Migraine Sufferers

ablueskier
ablueskier Posts: 104
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I was diagnosed with migraines about 6 months ago. I find that sometimes when I am working out hard it starts to trigger a migraine. Also, if I already have the start of one and still try to go to the gym it just gets worse in the long run.

Any tips or suggestions from those who have been through this on what to do to avoid triggering one, and what kind of exercise is safe when you do have the start of one?
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Replies

  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
    Did the Doctor give you a precription? My daughter takes Midrin for hers. Takes at 1st sign and really helps most of the time!
  • chrissyb1985
    chrissyb1985 Posts: 111 Member
    Not exactly the answer to ur question but.....I was diagnosed with migraines in july and have been on 14 dif meds since then will no relief. Not when I start to get one from exercise I pop a ginger supplement. Make sure u ask a doc or pharmacist to make sure it won't conflict with anything though it shouldn't. Ginger really helps if taken at the beginning. Thanks to ginger and feverfew supplements, I am med free and my migraines have improve tremendously. Also my migraines due to exercise are worse if I don't breathe properly hwile exercising! Remember don't hold ur breath! Hopes this helps. Feel free to add me if u want :)
  • miss_little_me
    miss_little_me Posts: 4
    Dont worry! I get migranes all the time, especially when i work out. What I find helpful is to make sure that you are constantly drinking water. Also, certain diet foods (diet coke, diet pepsi, etc.) also can cause migranes. So if you are going to work out make sure to drink plenty of water and stay away from those kinds of sodas, until afterwards.
  • BryanAir
    BryanAir Posts: 434
    I'm one of those rare male migraine sufferers. I always carry Excedrin Migraine in my car just in case. I don't always get an aura, but if I feel a migraine coming on then I take two. If I get a full blown migraine then I don't bother working out.
  • karo224
    karo224 Posts: 292
    i do not have them....but my friend had them constantly until she starting a daily regiment of magnesium tablets. she swears by it....has not had one since she started the supplent in addition to her daily multi vitamin about a year ago..
  • moonay
    moonay Posts: 30
    I was given migraleve plus from the doctor which is amazing, pink tablet when migraine is coming on and yellow one when it has hit. Also I use the migraine cooling strips for my head to ease the pain.

    Exercise wise my doctor recommends anything that doesn't raise your temperature too quickly and nothing lying down. I have found the best thing for me is cycling or a walk in the fresh air.
  • kettlewitch
    kettlewitch Posts: 277 Member
    Interesting post because I have just started getting migraine type attacks since I've been doing this. Never had them before and I'm not getting terrible headaches, but I get an aura for a few minutes then my head aches for the rest of the day. It's happened about 6 times in the last 2 months - 4 times over a 5 day period in january and then twice in the last 3 days. I had a big work out earlier and I got the aura as I got out of the pool and have had a dull ache ever since. There doesn't seem to be any common link though (not particular times of day or if I'm hungry etc) and it's not a hormonal thing because I don't have any of those!

    Be interested to see what others have experienced
  • darla499
    darla499 Posts: 402 Member
    I get them all the time. They're horrid. I can't function at all when I get them. They put me flat out with a rag over my eyes and a towel tied around my head.

    I have to take Imitrex for mine, but the trick is that I'm supposed to take it PRIOR to getting the migraine. Sometimes there just is no notice. So like someone else here mentioned, I take Excedrin Migraine with a strong, strong cup of black coffee and an Imitrex and hope for the best. Doesn't work all the time, but it's the only solution I have in a jam.

    Good luck!
  • flutterqueen04
    flutterqueen04 Posts: 278
    I am a suffer too. I have noticed in the last few months that the more weight I lose, the less and less I have them. I still get one a few days b4 my period but if I drink loads of water the week leading up to it, it either isn't that bad or doesn't happen at all!! I have found, for me at least, that it actually helps to exercise during a headache/start of migraine, as long as its low impact. I will hop on the treadmill or do strength training. Basically anything that gets your blood pumping through your whole body. Usually its gone by the time I am done. This is just me though. Hang in there. When I was just starting out and had migraines I thought I was just going to be stuck in a never ending loop of migraines and weight gain. You'll find what works for you and conquer them :)
  • beautymkt
    beautymkt Posts: 60
    I have been suffering migranes monthly for 15 years. Been taking different meds since and right now I take Treximet and it seems to work for the moment. I drink caffeine to help with the pain on notice of it coming as well as Treximet. Caffeine does help. (Coffee, chocolate) Drink plenty of water.....extra oxygen intake. Take breaks in between and make sure you are doing proper breathing techniques when exercising. Migrane or chronic headaches occur because not bringing in enough oxygen to your brain.

    Talk to your doctor about a daily preventative med if you are getting them that often. Hope this helps!! Good luck! :love:
  • kdrew11
    kdrew11 Posts: 363 Member
    Depends how often you get an attack but I was getting them every few weeks and am always guaranteed them at the time of the month so my doc put me on pizotifen which I take daily and seems to help. before this I tried atenolol and epilim which worked but only for a few months until I guess I must've got immune or something. When I get an attack I take diazepam and diclofenac which sometimes works if taken early enough but it depends what your doc says if you have only just started getting em. Some people are affected by foods and caffeine but for me it tends to be stress and seem to be getting them far less in this job than in my previous. I often am affected when exercising too but I think this, like stress is due to your heart beating faster. Have you thought about maybe doing some kind of 'relaxing' exercise like breaststroke swimming?
  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    I have to echo the water message.
    I was diagnosed with migraine at age 4. I'm not almost 34.
    Exercise with one coming on is a no, no for me as I'll end up in bed for hours and hours.

    Dehydration is a major cause of my migraines and I'll often get one after a hard workout if I've not drunk enough.

    Someone also mentioned breathing.
    This isn't related to diet at all but I bought myself a trumpet a few years ago and tried to teach myself to play.
    I found that the breathing needed to sustain a note would clear my head and ward off a migraine sometimes.

    I take Sumatriptan (UK Brand Name - Imigran)

    I hope you are able to manage the migraines.
  • reegordon
    reegordon Posts: 97 Member
    I get migraines a lot as well and I read somewhere that magnesium supplements are good for headaches. I brought some and they do seem to help when I feel one coming on. However, it did seem to make me nauseous when taken with my other vitamins so I try to take it alone.
  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    I get migraines a lot as well and I read somewhere that magnesium supplements are good for headaches. I brought some and they do seem to help when I feel one coming on. However, it did seem to make me nauseous when taken with my other vitamins so I try to take it alone.

    I also heard this and started to take it.
    BUT it made me get one!
    I considered it a coincidence the first time but the second day I took it, it happened again!

    I have intollerances to a lot of things so hope this was just one of thos.
    I'm glad it works for you!
  • ybent
    ybent Posts: 10
    I have had migraines for over a decade. Drink plenty water and STOP WORKING OUT WHEN IT HITS!
  • kettlewitch
    kettlewitch Posts: 277 Member
    From reading some of these posts I think I might have dehydration issues. I had undiagnosed diabetes for a long time ( in denial) so I was drinking so much water I never had to think about it. Now I don't have the urge I do tend to forget. From now I will drink drink drink! Thanks ppl
  • cath129
    cath129 Posts: 9 Member
    i've had migraines for over 10 years now so i know how horrible it is. definitely try to stay hydrated. but if i know i'm going to be doing something likely to cause a migraine (for me, it's flying), my doc suggested i take two alleves 30 minutes beforehand just as a precaution.
  • PamDW
    PamDW Posts: 246
    Did the Doctor give you a precription? My daughter takes Midrin for hers. Takes at 1st sign and really helps most of the time!

    Midrin is wonderful and it is non-narcotic.... I also drink coffee, the caffeine helps ward it off... most of the time mine hit in the middle of the night.
  • carrie_lebel
    carrie_lebel Posts: 135
    I take imitrex injections and they are gone in 5minutes. I don't have to catch it ahead if time. The con is it is a shot and you shoot it into the leg stings for a sec. And then you feel lightheaded for a couple minutes. It has saved my life.
  • Iris0022
    Iris0022 Posts: 54
    High sodium foods and MSG are the major triggers for me. Any time I eat Chinese takeout or pizza with garlic salt flavored crust, I can pretty much guarantee getting a migraine. And as others have said, drinking a lot of water helps which would seem in line with flushing out the salt.
  • marber
    marber Posts: 118 Member
    My earliest memory is of a migraine when I was 3!

    First keep a headache diary. Check it against your food diary and see if there are any triggers.

    Sometimes a food is not a immediate trigger but withdrawal of the food is. So if you have chocolate every day but then stop that can cause a migraine and the chocolate is your trigger.

    Too much caffeine, dehydration and low blood sugar can be a problem.

    Too much sleep or too little sleep also.

    Everyone is different
  • Saraingreen
    Saraingreen Posts: 6 Member
    Like some others have said:

    -- stay WELL hydrated when working out
    -- electrolyte replacement either with your water while working out or after
    -- get plenty of sleep
    -- rest if you need to, listen to your body

    I experience migraines occasionally, and I have had them during a workout, but the above steps seem to help me.
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    I second that recommendation. I like lemon/ginger tea when I feel one about to take over.
  • eates
    eates Posts: 334 Member
    Start keeping a headache journal. When you get a headache write down what you've eaten that day, drank that day, done that day, how much water you've had, how much sleep you had, where you are in your menstral cycle and how stressed you are. When I first got diagnosed that's what the neurologist had me do to see if there were any patterns that would point to triggers.
  • BecksgotBack
    BecksgotBack Posts: 385 Member
    i've had migraines for the past 4 years...completely random and unable to pinpoint the cause. i tried tracking them on my calendar-would write down the time it happened and for how long...after about 6 months my doctors said there's not much they can do. I get the aura every time...like seeing spinning helicopter blades in my eyes even when they are closed. i pop one Motrin Migraine liquid gel as soon as i see the "helicopter" and that seems to stop it from becoming a full blown migraine-to the point of throwing up. Not fun at all...hang in there
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,809 Member
    Start keeping a headache journal. When you get a headache write down what you've eaten that day, drank that day, done that day, how much water you've had, how much sleep you had, where you are in your menstral cycle and how stressed you are. When I first got diagnosed that's what the neurologist had me do to see if there were any patterns that would point to triggers.

    This is what I did. I had mirgraines for years and did not know realise they were related to my cycle until I started charting them. Sadly I cannot take any of the medications currently available because I have some very serious allergies to medications and they all seem to contain one or both of what I am severely allergic to. I make it through mine by staying out of well light areas, taking motrin and drinking coca cola from a soda fountain.

    I hope you find some relief.
  • ablueskier
    ablueskier Posts: 104
    I am on Midrin which helps....when I remember to take it at the first time. I need to get over the tough it out mentality and just start taking it more regularly.

    Hydration is not an issue for me. I had a separate problem that forced me to get my hydration levels in check.

    Did the headache journal thing. Cut out all possible trigger foods for two weeks and the reintroduced one at a time. Headaches stayed until I went on christmas break from school and then magically disappeared until I came back. I teach high school math and can track the start of most headaches to 5 th period. Can't trade out the kids though so it is something I am learning to manage.

    I will work on the breathing exercises. I do catch myself getting into irregular breathing patterns during cardio sometimes and definitely see my HR peak so I can see the relation there.

    Thanks for the feedback.
  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
    I take my medicines and drink lots of water
  • PrairieRoseNE
    PrairieRoseNE Posts: 265 Member
    I suffer from Migraines - mostly around that T.O.M. and occasionally on weekends. Why on weekends?? Because at work, Mon - Fri. I have a daily cup of coffee or a soda with caffeine. On the weekends I don't usually drink coffee, and I rarely have soda in the house. Excedrin Migraine is my lifesaver!! Also, now that I've lowered my blood pressure - due to cutting back on sodium and losing weight - I went thru that T.O.M. without a migraine!! Yeah!!!
  • shelliewu
    shelliewu Posts: 15
    I'm a teacher, too and contribute most of my headaches to my 7th period :).
    I've suffered with migraines/tension headaches for 16 years. I noticed a really bad one after my first Zumba class. Now I don't do any of the turns or spins and keep my head still; that helps b/c my equilibrium gets off bad and that can trigger a headache for me. Also I make sure to drink lots of water. Also if my heart rate gets too high I get a headache so sometimes I have to slow things down a bit.
    HTH!
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