Thread: Finally found out why I get a migraine after exercising in the evening

I suffer from migraines caused by all sorts of triggers. I go to the gym with my husband about once a week in the evening for a workout and then a relax in the pool and sauna. A couple of years ago I found that I would get a migraine after wards. Whereas if I went during the day I didn't. I tried drinking more, just working out and no sauna but I nearly always have a migraine.

However after finding out a bit more about how our bodies store energy in our liver and muscles and that fasting overnight depletes this energy I realised that after exercising in the evening I wasn't having anything to eat and so by morning my energy would be depleted and I'd get my migraine. Therefore I've started having a good snack after the gym and no migraine.

It's such a relief to have worked out what was causing my migraine even though it's taken me a long time. I just have to make sure I eat enough after exercise.

Aren't our bodies really strange sometimes?

Still in the process of experimenting with mine to see what works and what doesn't Glad you found the cause of your migranes- they can be awful!

Hi Teresa
I have to admit I do not go to the gym anymore but I am a migraine sufferer. I will now have to see when I get a migraine if it has any connection to yours. Thanks for the tip, it may help me work out my triggers.

Unfortunately I have many other triggers. Alcohol being the most troublesome one. However, I have some very effective tablets from the doctor. They take one and a half hours to work but once they kick in they completely take away the pain. I'm left feeling very tired but painfree. It means I get my day back rather than having to suffer. The tablets are called Maxalt Melt and there are a number of other similar medications. If you don't already have effective medication then I really recommend talking to your doctor.

Hi Teresa

Over the years I have tried lots of different migraine treatments and I found Imigrin to be the best for me for a really bad one, but fortunatley since having kids they have not been as bad as they used to be. (I say that with fingers crossed as I would hate to tempt fate.)
One thing I have found as I got older is the pain is not as severe but the symptoms are much worse, partial loss of speech and zig zags etc across my eyes.

My main trigger is stress but I have yet to find any food triggers, certainly none of the normal ones like nuts, chesse and chocolate. Which are all in my diet so I guess I am lucky they aren't triggers!

Have you found since dieting they are better or worse, because for me, again with fingers crossed, so far so good.

I was hoping that the much better diet on SW would help reduce my migraines, but they are still the same. However, I eat almost no convenience foods now and they trigger migraines if I have too much so I do get fewer migraines.

I even get a pre-menstrual migraine, just a few days before I'm due to come on. I seem to pick up new triggers every year or so. I wonder what it will be next.

It feels like our bodies are just out to get us sometimes doesn't it? It will always find a new way to try to trip us up.

Somebody has posted on another thread about migraines and it made me wonder are there any connections being weight issues and migraines? It would be interesting to find out if that could be why we are more prone to having them.

Actually, my migraines started after the birth of my second son when I became my heaviest.

Hi Teresa,

I think my mums started when she was pregnant. I don't have that excuse as mine started when I was quite young.

It would be interesting to find out if their may be a connection. I guess I should do some more research but that sounds like too much effort at the moment. I am supposed to be job hunting in my spare time.......

i have been a long term sufferer of migraine i have had them since the age of 13yrs old , im on hrt aswell now which make them worse i used to suffer with severe migraine 5 times a week and a used to get migraine everyday wether it was a mild attack or severe attacks . im under a neurologist who has dioagnosed me as having over using Medication-overuse headache is a cause of frequent or daily headaches. It is caused by taking painkillers or triptan drugs too often for headaches or migraine so he has stop the medication i was on and put me on these preventers called topomite , and im alot better than i have been in a long time the only time i get a severe attack now is when i change my HRT patch i was really careful what i used to eat & drink being a long term sufferer over the years but i used to suffer really bad it took over my life i used to spend most of my life in bed in a dark room its not life.

Femmym

I am so pleased you have finally got them under control as they can rule your life.

I was on Sanomigran to prevent years ago as I got them really bad just before my O'level exams and I spent nearly six months struggling every day. They also tried beta blockers at the time but after my exams I came of the meds as I didn't want to be stuck on them when I was so young.

thankyou suzy,
yes im alot better now , so how are your migraines nowadays do you still suffer attacks of any kind and if so how often do you get them , and are you still on any meds for the migraine .

Hi Femmym

Yes, unfortunately I do still suffer, but not as frequently.

As I have got older the symptoms seem to be worse than the pain.

I do not take anything to prevent them anymore, just painkillers when I have one.

I can go for a while and be fine and then go through a stage where I get them every week, I do know one of my triggers is stress, so I try to stay as relaxed as I can and not worry about things, not always so easy to do!

I've suffered with migraines since I was about 7 - one of my most awful memories is trying to do my history O'level in the midst of a 3 day migraine! Sadly I didn't find a doctor who took them seriously until I was in my 30s, so had far too many years of suffering. However, I did get referred to the London Migraine Clinic, and they did loads of tests to try and find my triggers.
Although I do have a couple of food triggers, apart from stress, the main trigger for me is similar to that which Teresa identified - a drop in blood sugar levels. I very often used to wake with migraines and this was because I wouldn't have had any complex carbohydrates for over 12 hours between my evening meal and waking in the morning.

So now, I always make sure I have something small and light to eat at least every 4 hours to keep my sugars maintained.

Now all I have to do is sort out the stress!!!

Originally Posted by Foxy1509

I've suffered with migraines since I was about 7 - one of my most awful memories is trying to do my history O'level in the midst of a 3 day migraine! Sadly I didn't find a doctor who took them seriously until I was in my 30s, so had far too many years of suffering. However, I did get referred to the London Migraine Clinic, and they did loads of tests to try and find my triggers.
Although I do have a couple of food triggers, apart from stress, the main trigger for me is similar to that which Teresa identified - a drop in blood sugar levels. I very often used to wake with migraines and this was because I wouldn't have had any complex carbohydrates for over 12 hours between my evening meal and waking in the morning.

So now, I always make sure I have something small and light to eat at least every 4 hours to keep my sugars maintained.

Now all I have to do is sort out the stress!!!

i feel sorry for foxy have to suffer for such a long time i know to well what you have had to go through and there is nothing worse than being in pain and making you feel miserable all the while and trying to find a doctor who would take you serious instead of fobbing you off with different types of medication
instead of getting to the root of the cause
of the problem i hope that you get something sorted regarding your migraines i wish you luck.