Migraines and Working Out Fear

I'm 17 and I've been suffering from Migraines with Aura every since I was around 11 years old. The main trigger for them is working out and I usually get them 2 times a month. The aura usually starts a hour after the workout and the whole headache last for 3 hours. I then get a small headache that'll last for 1-2 days which isn't really that bad. But my life is slowly becoming ruined because I like to workout but I totally dread it because I fear of getting another migraine. My biggest fear is the aura and I don't really care about the pain. Three weeks ago I actually had 2 migraine auras at the same time(and they overlapped ) which was extremely unusual and terrifying. I went to a doctor and he said that he was extremely sure that it was a migraine. So now everyday I dread working out and I sometimes just skip the workout which makes me feel real bad. So if there anyway to manage this fear so I can get my life back? I'm going to be playing basketball later and I'll let you guys know what happens. One more thing is that sometimes I fear that it might be a tumor or something serious which doesn't help my fear.

Wolf, if you know the workouts trigger them, is there something you can do to mitigate that? Like doing shorter workouts or less strenuous ones? Or drinking lots of water? Sometimes it is from getting over heated. Can you try only working out in good air conditioning? Just a few ideas.

Migrainegirl wrote:Wolf, if you know the workouts trigger them, is there something you can do to mitigate that? Like doing shorter workouts or less strenuous ones? Or drinking lots of water? Sometimes it is from getting over heated. Can you try only working out in good air conditioning? Just a few ideas.

I've tried drinking water but I still got one, another thing I tried was Gatorade but that also didn't work. I'm currently drinking tomato juice and eating nuts after workouts for the salt and magnesium. It seems like it might be working but I haven't used it long enough yet. And how can overheating cause one? Maybe being out of breath deprives oxygen of the brain? It also usually happens after the hard workouts, I still haven't got one from playing baseball which is a easier sport.

I played basketball pretty hard today and I didn't get one.

It seems that our thermo-regulatory system (which controls blood pressure, temperature and volume through blood vessel constriction) is a bit out of whack. Many people, myself included, can get migraines from over heating (or being too cold). Others react to barometric pressure changes. I often get migraines from the pressure changes on airplanes. Often an ice pack on the head is helpful when you have a migraine as it helps to constrict the over dilated vessels in our heads.

So the over exertion from a hard workout may be over heating your body, leading to the migraine. So some good options are to avoid over doing it. It's better to to do moderate workouts and avoid the migraines which are really not good for your brain if you can avoid them. Another option is to take up swimming, which is a great workout, but not likely to overheat you.

Also 400 mg of magnesium supplements per day has been found to be effective in reducing the likelihood of migraines. It seems to have a role in functioning of the blood vessels.

Good luck!

Migrainegirl wrote:It seems that our thermo-regulatory system (which controls blood pressure, temperature and volume through blood vessel constriction) is a bit out of whack. Many people, myself included, can get migraines from over heating (or being too cold). Others react to barometric pressure changes. I often get migraines from the pressure changes on airplanes. Often an ice pack on the head is helpful when you have a migraine as it helps to constrict the over dilated vessels in our heads.

So the over exertion from a hard workout may be over heating your body, leading to the migraine. So some good options are to avoid over doing it. It's better to to do moderate workouts and avoid the migraines which are really not good for your brain if you can avoid them. Another option is to take up swimming, which is a great workout, but not likely to overheat you.

Also 400 mg of magnesium supplements per day has been found to be effective in reducing the likelihood of migraines. It seems to have a role in functioning of the blood vessels.

Good luck!

I don't really want to quit basketball but I'll try to not play too hard.

I too get migraines from both overheating and cabin pressure in planes. I've learnt that drinking *lots* of water before either really helps.

For the sports side, I drink about 750ml an hour before I run, then about 100ml top up just before I go. I always need to pee out the 750ml before I start running too, but it seems good for optimal pre-run rehydration. Seems to work, anyway.

For planes, I take a 500ml bottle up to the security gates, then drink the lot. I discovered this by accident when security wouldn't let me take an unopened bottle through with me, so I drank the lot, and for the first time in years, no migraine while flying! And I haven't had one since (about 14 flights on).

Hope this helps a few people.

I actually started to not fear the aura and even got a little used to it. But that one time I saw 2 auras at the same time brought the extreme fear back. Has anyone else has 2 auras on both sides before?

My typical aura is like tunnel vision combined with everything having halos. Some of the recent migraines had only left sided aura in a specific part of my vision field, which I determined was just the way the more recent migraines were going to be. Since the change came with a reduction in active migraine days, I'll take it.

Mine usually start around the middle of my vision and progress into something like this ( until it moves out of my vision. During my last migraine the blind spot moved directly into my central vision which I don't think has happened before. The first one started to move to the left and I got a new spot in my central vision. So I now had a fading aura in my left vision with a new one beginning in the right. Both of them eventually faded and left me with a bad headache on the left side of my head.