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I have high bp and suffer from migraines too, the key for me is rehidrat in my water and another pint of water afterwards, due to light sensitivity I will recommend you see an optometrist and getting yourself a decent pair of shades for when you ride. I got a daith piercing (migraine piercing) 3 weeks ago and I must say I haven't had a migraine since.

Rehidrat is great, but has a surprising amount of sugar in it which creates its own problems for me unfortunately!
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I started getting migraines after intense exercise, only on the bike and not while running, a few years back.  First time I got it, it was after a triathlon I did the weekend.  Migraine started the Wednesday and only got better the Sunday morning. 


Went to the doctor on the Friday and he said I might have a viral infection and gave me a prescription for some pills and stuff.  I asked him if tense muscles in my neck could lead to this migraine and he kind of said it was possible, but he does not think it is that.


 Left the doc’s office, called my pysio and got an appointment for that day.  Physio pinched my neck muscles between his fingers and I almost cried with pain.  Then he told me my hamstrings and glutes are not strong enough.  From pinching my neck muscles…. Yeh right.  He gave me an exercise to do that should only work my hamstrings and glutes, and…… and nothing.  No activation of any of those muscles. 


Long story short, I had very weak hamstrings, glutes and lower back.  This caused some issues and my neck muscles had to work overtime when on the bike.  No hydration issue or anything like that, purely muscle imbalance.  Got a lot of rehab exercises to do and a foam roller is my new best friend.  That one friend you hate but cannot live without. 


Maybe go to a good sports physio and ask him if your migraine could be because of this.  If it is then you have a few months of rehab to get that muscles working again.  And if you are like me and did not do the rehab like you should it will be more like a year of rehab.


I hope this helps you or someone else with the same problem.

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Definitely.

 

Food and hydration prior to the exercise are as or more important than during.

 

Work out how many cups of coffee you drink a day. Be honest. Times that by 30. Chances are you are officially addicted to caffeine and absorb WAY too much.

aaah think you've pointed to my issue... ill have to cut down immediately on the caffeine and increase on H2O and take it from there. 

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to the OP.  had similar issues.  

forcing half a litre of water down my thought immediately when im done and the other 1 hour later helped a lot.  The vision insert in my glasses made them go away for the last year and a bit.  Turned out i was overworking my eye muscles

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Its been 5 years since I started this thread. Since then I occasionally got migraines after exercise. But I'm happy to report that it they occur far less frequently therse days than they did back then. Its actually been a few months since I had one. I saw a couple doctors for help because at the time it was killing me. All had various suggestions but no definitive diagnosis. 

 

To be clear so we don't conflate headaches with migraines. I'll describe my symptoms as accurately as possible and divulge what I've since done to help overcome them.

 

The first symptom is this...

 

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qVFIcF9lyk8/hqdefault.jpg

 

The dreaded aura vision. Usually within 1 or 2 hours after my exercise. It starts as a blurry flicker of light in the corner of my eye. That flicker then gradually grows bigger. It sort of shimmers and distorts my vision for around 45 minutes. For me personally. That aura vision is my timer. Because I experience no pain when it kicks in, but its a warning of the pain about to set in. I've also noticed that the intensity of my aura vision is also a pretty good indicator of the degree of pain I can anticipate. The worse my vision. The worse the pain will be. As the flicker and light grows. It eventually resembles this blurry 'halo' effect around everything I see and THEN it hits me. This intense, dense pressure overwhelms the inside of my skull. I find the darkest corner I can. Curl up, and start dictating my last will and testament. This continues for an hour or 2.

 

Nausea is a sign of salvation. For me it means that the pain will start to subside and now I have to contend with the succubus trying to exorcise itself from my gut. Its horrible. But rather that than the pain in my head. It has to be said though. That the after effects of the pressure type pain would linger in my head for the next 24-48 hours. And during that time. The slightest cough or sudden movement is quick to remind me momentarily of the pain I endurred.

 

I'm quick to take anti-inflammatory pain meds when the aura vision kicks in. Which helps. But not enough to keep me away from seeking asylum and confessing my sins. 

 

Here are a few things I do now which help mitigate the onset of migraines. They aren't full proof. But its how I've been able to prevent them...mostly.

 

Probably the most important one for me is pace. Its hard to describe but I'll try. If I climb. I find it better to hold back on the pace just a bit and not exert myself continuously. If I ever feel myself needing to rest. I know I've pushed myself too hard. Short bursts of occasional intense exertion is fine. As long as you allow yourself to recover while still going. Muscle memory and familiar routes helped me with this. I would know where the rocky bits were up certain single tracks. Or short ramps and corners that needed a bit of a crank out of the saddle. I knew where they were and I knew that I would know when and where I could or would push myself for a short period. One of my measuring sticks was Tokai. As long as I can climb from the parking lot to the top of DH1 without needing to stop I'm going at the right pace. Hell I could probably climb for much further if I wanted to but I would also be slower the further I went. But then I've always been a slow climber. Once I reach the top I also feel much better since I'm not really that out of breath. And the better I feel at the top. The more I have in me to pin it on the way down.

 

The next one is anxiety. One of the most excruciating migraines I ever experienced was from a shuttle day. No climbing at all. Just a bakkie ride to the top. Take the bike and bomb down as fast as I can. Repeatedly. I was obsessed with clearing the wooden ramp which goes over the stream of water close to the bottom of the trail at Paarl's Taal Monument. Everytime my back wheel hit wood and I heard and felt that sound I was pissed off. I would push myself so hard in my attempt to clear it. I wanted so desperately to feel my back wheel hit dirt on the landing.

But the feature made me nervous. It wasn't the distance of the gap, the speed I needed or my *** technique either. Because there were other jumps that size I was ok with. It was because on that specific little ramp. I couldn't see the landing in my approach. This stressed me out. I knew what was behind it. But I kept thinking that so many people come short on this thing that last few planks were bound to give in at some point. Would I be the one that ends up in this ditch because of it? How hard and fast do I need to ride to clear this damn thing? I was anxious and the adrenaline was pumping. A different kind of exertion. On the drive home that day. To my surprise. I got the aura vision just before I got home and I realized that anxiety was a major factor too. Thinking back it occurred to me how many rides I've had where I was both maxed out on the way up and stressed out on some of the features coming down.

 

These days I tend to relax way more. And even if I've done a big jump or railed a berm or maintained traction on a fast flat corner several times before. If I don't feel up for it I won't attempt it. I just let it go. I tend to have more fun that way. I tend to hit more features when I don't think about or anticipate them too. 

 

Other than just a good amount of rest overall. I don't sacrifice rest for adrenalin any longer. I've stopped avoiding carbs. Especially before and after exercise. Probably not the best advice for most people but I noticed that some sugar and/or starch before and after exercise is way better for me than just fruit and water. So I'll eat a pie or sandwich and if its a sunday I'll have the ultimate combination of flour and sugar. Koesisters. 

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@OP, really great when you can identify the trigger and get to know how to manage it. 

Edited by Traveler
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