re exercise and migraine in article apr ntmtv janet ntmtv com janet jakstys writes the other day i played tennis during my lunch hour i m out of tennis shape so it was very intense exercise i got overheated and dehydrated afterwards i noticed a tingling sensation all over my head then about hours later i could feel a migraine start i continued to drink water in the afternoon i took cafergot but it didn t help and the pain started although it wasn t as intense as it usually is and about pm that night the pain subsided this isn t the first time that i ve had a migraine occur after exercise i m wondering if anyone else has had the same experience and i wonder what triggers the migraine in this situation heat buildup dehydration i m not giving up tennis so is there anything i can do besides get into shape and don t play at high noon to prevent this hi janet sounds exactly like mine same circumstance same onset symptoms same cafergot uselessness same duration in fact of all the people i know who have migraines none have been so similar there is such a wide variation between people with respect to what causes their headaches that i generally don t bother sharing what i ve learned about mine but since ours seem to be alike here are my observations i don t think it s heat per se i ve had more in winter than summer dehydration could conceivably figure though try tanking up before playing rather than after being in shape doesn t seem to help me much either i ve identified four factors that do make a difference listed in descending order of importance heavy exercise sleep deprivation fasting e g skipped breakfast physical trauma e g head bonk heavy exercise has preceded all of my post adolescent migraines but i don t get migraines after every heavy exercise session one or more of the other factors must be present usually since i discovered this i ve been nearly migraine free relapsing only once every two or three years when i get cocky it s been so long maybe i just don t get them anymore and stop being careful hope this is helpful john
