Anyone get headaches?
Replies
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Try deep breathing in and out when doing exercises, might be the oxygen circulation flow, we sometimes tend to forget to breathe properly when engrossed with exercise routine. Just keep in mind, hope it helps.
Also. if you are running or walking try to not make a fist or hold tightly on to something. Gripping with your hands can often cause you to tighten your chest muscles, making it harder to breathe in enough oxygen. An old cross county coach's trick was to pinch the thumb and middle finger together. It only tightens the forearm muscles.4 -
Try deep breathing in and out when doing exercises, might be the oxygen circulation flow, we sometimes tend to forget to breathe properly when engrossed with exercise routine. Just keep in mind, hope it helps.
Also. if you are running or walking try to not make a fist or hold tightly on to something. Gripping with your hands can often cause you to tighten your chest muscles, making it harder to breathe in enough oxygen. An old cross county coach's trick was to pinch the thumb and middle finger together. It only tightens the forearm muscles.
A running group I was in years ago once gave us some pringles to carry between those pinched fingers to see how many of us came back with whole ones.1 -
Yes, I'm terrible about beating. A yawn a lot, isn't that bc of lack of oxygen? Idk but thanks for the reminder!1
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Where on your head are the headaches that you get? Are they at the base of your skull? Temples? Behind your eyes? There are diagrams on the internet that explain the likely causes of headaches. I also found this: https://headaches.org/resources/the-complete-headache-chart/.
Fwiw, when I told my doctor that I got headaches at that time of the month, she took my words at face value and offered to put me on different birth control so that I didn't have to experience them. So it's worth getting a second opinion from a different doctor. Headaches are not normal, though some of us are more prone to them than others.0 -
Tired and headache-y is how I get when my calorie deficit is too high.3
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I get headaches if my calories are too low. I eat more, while still at a deficit, and headaches go away.2
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I do. I've read that exercise headaches are possible, especially when under hydrated or not warming up sufficiently. Unfortunately I always seem to get them when I run, regardless of my hydration, eating, warm up etc.1
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I have noticed that if I add zipfizz in my water and have it during workout, I don't get headaches. OR if I eat little milk/cereal before the workout I don't get headache.1
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For the headaches, there may be an explanation that is unrelated to food, potentially. Have to do a quick 'how the body works' bit, though. :-)
So, most folks know what histamine is from learning about allergies (the reason why we take anti-histamine to help with allergic reactions, obviously). However, a lot of folks aren't aware that histamine is used for a LOT of other processes. So the body releases histamine all the time with no issue, but when the amount of histamine goes over a certain threshold, which is what happens with an allergic reaction, then a person starts to get allergy symptoms.
Elevating the heart rate is one of these 'other processes' that histamine is used for. So, when people are startled, stressed, and also when they exercise, the body releases extra histamine to get the heart rate up.
For anyone who has elevated histamine levels (some perfectly healthy people do, for various reasons), sometimes this means that getting startled, stressed, or exercising can increase histamine levels above that histamine 'reaction' threshold and set off symptoms. People who have had a serious allergic reaction, whose histamine levels are still very high for a few days, have even set off anaphylaxis again just by exercising during that period.
But for milder histamine elevation issues, headaches, gut cramping, and/or flushing are really common symptoms that your histamine has gotten just a little too high. If someone has hay fever, this can be an issue seasonally. If someone has very low level environmental or food allergies (like, say, a mild reaction to dust mites or dairy or something), this can be a year round issue. Some folks seem to make less of the enzyme that breaks down histamine, so it builds up more, and they can have this issue as well. And some folks just seem to have this happen.
IF this is the issue, anti-histamines can help some, if taken daily and on time (it just blocks histamine from attaching, but doesn't stop production, so you have to keep that 'block' on consistently or it doesn't help). But year round anti-histamines tend to cause weight gain so while it can be good for testing if this IS the problem, it's not a good long term solution. Trying mast cell stabilizing flavonoids can help some took and don't cause weight gain (they inhibit the cells that release the histamine). Quercetin is the most studied of this and there are actually sites that have lists of foods high in these, and also supplements available now.
Obviously, no idea if this happens to be the cause of your headaches, because there's hundreds of reasons it could be, I'm sure. But if you are eating enough so the low blood sugar isn't the issue, this might be worth at least checking out, you know? Also, if histamine IS the problem, and you've never been diagnosed with an allergy, it might be worthwhile to check with an allergist just to see if you have some mild allergies that could be an underlying issue.
Good luck!2 -
I wish I could "like" this 100 times! This makes perfect sense. I deal with eczema and just am sensitive to a lot of things - hives, etc. I am hesitant to take anticholinergics like antihistamines though. I do sometimes but I try not to because they increase the risk of dementia.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with this thoughtful answer!3 -
'When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras'. I would try some of the simple suggestions (like a snack before workouts) before jumping to something like elevated histamine levels.7
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »'When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras'. I would try some of the simple suggestions (like a snack before workouts) before jumping to something like elevated histamine levels.
This saying is used mostly to help remind new doctors not to jump to conclusions that symptoms are a rare disorder, right off the bat. However, diagnosticians also say that 'zebra' type diagnoses shouldn't be dismissed immediately any more than common illnesses should.
"In making the diagnosis of the cause of illness in an individual case, calculations of probability have no meaning. The pertinent question is whether the disease is present or not. Whether it is rare or common does not change the odds in a single patient..." — A. McGehee Harvey, James Bordley II, Jeremiah Barondess, Differential Diagnosis (3rd ed.)
That said...higher histamine levels isn't actually a zebra-type situation, not unless we're saying that things that elevate histamine - like hay fever and allergies - are so rare as to be medical 'zebras.' The knowledge that this can be an issue is not well known among lay people, but the situation itself is actually not that uncommon.2 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »'When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras'. I would try some of the simple suggestions (like a snack before workouts) before jumping to something like elevated histamine levels.
This saying is used mostly to help remind new doctors not to jump to conclusions that symptoms are a rare disorder, right off the bat. However, diagnosticians also say that 'zebra' type diagnoses shouldn't be dismissed immediately any more than common illnesses should.
"In making the diagnosis of the cause of illness in an individual case, calculations of probability have no meaning. The pertinent question is whether the disease is present or not. Whether it is rare or common does not change the odds in a single patient..." — A. McGehee Harvey, James Bordley II, Jeremiah Barondess, Differential Diagnosis (3rd ed.)
That said...higher histamine levels isn't actually a zebra-type situation, not unless we're saying that things that elevate histamine - like hay fever and allergies - are so rare as to be medical 'zebras.' The knowledge that this can be an issue is not well known among lay people, but the situation itself is actually not that uncommon.
The idea would be that OP should attempt to fix the easy to fix stuff first, like to eat a little something before her workout, double check that her deficit isn't too aggressive, and consider her form, before assuming it's some kind of medical problem she needs to tackle.
If she corrects all the simple stuff and is still struggling with headaches, THEN consider supplementation or medical evaluation. Unfortunately, when an OP gets a bunch of responses, they often would rather assume it's something complicated that makes them unusual, rather than simply tweak the plan they've decided on, it just seems to be human nature.
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »'When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras'. I would try some of the simple suggestions (like a snack before workouts) before jumping to something like elevated histamine levels.
This saying is used mostly to help remind new doctors not to jump to conclusions that symptoms are a rare disorder, right off the bat. However, diagnosticians also say that 'zebra' type diagnoses shouldn't be dismissed immediately any more than common illnesses should.
"In making the diagnosis of the cause of illness in an individual case, calculations of probability have no meaning. The pertinent question is whether the disease is present or not. Whether it is rare or common does not change the odds in a single patient..." — A. McGehee Harvey, James Bordley II, Jeremiah Barondess, Differential Diagnosis (3rd ed.)
That said...higher histamine levels isn't actually a zebra-type situation, not unless we're saying that things that elevate histamine - like hay fever and allergies - are so rare as to be medical 'zebras.' The knowledge that this can be an issue is not well known among lay people, but the situation itself is actually not that uncommon.
The idea would be that OP should attempt to fix the easy to fix stuff first, like to eat a little something before her workout, double check that her deficit isn't too aggressive, and consider her form, before assuming it's some kind of medical problem she needs to tackle.
If she corrects all the simple stuff and is still struggling with headaches, THEN consider supplementation or medical evaluation. Unfortunately, when an OP gets a bunch of responses, they often would rather assume it's something complicated that makes them unusual, rather than simply tweak the plan they've decided on, it just seems to be human nature.
Yep, this was exactly my point And that's from someone who actually has a 'zebra' condition. 4 -
...This makes perfect sense. I deal with eczema and just am sensitive to a lot of things - hives, etc. I am hesitant to take anticholinergics like antihistamines though. I do sometimes but I try not to because they increase the risk of dementia.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with this thoughtful answer!
You're welcome, and I hope it helps! My own disorder makes me react to the stupid medicine that's supposed to help me WITH reactions (seriously ridiculous), so I totally understand wanting to avoid medication. I and my doctors have had to find sort of 'run-arounds' and try things like the flavonoids and such to help me instead.
Hearing about hives and things, I would doubly recommend the mast cell stabilizing bioflavonoids as something to check out. There are a lot of them out there - plant based, typically found in foods and beverages - and seriously, some of these have made a world of difference for me.
There's a website that is still kept up right now, from a gal who had histamine issues and used to be an investigative journalist. She started researching histamine stuff when she started getting ill, and has a lot of interesting interviews and information on the site. She passed away from cancer a few years ago (like myself, she reacted to lots of meds and such), but has a lot of loved ones still here who keep up the site. Some of the suggestions on it helped me so, so much when looking for help.
Like, this page is about teas that contain mast cell stabilizing compounds (so help inhibit release of histamine and inflammatory mediators) and may be helpful even just for folks with allergies. She has references for the information, including links to the relevant studies if they exist.
https://healinghistamine.com/5-best-histamine-intolerance-teas/
I hope you feel better soon!
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I wish I could "like" this 100 times! This makes perfect sense. I deal with eczema and just am sensitive to a lot of things - hives, etc. I am hesitant to take anticholinergics like antihistamines though. I do sometimes but I try not to because they increase the risk of dementia.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with this thoughtful answer!
OP, please, please start with the simple things. Eat a little more before working out and make sure you are hydrated. If that doesn't get rid of the headaches, THEN you can start looking into rare conditions.6 -
Zebra hoofbeats and all that. I mean I did learn something about histamines that I did not know and I am thankful for that actually. But, like, we know the OP has been under-eating... because she has said so. So she exercises and has a headache around that time and has been under-eating.
Options? a) have a snickers bar and repeat the exercise. See how you feel this time! b) start an elimination diet consider your medical history and investigate one of thousands of possible other etiologies that may exist for a headache while expending energy while under-eating BEFORE you try eating a snickers bar first?!
Hmmm..... unless there exists a peanut allergy--in which case an almond snickers may be more appropriate--I know which option *I* would try out FIRST!6 -
Zebra hoofbeats and all that. I mean I did learn something about histamines that I did not know and I am thankful for that actually. But, like, we know the OP has been under-eating... because she has said so. So she exercises and has a headache around that time and has been under-eating.
Options? a) have a snickers bar and repeat the exercise. See how you feel this time! b) start an elimination diet consider your medical history and investigate one of thousands of possible other etiologies that may exist for a headache while expending energy while under-eating BEFORE you try eating a snickers bar first?!
Hmmm..... unless there exists a peanut allergy--in which case an almond snickers may be more appropriate--I know which option *I* would try out FIRST!
I knew about the histamine thing (it's possibly maybe probably something I deal with), still was not the first thing that sprung to mind as an explanation. It's kind of like someone saying they're tired/fatigued all the time and me immediately jumping to 'oh maybe you have ME/CFS!', just because I do, rather than starting with things like 'are you eating enough?'.4 -
PAV I am decidedly NOT undereating as my calories are set to 1200 but I was eating back a good portion of my activity calories, which if you followed the post that I originally said I was eating 1200, explained ALL that. That being said, I have dealt with headaches when exercising despite hydrating, eating, extra sleep, etc since I was 20 (15 years). I don't have headaches 100% or even 50% of the time and I was just looking to commiserate with others in my situation of the occasional exercise headache.1
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PAV I am decidedly NOT undereating as my calories are set to 1200 but I was eating back a good portion of my activity calories, which if you followed the post that I originally said I was eating 1200, explained ALL that. That being said, I have dealt with headaches when exercising despite hydrating, eating, extra sleep, etc since I was 20 (15 years). I don't have headaches 100% or even 50% of the time and I was just looking to commiserate with others in my situation of the occasional exercise headache.
How much weight are you losing a week on average with your net calories at 1,200 (eating back exercise calories). I ask because the idea from a complete stranger that you may have mast cell disorder (which you seem okish with someone posing but I could be wrong) seems far more far fetched than the idea that you may potentially be eating too few calories (something that is far more straightforward to fix).8
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