migrains

[yvonne]

Is there anybody else out there that suffers form migraines when they work-out? I think its heat related as i did a 45 miler on a cool day and ended without a migraine, but cant do 6 miles in the heat without needing to stop so i can cool down and stop my headache turning into a migraine, then off i go again for another 6 miles. I have had this for 20 years, so its not something new. I found cycling a year ago and love it and refuse to let this condition stop me, the only thing is i cant join a club as i would have to keep stopping. I generaly do 6 miles in 18 minutes without pushing myself too much, I have tried the energy drinks etc. nothing works. I could take a migraine tablet before i go out but i am reluctant to do this every time, My doctors have no idea what the problem is, am i unique, any advise?

[CorsairMac]

have you tried any of the neck cloths that help keep your neck/head cool? There was also a thread here recently about a portable mister that someones DH attached to their bike. She said you could get one at Lowes.

[Technotart]

I have recently (4 mos ago) been able to get myself OFF of migraine medication - imitrex was what I was mostly taking - by taking ibuprofen AHEAD of the attack. If I am going to do something that causes me to have a migraine usually - say stay up late or exercise in the heat - I take 600 mg of ibuprofen. As it turns out If I feel a migraine coming on, I can take a large dose of ibu and I DONT GET A MIGRAINE!!! Now - had ANYbody told me to take ibu for a migraine in the past, I would have laughed them out of the park. It actually works. I have been on imitrex for years -tried topamax, and metoprolol and amyltriptyline and I can't even list all of them. Nothing worked. I got 12 to 15 migraines a month at a minimum. some weeks as many as 5! Imitrex is pretty awful stuff. I havnt had one in over 3.5 mos.

It's easy to think the ibuprofen would be inneffective seeing as it's over the counter - however, migraines are an inflammatory process, and ibuprofen is an effective anti-inflamatory. It's cheap and if you can stomach it, definately worth trying.

I'd love to hear if it works for you. I need a topic for my thesis!

[yvonne]

I have recently (4 mos ago) been able to get myself OFF of migraine medication - imitrex was what I was mostly taking - by taking ibuprofen AHEAD of the attack. If I am going to do something that causes me to have a migraine usually - say stay up late or exercise in the heat - I take 600 mg of ibuprofen. As it turns out If I feel a migraine coming on, I can take a large dose of ibu and I DONT GET A MIGRAINE!!! Now - had ANYbody told me to take ibu for a migraine in the past, I would have laughed them out of the park. It actually works. I have been on imitrex for years -tried topamax, and metoprolol and amyltriptyline and I can't even list all of them. Nothing worked. I got 12 to 15 migraines a month at a minimum. some weeks as many as 5! Imitrex is pretty awful stuff. I havnt had one in over 3.5 mos.

It's easy to think the ibuprofen would be inneffective seeing as it's over the counter - however, migraines are an inflammatory process, and ibuprofen is an effective anti-inflamatory. It's cheap and if you can stomach it, definately worth trying.

I'd love to hear if it works for you. I need a topic for my thesis!

I ued to take exedrin migraine, alot, but after a while anything that is aspirin based or related would give me colic and i would be in agony for ages, so i guess that includes motrin etc. I also cannot swallow tabs (lifelong thing) so i have to crush my meds, so cant take time release etc. guess im a pain in the butt!!

[Technotart]

Ibuprofen isnt aspirin based, some people who can't tolerate asa do ok with ibu. The only way to know is to try it. I can't do aspirin either. You could try the childrens liquid or chewable tabs.

[yvonne]

Ibuprofen isnt aspirin based, some people who can't tolerate asa do ok with ibu. The only way to know is to try it. I can't do aspirin either. You could try the childrens liquid or chewable tabs.

I'll be out tom. on my bike, ibuprofin in hand, will let you know.
thanks
yvonne

[CorsairMac]

I have recently (4 mos ago) been able to get myself OFF of migraine medication - imitrex was what I was mostly taking - by taking ibuprofen AHEAD of the attack. If I am going to do something that causes me to have a migraine usually - say stay up late or exercise in the heat - I take 600 mg of ibuprofen. As it turns out If I feel a migraine coming on, I can take a large dose of ibu and I DONT GET A MIGRAINE!!! Now - had ANYbody told me to take ibu for a migraine in the past, I would have laughed them out of the park. It actually works. I have been on imitrex for years -tried topamax, and metoprolol and amyltriptyline and I can't even list all of them. Nothing worked. I got 12 to 15 migraines a month at a minimum. some weeks as many as 5! Imitrex is pretty awful stuff. I havnt had one in over 3.5 mos.

It's easy to think the ibuprofen would be inneffective seeing as it's over the counter - however, migraines are an inflammatory process, and ibuprofen is an effective anti-inflamatory. It's cheap and if you can stomach it, definately worth trying.

I'd love to hear if it works for you. I need a topic for my thesis!

Just please be careful - my father was diagnosed with incurable kidney disease about 3 yrs ago - linked to long term/high dose ibuprofen. He was taking 600-800 mgs of ibu every 4 hrs for various surguries he had had. Now he can never take it again - it caused crystals to form in both his kidneys and has reduced their effectiveness.

[Technotart]

Very interesting - I can't say I have heard of that happening!

I will say though, the ibuprofen is a much safer drug in any event than imitrex - people have cardiac arrests on that stuff!!!

I probably take it 3 or 4 times a week. I could see serious issues with someone taking say 800 mg doses 4 times daily for an extended period of time - I know there are people out there who do that - hence the development of the cox2 inhibitors like vioxx (that and they protect the gut) but that is a whole OTHER discussion.

The best drug is none, but if you have to have something, the one with the lowest risk and side effect profile that is effective and affordable is the best drug for the problem. In this case, Ibuprofen fits that bill.

It is important to tell your doc about ANY drugs you are taking! Yes, even Tylenol (aka Acetaminophen) - that stuff can very deadly if taken too much/too often/in certain illness - it is NOT an innocuous drug. Occasional moderate use is fine - nothing in excess is any good!

[Tess851]

have you thought about checking bike set up etc or getting a chiropractic exam to see if it's actually something to do with eg nerves being pinched - maybe only on hotter days because then blood vessels etc swell and may be more susceptible to problems?

what about dehydration - maybe you are actually dehydrated before you start, and riding in the heat makes it noticeable?

I always like to look for a cause so that I can resolve that before I look to treatment of symptoms.

[Technotart]

Being dehydrated before you even begin certainly could contribute to migraines!

[yvonne]

Being dehydrated before you even begin certainly could contribute to migraines!
Always drink lots of h2o, just about every doc i know has checked me out and come up with nothing, guess thats good cos i appear to be in tip-top health, but gives me no answers as to why i get the migraines :rolleyes:

yvonne

[sarahfixit]

I had that majorly up til the last race. I changed to doing a sugar load before and after with 2 PowerGells before and one after. The headache is usually related to a glucose deficiency and recovery period(my scientific terms).

[wabisabi]

I used to get what I called migraines after exercise--walking long or an all day hard cross country ski, and I would take a lot of Ibu to stave if off when I felt if coming on. Maybe it was due to some of the things, such as sugar, mentioned here; I have certainly learned a lot about keeping hydrated and frequently nourished.

I do have a kidney disease, but, faced with six hours of pain, vomiting, etc., and theoretical kidney damage--well, I opted for no pain. I eventually developed not kidney problems (at least nothing evident yet at 55) but rather a kind of colitis that can be caused by NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatory, etc.) which can be pretty bad; the villi in the intestine get compromised. Just a note of warning about extreme use of ibu, it can cause problems. I learned to stop them where they started, in my back and neck, use accupuncture, yoga, massage, and of course relaxing through cycling/endorphins, and now don't get them very often at all.

Just be careful with the ibupropen/NSAIDS is all I'm saying.

[Technotart]

You are correct - EXTREME use of ibu (or anything else for that matter) is no good.

However - I'm talking 2 to 4 doses a WEEK - NOT 3 to 4 a DAY!!! For MOST people 3 to 4 doses a week is not a problem. Obviously if you have mitigating factors, then you need to consider those.

Over use of Ibu can lead to rebound headaches - it isn't the end all, but for those of us with migraines it sure beats taking imitrex which is known to cause severe vasospasm and heart attacks!!!!! :eek: And lord knows - narcotic pain relievers aren't pleasant when all you want to d is live life instead of sleeping it away!

Everybody has to find the magic bullet that works for them so to speak. Yoga helps, massgae, exercise, sugar - all of those things can help, but just like Ibu - they may not be the answer for everyone.

I did find that cranio-sacral therapy (CST) worked wonders for me - it isn't a form of massage but sort of an offshoot of physical therapy if that makes sense. At any rate, it realigns things without the trauma inflicted by some other modalitites which will remain nameless. It also has the effect of reducing circulating cortisol in the body and decreasing perceived stress. It can be hard to find a CST therapist, and it isn't cheap. It also takes time, but I think for sports injuries and other thrauma it would be an ideal way to go.

[yvonne]

I used to get what I called migraines after exercise--walking long or an all day hard cross country ski, and I would take a lot of Ibu to stave if off when I felt if coming on. Maybe it was due to some of the things, such as sugar, mentioned here; I have certainly learned a lot about keeping hydrated and frequently nourished.

I do have a kidney disease, but, faced with six hours of pain, vomiting, etc., and theoretical kidney damage--well, I opted for no pain. I eventually developed not kidney problems (at least nothing evident yet at 55) but rather a kind of colitis that can be caused by NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatory, etc.) which can be pretty bad; the villi in the intestine get compromised. Just a note of warning about extreme use of ibu, it can cause problems. I learned to stop them where they started, in my back and neck, use accupuncture, yoga, massage, and of course relaxing through cycling/endorphins, and now don't get them very often at all.

Just be careful with the ibupropen/NSAIDS is all I'm saying.


Sounds like the same thing i get with aspirin (colic)
Someone suggested coffee before going on my bike, another said B vitamins, for the past 3 days before i go out I now take a sublingual B complex & a cup of iced coffee, it certainly seems to work, I still have to stop though cos i get too hot and need to cool down, i also take along some iced coffee which i drink when resting :rolleyes:
I know caffeine affects your insulin level, so I wonder if thats giving me the sugar i need? I will try the powergels and see how i do on them, dont like to overload on sugar though, will my body store the excess sugar or will i burn it off, I have high candida albicans and dont like to feed the little critters :eek:

yvonne

[LBTC]

Howdy folks...

I suffered from very occasional migraines (at worst 1 or 2 a month, more likely 4 or 5 a year) for a long time. When those headaches that I refused to call migraines, started lasting for 3 to 5 days, I started researching....

and found that feverfew is a fairly benign herb that helps to PREVENT migraines. It really helped me. I also found, contrary to what techno found, that ibuprofen did nothing for this type of headache, whereas tylenol would prevent one if I caught it in time. Usually tylenol doesn't help me with any type of pain, but these sorts of headaches it did! I know that's weird, I've been told I'm wired funny. hahahaha

I also love cranial sacral therapy! I've been fortunate enough to find a registered massage therapist who also does CST, so my extended medical coverage will still cover the treatment. I've been long enough without migraines that that's not the reason I've been seeing her, but that's a good tip that it will help with those, also!

The latest trigger I found for myself is sucralose. I accidentally drank about 1/3 of a pop that was sweetened with that poison (it even tasted yucky) and ended up with a five day-er that was worse than any in recent memory! I haven't noticed any other triggers, other than stress, thankfully. I can still eat chocolate!!

There's lots of good ideas here Yvonne, I hope you can increase your riding time between stops and really get where you want to be on your bike - pain free!

Namaste,
~T~

[yvonne]

Howdy folks...

I suffered from very occasional migraines (at worst 1 or 2 a month, more likely 4 or 5 a year) for a long time. When those headaches that I refused to call migraines, started lasting for 3 to 5 days, I started researching....

and found that feverfew is a fairly benign herb that helps to PREVENT migraines. It really helped me. I also found, contrary to what techno found, that ibuprofen did nothing for this type of headache, whereas tylenol would prevent one if I caught it in time. Usually tylenol doesn't help me with any type of pain, but these sorts of headaches it did! I know that's weird, I've been told I'm wired funny. hahahaha

I also love cranial sacral therapy! I've been fortunate enough to find a registered massage therapist who also does CST, so my extended medical coverage will still cover the treatment. I've been long enough without migraines that that's not the reason I've been seeing her, but that's a good tip that it will help with those, also!

The latest trigger I found for myself is sucralose. I accidentally drank about 1/3 of a pop that was sweetened with that poison (it even tasted yucky) and ended up with a five day-er that was worse than any in recent memory! I haven't noticed any other triggers, other than stress, thankfully. I can still eat chocolate!!

There's lots of good ideas here Yvonne, I hope you can increase your riding time between stops and really get where you want to be on your bike - pain free!

Namaste,
~T~

I used Tylenol in the past, before i would go out, just to stop a headache from starting, it worked but if I am riding every day I just dont think its a good way to go long term. I will look into the feverfew, I much prefer the holistic approach to anything, not a believer in western medecine covering up things with medication in my book is not a solution just a mask :( . Thanks for all the advice its a great help :D Has anyone used lavagel, if so what do you think?

yvonne

[yvonne]

Ultimate test today, hotter than hell out there 90 something an 100% humidity. Way too much for me, only got 12 miles in and stopped afew times and took a shower at the leaky hydrents & yes i did get a headache, nursing it right now :( "Only mad dogs and english men go out in the mid-day sun" An english proverb, which i now know to be true. By the eay i am british ( in usa for 14 years) we just dont get temps like these :cool:

yvonne