Fellow Migraine Sufferers!!

jenfitnessmama · January 2018

Hey guys!

I suffer from chronic migraines and find that exercise is 1 of my triggers. I began having chronic migraines after the birth of my son 3 years ago, but before pregnancy I worked out at least 5 days a week and was pretty happy with myself.

I gained 25 lbs. during my pregnancy and haven't been able to lose it because exercise has caused me so much pain over the last 3 years, but I REALLY want to lose it!

My question is, what types of exercise do you do that don't cause migraines? Has this exercise improved your migraines at all??

TIA!

Jen

youngmomtaz · January 2018

I am sorry! I actually find the opposite and I work out hard(I find the sweat has to be pouring for it to positively affect me) at least 3-4 times a week to keep the migraine frequency down. Between that, getting my thyroid under control and eating low carb I have gone from 13 full on migraine days per month and the other days just general head pain to 1/month with maybe only 5days of “other” head pain.

Does your doc/neurologist have any med suggestions or other ideas to help you?

jenfitnessmama · January 2018

I'm currently on beta blockers (from my family doctor), which have helped a little, but I think need to be increased because my headaches/migraines are becoming more frequent again. I also take Tylenol #3's for when nothing else will take a migraine away. My neurologist wants to do Botox next but that's super expensive!

Glad to hear that exercise helps for you! I can only hope that it will help me someday as well as I've read exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 x a week can be beneficial for migraine sufferers. I'm just scared to actually exercise because it's triggered them for me in the past to the point where I've stopped working out altogether.

apullum · January 2018

I'd bring this up with your doctor and see if there is some kind of medication you might take before exercise, or if there are particular types of exercise you can do that wouldn't trigger your migraines. Ultimately, you don't have to exercise in order to lose weight, but it stinks to not be able to do what you want. I hope your doctor can help with that.

I was on a beta blocker for a while, but my neurologist disagreed and said that it was probably doing little, if anything, for my migraines. I had a particular type of complex migraine that mimics a stroke, and no standard migraine medications can be taken with those. Mine turned out to be hormonal. My neurologist wanted me to get off the pill because it could raise my risk of an actual stroke, so I switched to an IUD, and my migraines have almost entirely disappeared. I was having one or more a week, and now I haven't had one in two or three years.

sijomial · January 2018

I used to get migraines after very strenuous cardio sport (squash) but some of that was down to dehydration. Slightly over hydrating helped. Less intense gym cardio wasn't a trigger and the relaxation factor was more like a positive. (Try indoor cycling perhaps as you can very accurately control your heart rate?)
Really didn't like the feeling of exercising hard while on beta blockers though and gave them up - it felt like my heart rate had an upper limit which was lower than I actually needed my HR to go.

Weight training didn't trigger migraines but felt awful training when I did have a partially controlled migraine.

I had a few years of almost constant migraines where I would hit the weekly limit of my drugs regime and a few times experimented with hard exercise to try and relieve the symptoms. The pain builds to really extreme levels but then you seem to break through a threshold which forces the blood vessels to relax. It was very much a desperation measure and last resort. Not for the faint-hearted (or the sensible?).

My most successful drug treatments were Pizotifen as a preventative and Migril when a migraine occurred. Sumatriptan conversely did nothing for me.

Osteopath treatment for some neck issues helped as did ensuring good posture while working (neck and shoulder tension was one of my triggers). Stress was another big factor.

Getting old was the final "cure"!
My migraines are now exceedingly rare, happened in my early 50's which is coincidentally when I lost my excess weight, got much fitter and in a low stress part of my life. Probably everything contributed.

Best of luck.

tracybear86 · January 2018

I find that very strenuous cardio or anything where I am tensing my neck tends to trigger my migraines. Have you tried swimming or yoga? For yoga I just avoid any poses where my neck gets squashed.

I also found that losing weight seems to have helped mine quite a bit. I was on Propranalol but have been able to wean off of it since I am now a healthy BMI. Good luck in your journey!

cmriverside · January 2018

My migraine history is long and I'm sure familiar.

Exercise was not in my game plan when I was getting migraines, either.

You can lose weight without doing purposeful hard exercise.

Lots of people seem to find relief in low-carb or elimination diets (specifically gluten-free.) Worth a try.

Pocket__Cthulhu · January 2018

OP: I get the Botox injections. It is very expensive. It is also very effective. Sucks, right? It’s worth it to me, although I can no longer scowl. Do you take imitrex? I have a nasal spray version that works very well even in the middle of martial arts classes.

As for the exercise, I used to get one triggered from exercise too. Here is what worked for me:

I make sure I ate an hour to 30 minutes before exercise. I usually pick something with “quick carbs” like unsweetened rice crispies, a couple slices of toast with eggs, nothing big, but something. When I exercise on empty I will find myself in pain.

If you have caffeine sensitivity, avoid pre-workouts. They’re killers. That being said, if you get migraines from caffeine deprivation, drink tea or coffee before working out. I learned that through trial and error.

I agree with the others who posted sooner: don’t go all out to start. I wouldn’t do any HIIT or Tabatta (sp?) or spin classes. I started doing couch25k around the neighborhood and jogging very very slowly. Push yourself in very small increments, and add more when it is headache free for a while.

Yoga would be awesome, because if you also get them from stress it could help with that. You can get guided lessons via YouTube and a mat for less than 20$ at any Tjmaxx/Marshall’s.

I would really recommend going over your eating and exercise with your neurologist. Ask about vitamins that might help. See what She/He has to say about it. Unfortunately we all have different triggers and different treatments, so what worked for any of us may not be helpful to you. Mine guided me through it, and I’m regurgitating her advice to me back at you.

You can get through this.

toriraeh · January 2018

I know it’s been a few days since this was posted, but one thing that has helped me when exercising is focusing on breathing through my belly. Take deep breaths that expand your belly, exhale contracting your belly. It’s kind of counter to what you naturally do as you’re panting while you’re exercising, but there are MANY benefits to it: the deep breaths relax your muscles, you can exercise longer and more effectively, and it helps reduce stress in your whole body.

Also, not to be a pest, but I’ve had migraines for 20 years and I know that they’re not the same for everyone, but you should see a neurologist who specializes in migraines before you jump into Botox or any treatment you’re hesitant about for any reason.

GrumpyHeadmistress · January 2018

tracybear86 wrote: »

I find that very strenuous cardio or anything where I am tensing my neck tends to trigger my migraines. Have you tried swimming or yoga? For yoga I just avoid any poses where my neck gets squashed. I also found that losing weight seems to have helped mine quite a bit. I was on Propranalol but have been able to wean off of it since I am now a healthy BMI. Good luck in your journey!

Watch your neck position when swimming - if you’re doing breaststroke make sure you push your shoulder back and bring your shoulder blades together at the end of your arm pull to release neck tension.

I have severe chronic migraines with 30/30 severe migraines a month. I tried everything and eventually found medication that worked. Keep going back to your doctor and trying things - never give up and accept your migraines!

Fellow Migraine Sufferers!!

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