sometimes i have no bad symptoms and sometimes i do.

At RC as ive said, after Communion many times i get the headaches,so if it has been found that gluten intolerence can cause this ,what else am i supposed to assume

i do eat white bread regularly and pasta (as we’re Italian and mum loves cooking pasta:) but i dont get headaches from this

also our church doesnt use incense at Mass
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I too would not rush to say gluten intolerance, especially given the fact that you eat bread and pasta regularly. Full of gluten. Could be the tannin in the precious blood, or could be something else. I knew someone who drank coke during the week with lunch and didn’t on weekends…always had a Sunday headache. You and your doctor need to examine it.
 
Perhaps there is something different about your routine on Sundays, something that is causing this to happen. I notice you say it only happens sometimes. This makes the guess of it being communion itself tenuous. You would need to investigate. Do you perhaps sometimes fast from midnight before receiving communion? Perhaps it is triggered by fasting. Or, perhaps your prayer routine on Sunday morning causes you to read and have your head bowed forward for a long time? Maybe there is some type of perfume that you are exposed to as you walk by a certain parishioner to come forward? This sort of thing can be subtle. You could, for example, be often consuming something on Saturday which then leaves you with a headache later on Sunday. I’ve had that problem with medications, that after I stop taking them, then I get a headache, but it only seems to happen now and then, and not every time. Also you could be failing to drink coffee on Sunday because your routine is different. Or on Monday you could feel well rested after lounging around on Sunday, so you don’t drink any coffee and then you get a headache. The possibilities are endless.

Sorry about the headaches! They are no fun. 😦
 
do you go to early mass on sundays or a later mass. some people get a headache from sleeping in too long in the morning, which could happen if you work all week and are up early every morning but sleep in on sundays. if so, test it by seeing if you get headaches when you go to a later mass.
 
It Can’t be anything to do with receiving communion because the substance of the bread ceases to exist and becomes the body of Christ {Transubstantiation} as does the wine which becomes the blood of Christ. Gluten intolerance is therefore not the answer.
 
Domnall said:
I would say to just go straight for the Chalice. You’ll be blessed at the end of Mass, no need to get an “extra” one in the communion line. At my parish, you receive the Body of Christ and then move on to the Precious Blood (if you so choose.) If your parish works on a similar system, I’d just slip by when the person in front of you is receiving in the main communion line and go to the chalice 😃

But yes, do chat with your priest! Don’t worry about “doing something different.” For example, I kneel to recieve, but nobody even gives me a second glance. Or, my dad, who is non-practicing accidentally got into the communion line (instead of going back into the pew) and slipped past me after I received communion to head back to the pew.

In short, no worries, my friend. God, you, and your priest will work this all out! 🙂
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I would also recommend receiving from the Chalice only one time just to see if you still have the headache afterwards. If not, it may very well be a gluten intolerance. Also, don’t worry about receiving only from the Chalice. The Precious Blood is not just Jesus’ Precious Blood. It is also His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. You get the entire Jesus in both species of the Eucharist. 🙂
 
Don’t forget the other variable if you see no changes after giving up just the precious body. Many people get headaches from sodium sulfate commonly used as a preservative in the wine making process. So you may want to try abstaining from the precious blood if you see no reliief after foregoing the host.
 
Don_Jackson said:
Don’t forget the other variable if you see no changes after giving up just the precious body. Many people get headaches from sodium sulfate commonly used as a preservative in the wine making process. So you may want to try abstaining from the precious blood if you see no reliief after foregoing the host.
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That was going to be my suggestion. I get headaches if I drink an entire glass of red wine.
 
exquisitor said:
It Can’t be anything to do with receiving communion because the substance of the bread ceases to exist and becomes the body of Christ {Transubstantiation} as does the wine which becomes the blood of Christ. Gluten intolerance is therefore not the answer.
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This is totally incorrect! Yes, the substance ceases to exist, but the accidents remain. The Host still looks like it did before consecration, it tastes the same, if it was put under scientific analysis, it would appear the same. So, yes, gluten intolerance can, indeed, be the answer.

You can still get drunk from drinking too much of the Blood of Christ - this could happen if too much wine was consecrated, since it must be consumed and not reserved, as the Host may be.

To think otherwise shows a serious misunderstanding of transubstantiation.
 
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