Weight gain and migraines

Lyns180

Hi all,

For the past 6mths i have been at my heaviest weight ever. In this time I’ve also experienced the most severe and the most regular migraines of my life. Anyone else had experience of the two being connected?

I’ve suffered from migraines since my teenage years but would be one a year if that. Now it’s once a week or once a fortnight.

Doctor has put me on propranolol to help reduce the regularity of them and given me sumatriptan to stop a migraine if I feel it coming on. They have both been helping but I’d love to think that if I lost the weight the migraines would subside.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lyns180/view/it-s-a-new-dawn-it-s-a-new-day-951407

cmriverside

I had migraines all through my childbearing years. It didn't really matter how much I weighed, but I found that exercise made them worse and more frequent, and the propranolol slowed me down so much that all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and eat.

So, I think it's complicated and for me they may or may not have had to do with weight. I know migraines *can* be tied to certain foods and, barometric pressure, blood pressure and hormones.

When I went through menopause they stopped. halle-frikkin-lujah.

fr33sia12

I used to have migraines as a teenager then none for years and then the last few years I get them maybe once or twice a year, but many over a few days or weeks. I'm on the same medication just tried the sumatriptan yesterday which worked really well. I put it down to hunger and stress and being tired, or hormones, but I could never figure out what causes them neither could my doctor. Maybe it could be the same for you.

tracybear86

I have actually found that I do have fewer migraines since I lost weight (down about 40 pounds right now). I used to have about 2 migraines a month, generally lasting anywhere from 1-4 days. Now I have 1 every 2-3 months and they seem to be shorter in duration. I was also put on Propranalol but was able to be weened off of it about a year ago. I am guessing it is somewhat individual though. I hope you see the same results!

SoozeE512

I agree that changes in hormones can play a role -- whether due to stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, time of month, etc.

Although I'm not diabetic, I've also found that spikes or drops in blood glucose can trigger a migraine for me too -- I've found that I do better when eating 6 small "meals" a day. Eating really big meals and/or desserts (such as holiday meals with my relatives) can sometimes spike my blood glucose which can lead to a migraine, or waiting too long between meals will cause my blood glucose to drop which can lead to a migraine.

I know that high blood pressure has also played a role in other family members of mine getting migraines.

I also have some food triggers -- like processed meats containing nitrites/nitrates, aged cheese, and citrus fruits or any ingredients derived from citrus fruits like lemon oil, orange peel, etc. Other triggers include cigarette smoke, chemical cleaning products, and products with strong "fragrance" ingredients, as well as certain changes in the air like an oncoming thunderstorm or change in barometric pressure.

My migraines also started when I was a teenager and got more frequent as I grew older -- and a big part of that was definitely changes in lifestyle and I hadn't figured out all of my triggers yet and how to either avoid or counteract them. Now that I have a better handle on what my triggers are, I rarely get very bad migraines because I can usually catch them early and act on them quickly. I've been fortunate in never having to take anything stronger than ibuprofen or acetaminophen. I took sumatriptan on one occasion and it didn't help me at all -- my pain just got worse and worse until I ended up sick to my stomach.

Steering clear of triggers as much as possible (which I realize isn't always possible) and figuring out a healthier lifestyle through changes in my diet and in getting consistent exercise to reduce stress and anxiety and aid in better sleep really helped get my body into a better hormonal balance which helped significantly for me.

Good luck to you!

GottaBurnEmAll

I was one of the unlucky ones. Mine got worse with menopause. I had them at my highest weight, and still have them now at a low weight, though they are well controlled. I get botox injections every three months and am on topiramate and a few other daily meds to help regulate them. Beta blockers didn't work for me as they lowered my blood pressure too much, even at the lowest dose.

Mine were very bad and I had to be hospitalized at one point for them. They symptoms before they were controlled were almost seizure-like.

DumbledoresPhoenix

My migraines increased when I gained weight. I think I grind my teeth more because of the weight gain, and that leads to more migraines. That's my guess anyway. If you grind your teeth at night, that can be a sign of sleep apnea or trouble breathing, which weight gain can cause, even if you aren't actually overweight. I am within the normal weight range, but having extra flub on me definitely affects my health.

quiksylver296

I never thought about it, but I have much fewer migraines now that I've lost weight.

cheryldumais

My headaches were due to a low thyroid. I suffered for about 25 years until I finally came home from a trip in which I pushed myself no matter how tired I got and thought I'd had a mini stroke. I went to see my doc and he sent me for tests. During follow up he said he hadn't seen a thyroid test that bad in years. I had been tested multiple times prior to this and told that I was in the normal range. My theory which is totally my personal opinion was that I had learned to live within the range of my thyroid's ability (which meant being very sedentary) so when I was tested it didn't show up how badly it was functioning. They did an ultra sound and found my thyroid was damaged and full of scar tissue. I would suggest getting tested but if you do I believe you have to be pushing yourself physically a week or so prior to the blood test. Once I was on synthroid my headaches dissappeared, my bowels started to work and I felt a whole lot better. Just a note however, I did not magically lose weight.

peggy_polenta

i urge you to get your eyes checked for PCT. it causes blindness that is irreversabe. google PCT and yes, its most commonly seen in obese women and causes terrible headaches. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pseudotumor-cerebri/symptoms-causes/syc-20354031

veganbaum

Triggers are such an individual thing that it can be hard to identify whether it's weight that makes them better or worse or other changes in lifestyle, habits, food, etc. My dad got migraines, so maybe there's a hereditary component for some as well.

Mine are generally better now, but I have different habits now than I did when I was heavier. I get 12,000 steps minimum a day, unless I have a rare less active day, I spend more time outdoors, I do regular bodyweight exercises, I have identified multiple triggers that I try to minimize exposure to wherever I can. I also have been really good about taking a magnesium citrate supplement at least once a day, trying to remember twice a day. I've read that a lot of people who suffer from migraines are deficient in magnesium and some, though not all, find that regularly supplementing reduces migraines. I've known people who could take magnesium at the first signs of a migraine and knock it out (sadly, it doesn't work for me).

Who's to say which change has contributed to a reduction, or whether it's a combination? Regardless, if you have weight to lose, it's going to be beneficial to so. All you can do is try.

The Migraine Brain, by Carolyn Bernstein, greatly helped me to understand some of my symptoms and identify some of my triggers. I also learned that triggers can be difficult to identify because sometimes the reactions in our bodies that lead to a migraine can begin days before the actual migraine! And sometimes it's a combination of triggers that results in a migraine. I think that's why sometimes I can smell cigarette smoke or wine and just run like heck and not get a migraine, while other times it will trigger a migraine almost immediately. I am so unbelievably grateful that mine are so much better, though I still get menstrual migraines fairly regularly. I cannot take most migraine medications because they make me physically sick. I'm prescribed the abortive Midrin. Even generic Midrin is very expensive without insurance and the FDA stopped approving it for a while several years back, so I really had to work at trying to identify triggers back when I didn't have insurance and then when the medication was only available through a compounding pharmacy. It's worth it to take the time. Even with insurance, I don't want to be reliant on medication, especially when there's a limit as to how much you can take.

I highly suggest that book, it may help you identify other triggers. Ultimately, if you should lose weight anyway, then just start working on it and see if your migraines get better.

jdog022

I use to have brutal migraines and at my highest wieght of 240 I would get them when I over exerted myself. my teeth would go numb, vision blur and 24 hour life stopping migraine. I was prescribed serious narcotics to stop the pain. fortunately I dont have addictive tendencies.

I now wieght 165 and haven't had one In nearly two years. Whatever the correlation is it has to be something around wieght, blood pressure, diet, massive amounts of sugar, some other marker.. who knows. I lost my weight for other reasons but this was a great surprise.

Danp

My weight has fluctuated over the years and anecdotally I can't say I've experienced a correlation between my weight and frequency/intensity of migraine headaches.

I can only really speak for myself though.