Running = Migraine?

I'm hoping that someone can offer some advice. I have been running for several months now, averaging about 3 x week and around 5K each time I run. I am generally at 12 min mile pace throughout. I drink about 3litres of water everyday, more on the days I run. I also eat a balanced diet. When I run it's usually around 4pm, leave work at 5pm, drive home and arrive around 6pm and supper is generally between 6:30-7:30. The problem I am having is that I get HORRIBLE headaches about 1-2 hours after I run. This is sometimes accompanied by nausea. About 3 weeks ago after a run (just over 5K) I had a headache all night, drank tons of water (didn't have any Advil I was staying at a hotel and didn't bring any with me) and actually ended up getting sick 3 times that morning before I had to check out and head to work.

I have heard that I'm not drinking enough water, I don't think this is the case, I do drink a lot of water and I had 1.5 litres during the 45 minutes after my run yesterday and another litre at home during supper. I have heard protein after a run is important and could stop the headache from starting; I had steak last night as part of my meal, and still ended up with a banging pain.

The pain is focused mostly around my temples, sinuses/eyes and down the back of my neck. I took Advil last night and it started to help a bit. I also find that a hot shower will help as well. Ultimately I would like to avoid the whole thing. I'm getting discouraged because I'm trying to increase my distance and speed over the course of the next 6-8 months as I want to run a 1/2 marathon but not if I'm going to end up with horrible headaches after every run. As you can imagine it takes a toll on family life as well because I'm pretty much useless all evening/night.

Any suggestions? Oh, and I don't think I'm going too fast or for too long, been running at this speed and distance for months now. Oh and another thing, I do suffer from sinuses problems from time to time, however that's mostly seasonal.

Thanks

Carrie

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I get migraines easily, and I think that they are triggered by dehydration, but like you, I do drink a lot of water. The question is do you have the right amount of electrolytes. I started taking magnesium recommended by my doctor for another problem, but he noted that it can help migraines. As long as I consistently take it, I have no migraines. I can't say what dose of magnesium would work for you, but if you decide to try it, start out with a small dose, and work your way up.

Perhaps it is the tension you are holding in your neck when you run. Do you find that you clench or hold your arms or shoulders tightly as you are running? I used to have the tendency to hold my hands in fists and seemed to pull up on my shoulders while running on the treadmill, causing a lot of tension in my neck, until my trainer caught me and set me straight. As any yoga instructor would also tell you, we also hold alot of tension in our jaw. Clenched teeth when trying to get through a workout could cause tension build up and headaches also. Try some yoga perhaps directly after or pay more attention to how your arms/shoulders/upper body is handled as you run in addition to your lower body.

Call me crazy, but I think 1.5L is too much for a half-hour run.  I agree that you might be depleting electrolytes.  Hyponatremia is a bad deal.

For me, a workout that is much harder than what I'm used to can trigger migraines if it is also of significant duration.  Eating a big pizza helps (replenish glycogen :-), but that's not always the best plan.

mns289 - I had thought of that but no, don't hold tension in my neck, shoulders etc. I USED to when I first started running but then made a conscious effort to not do that and have over the course of the last 4 months or so been able to stop that problem. Yoga is something definitely want to do, did it a bit here and there but nothing consistent. There are no places in my town that offer yoga so classes are out but I can research a few poses online and go from there. I also could buy a video I suppose.

behanna - I drink a lot of water period, so for me 1.5L isn't all that much, basically 2 of my reusable water bottles. I also have a 1 hour commute between work and home so it's pretty easy to drink 650ml or so during that drive. Pizza is a tricky one for me. I have gluten sensitivity so I try to avoid wheat as much as possible, however I agree that I'm thinking there is something missing in my diet.

I had another thought on what the cause might be. I was talking to a friend of mine who has some heart issues (btw, I also had an incident with my heart a couple years ago, tachycardia, in hospital for 11 days, nothing conclusive found and palpitations went away during this time and have not returned), however this friend says that exercise induced headaches sometimes are a sign of an underlying heart problem. Especially the areas where I am finding the most pain (sinuses, neck, temples). I'm not saying I for sure have some issue with my heart but could it be possible?

Hi,  It sounds like you definitely have a serious issue to look into and I don't want to discourage that in the least bit.  While you're at the doc's ask your doctor how exercise or weight loss might affect your hormones, which, as most of us migraine sufferers know, migraines so often can be triggered by hormonal changes.

I've been able to control my migraines for the most part for many years now.  Here are a few tips I've learned for me and perhaps some or many may assist you:

• Stay away from soy products read food labels
• stay away from MSG, again food labels]
• Notice if foods like beans or onions seem to trigger them
• Butterbur extract has been a godsend, taken daily they reduce migraines, with a migraine butterbur help ease or ward them off
• Feverfew extract helps
• S-17 (herbal blend) by Soloray has helped ease many tension-migraine headaches, it's supposed to be for sleep but for me just helps me to relax
• last resort, Maxomelt, it's powerful stuff with side effects, but mine are so infrequent it's worth it for the ones I just can't get rid of
• Stay away from activities that seem to trigger them (for me wine at high altitudes sure don't help 8 ), you know better then just don't.

Of course always check with your doc about herb-drug-drug-food interactions before taking!

Good luck and may your head feel better very soon!

I used to get this too. Because my body was not used to running so much distance I would feel physically sick (maybe I was pushing myself too hard, I dont know), I started running maybe a year prevous and I was gradually building myself up but as my body got used to it I stopped getting headaches and the sickness feeling. Now I can run 10 - 15k non stop without getting a feeling like that.

Also I found if I ate too close to exercisisng I would also get this feeling.

If it doesn't let up you may be over hydrating yourself, try drink a little less water. I know that sounds silly but I read an article that if you drink too much it can deplete electrolytes and cause symptoms like that too.

Hope this helps :)

I have been running for a little over 2 years now and started off slowly and I increased duration and begun to sweat more I started getting similar headaches.  Given the amount of sweat that I produced I found that I needed to replenish the electrolytes.  I started taking "Thermotabs" in conjunction with Gatorade and the headaches went away.  I take 2 before my run then 2 more afterwards in conjunction with 16oz of Gatorade. 

I take the magnesium that I mentioned because I was having heart palpitations. I was also put on potassium. So, I think you could be on to something. Definitely talk to your doctor.

It sounds like an exercise induced headache.

Here are two links that describe what it is, and how it is commonly treated.

However, I would agree with the rest of the posters - see a doctor because you need to rule out any other more serious underlying condition.