Conundrum

Before anyone says don't seek medical advice on the internet - I am fully involved with my docs on this. They just don't have that much experiance with endurance athletic type issues, and I'm wondering if anyone here has heard of anything similiar to what I've got going on, anyway...

So after a ride, especially early am, of about an hour with a sustained HR of any where from 145 to 165 I get what my docs tell me is a migrane. About a half hour after I get off the bike the symptoms start with the aura and go from there. I never get a bad headache, but otherwise it is classic migrane. I have no family or personal history of migranes, this only happens after I ride, and seems to be getting more frequent (happens at a lower threshold). My docs originally thought blood sugar, ruled that out. I've had a MRI, all normal. Neurologist put me on a low dose of beta blockers, no effect.

Now my doc has ordered me off the bike until we figure out what is going on.

Has anyone heard of anything like this? I need some direction to point my doc in.

I can't live ordered off my bike
HELP.

Thanks.
Reed

johnny99

I'm not really sure what a "migrane" is, but a mild headache during or after exercise is often a sign of dehydration (i.e., not drinking enough water).

DScott

It's not uncommon to have exertion-triggered headache (including migraine). They're treatable, too. The hardest part is finding the right person to help you out.

You should really see a headache specialist. Your doc can refer you, and they'll work together. Try the largest medical center in your area, or try contacting these folks for a referral to a specialist near you: https://www.headaches.org/

Here's an article on just such a thing: Migraine in the Athlete

(You'll have to register to read it, but it's worth it)

Good luck!

Matt Gaunt

I get dehydration headache sometimes but I think the OP is getting something different here. A headache specialist is clearly going to be more effective than a bunch of guys and girls on the internet so I'm not really sure what we can offer here. Certainly not an opinion better than that of a qualified GP in my case.

z415

I used to get pretty severe headaches. I finally figured out that it was from my helmet being on too tight caused by the fact that I hadn't gotten a hair cut in a while and had not loosened my helmet.

DaveMc

I've had the same problem for the last 2 or 3 years and almost gave up exercise and i found this article https://www.webmd.com/news/20010702/d...your-migraines. I thought i would give it a try and by taking the time and warming up slowly I rarely get headaches after exercise unless i go too hard at the begining of my ride.

Hope this helps.

anticlimbactic

Migraine is not headache.

I've had this happen once. It was a hot day and my exertion was maximal. I remember that both warmup and cool down were minimal. Bad bad bad. It was classic in terms of onset and symptoms. Started with the aura and that ended about half an hour later when the head ache/pain started in. Not really nauseated or light sensitive but a little unstable feeling.

I have since started using Endurolytes to make sure my electrolytes don't get too low and will sometimes down a couple of advil with my recovery drink, both tips from a chronic migraine sufferer (who has it MUCH worse than me, non-exercise related). I haven't had a repeat, thankfully.

The fact that this is getting worse for you and that your current doctors can't help leads me to think you need to seek out a specialist and soon. So there's your advice to not seek advice from the internet

DannoXYZ 

yeah, warm-up, water and electrolytes.

drstanger

I have had exercise activated migraines for almost 10 years. The first five, I gave up on physical exertion entirely, before I found an internist who put me on beta blockers. They were my magic bullets, so I see where your docs are coming from (they mute adrenal responses, which can trigger run away nerve pulses). You might want to wait a bit more, since it took me about two months to see a huge effect.

Some headaches are notoriously tangled in terms of cause and effect. It could be deydration, the pressure of your helmet on the back of your neck, overexertion, biking into the glare of the sun and low blood sugar all at once triggering these. Have you ever had them before? What were the triggers there?

Try spinning on a trainer after a meal and see if it makes a difference.

(I am not a medical doctor)

DScott

Did you really mean to say that?

mzeffex 

Dehydration or heat, likely. Or possibly lack of food, that triggers migraines for me.

anticlimbactic

https://headaches.about.com/cs/educat...mig_not_ha.htm

dperreno

I have chronic migraines and I agree, they are not headaches, although you can get headache-like pain from one (but with the potential to be many times worse than your worse headache ever). In my case, I don't get auras and I usually don't get bad headache pain, but I do get very nauseous. I have gotten them so bad that I've wanted to die, and I'm not exaggerating. Got one tonight, in fact, and had to skip my ride. I hate them. My advice is the same as most others, find a specialist and see if he/she can find a way to treat and/or head off the migraines for you.

Randallissimo

Migraines suck!

DScott

Technically correct, no doubt, but the intense headache pain is the defining characteristic of migraine, at least for the vast majority of migraine sufferers. The risk of calling anything that looks like prodromal symptoms or aura as "migraine" is in missing the other possible causes of those symptoms.

AEO

relax your shoulders. tense back can give you headaches because the blood flow is restricted.

timmyquest

https://www.1800doctors.com/

anticlimbactic

Right, but lots of suggestions in this thread were leaning towards typical headache causes like "your helmet is too tight" or "dehydration" and not likely migraine related. It was in this context that I made my comment.

rusto

Old migraine thread here: clicky.

DScott

It's a good point, just not one that's understood by too many people.

And, the irony is that one of the more common triggers for migraine headache pain is other pain, including that pain caused by a helmet that's too tight. I'd also expect migraine to be triggered by dehydration, excess hunger, or muscle tension.

And yes, migraine does suck.

AEO

if it's too cold, you might want to invest in a skull cap or cycling hat.

Matt Gaunt

Correct.

botto 

never thought i had experienced a migraine, until i mentioned to a training partner (who's a neurologist) about have some odd flashing out of the corner of my eyes. he says 'oh, you had a quiet migraine', or something like that. it was in dutch.

Conundrum

I've pretty much eliminated blood sugar as the culprit by rearranging my mornings and eating a full on breakfast before a ride. I am notoriously bad about zero warm up, I usually hop on the bike and pedal away. What kind of warm up and how much of it would be considered appropriate. I do cool down a bit by easy pedaling around the block when I'm done until my HR falls below 125, is that enough. What's the best way to get some electrolytes (I suspect this may have something to do with it as I sweat like a shower and am covered in salt post ride).

I doubt helmet or other causes of headache have much to do with it as I get what is really only a very dull headache with this.

I'll try the beta blockers a while longer, and I suspect my neuro is about to send me for a MRA and maybe a spinal fluid pressure thingy just to be safe.

Thanks for the info.

DaveMc

As for warming up i've found that a 10 minute walk on the treadmill works for me. I start at 2.5 mph and increase 1 mph per minute for 10 minutes which maintains a very low hr. It didn't make sense to me because I never warmed up before but I figured it would be worth a try.
I need to keep my hr below 120 for the first 10 min and where I live there are alot of hills so it is difficult to warmup on the bike and keep my hr low.