Sports Migraines

Ah, poop!

I just spent 20 mins on my exercise bike, thinking I would compensate for having been so slack the last 3 days and now I'm dizzy, queasy, shaky and feeling weak.

It's not a sports-migraine yet, but it's sports-migraine territory...

When will I learn that being slack for 3 days and then doing more on the 4th day to compensate is not the same thing as doing a little bit each day...

Having a bowl of porridge with bananas now, to get my blood sugar levels back up and to get grounded again.

Do you guys suffer from sports migraines too?

It is one of my major triggers

SR

I have a constant headache that definitely gets exacerbated by too much exercise / anything strenuous that gets my heart rate up (and therefore blood vessels working over time). I can do walking ok, and maybe 20 min on the elliptical really lightly, but that is it. Knowing your limits is really important.

Better to exercise a little each day than try to over compensate. Hopefully this didn't turn into a full migraine for you!

Some folks even take an abortive med before exercising to try to prevent a headache, but that is something to talk to a doctor about (and really only would work if you were exercising only a few days a week).

I do better exercising in the afternoon. I know they say first thing in the morning (before breakfast) is best for your metabolism, but my blood sugar is way too low then, plus my body doesn't move right the first few hours of the day (fibro). Best wishes,

I used to get exercise-induced headaches all the time after strenuous exercise. Then I asked my doctor for indomethacin. I take it every morning before biking or running. Really takes care of the problem. They weren't really migraines, but very migraine-like in intesity and pain level.

I get AWFUL exercise induced migraines. I was a serious gym rat and runner before my migraines turned chronic. I never used to have problems but after the migraines went nuts, I couldn't even do a light run on the treadmill without getting a migraine. Weight lifting was the worst...I would get extremely ill. So now I don't go to the gym.

I can take long walks and do light yoga, but anything more than that makes me sick. I understood that it has to do with the dilation and contraction of blood vessels as we speed up our blood flow. Something like that.

Hey

thanks for your replies...

I recently heard (and can verify this from my own experience) that it's important to stay inside the "aerobic zone" (where your body gets the oxygen it needs for the exertion) and not to drift into the non-aerobic zone...

A rough guide for example when jogging is whether you are able to easily speak/ have a conversation with a fellow runner... if your breath is laboured and it's difficult to speak sentences in your normal speaking pattern/ voice, you're probably in the non-aerobic zone.

In this context, it also seems that doing indoor sports (gym etc) is risky, if you get sports migraines, cos the indoor air has so much lower oxygen levels than in the fresh outdoor air...

Dunno if you are able to confirm this too, or whether it helps in choosing exercise that is easier to handle...?

I probably should've opened the window when on my exercise bike the other day, but it was so cold outside, that I didn't want to get a cold from exercising with icy air coming in the window...

SR