Exercise Before Bed Cured My Frequent Migraines

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

I wanted to put this out there in case there were others like me who were getting 8+ migraines a month.

 

story time first, though!

 

 

 

Back in 2009, I wasn't allowed to reenlist in the US Air Force because of my PT Test failures. Being stationed in Las Vegas for 6 years, playing World of Warcraft, working midnight shifts, and eating fast food every single day lead me to be ballooning from 190 to 260 pounds. After I got out I fought back against the decision and submitted a package that would change my reenlistment code, if the board sided with me.  While I waited on the decision, which I knew would take a year, I lost 85 pounds first by going to Planet Fitness at night for cardio on an elliptical for the first 20 pounds, and the rest I lost through a personal trainer. I eventually actually won my case and was assigned a reenlistment code that would allow me to get back in if I wanted, though I chose not to because I have a dream job (Mike Ditka just walked by).

 

Around that time I started watching MLP, in fact, it was October 13th 2011, so tomorrow is my 4 year mark in the fandom. I immediately became so obsessed with the show I stopped going to the gym, and since then my weight shot back up to 246. This brings us to the present, and the relevant part of this topic.....

 

 

 

I live and work a very sedentary lifestyle. A lot of times I'm staring at a computer screen, in a semi comfortable office chair that doesn't support my neck at all. Until a month or so ago I'd frequently get migraines because of my lifestyle. One thing I noticed was that if the pain was in the right side of my head, 2 Excedrine would kill it, but if it was in the left side and behind my eyes, forget it, I needed Sumatriptan (Imitrex). Nothing less than that could help me. In addition, any time I tried to exercise, I found that 6 hours afterwards I would get a crippling migraine. No matter how light the physical activity was, I was bed ridden with pain, and not even the powerful prescription migraine pills could do much for the pain. The thing is, I used to exercise a lot, like the story above says, and migraines were never the problem. It was about a month ago that I realized the difference was the fact that back then I was exercising about 3 hours before bed, and would be sound asleep by the time a migraine would trigger. I could avoid that trigger by simply being sound asleep. I tried this out and it actually works. For the past month I've been going to my local 24 hour gym, and doing an hour of cardio, 4-5 nights a week, and I'm perfectly fine afterwards. I've also almost completely stopped getting migraines at all, just 1 since then, where as I'd usually have had about 10.

 

So I suppose 2 things to take away from this are:

 

1) If you're suffering from migraines, and you're as sedentary as I was, maybe try going to the gym

2) If physical activity triggers your migraines, try doing that activity before bed, so you can avoid any potential triggering situations afterwards.

 

I hope this helps at least one person out there, and thanks for reading my wall of text. 

[Tesla 167]

Wow I never thought of this ... and you can loose weight in the process , bonus!

Do you find there are any particular exercise that is most benificial or makes it worse ? I also have had a bad back for a few years now wich inhibits my tolerance to exercise. .. do you know of any exercises that can accommodate for that (I can't afford a personal trainer so I do it all from home )

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

Wow I never thought of this ... and you can loose weight in the process , bonus!

Do you find there are any particular exercise that is most benificial or makes it worse ? I also have had a bad back for a few years now wich inhibits my tolerance to exercise. .. do you know of any exercises that can accommodate for that (I can't afford a personal trainer so I do it all from home )

 

I haven't gone outside of my elliptical at all, so that's the only machine I can vouch for. If you're having back pain, you might want to try the Recumbent Bikes. You can sit down and pedal with your legs. 

[Tesla 167]

Thanks muchly ill give it a go !

[Kivil 1,721]

My Migraines are hereditary it also gets me out of class so I just have to deal with them. Although they suck. Basically i have tried to stop them but nothing I have done has worked. (I have been doing mini workouts before bed 5 push ups and 20 situps)

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

My Migraines are hereditary it also gets me out of class so I just have to deal with them. Although they suck. Basically i have tried to stop them but nothing I have done has worked. (I have been doing mini workouts before bed 5 push ups and 20 situps)

It seems to me like my migraines were related to circulation. By improving my circulation I've been able to drastically reduce them. Maybe try this? Go easy, like 20-30 minutes at first, before bed.

[Lil Pip 775]

I wanted to put this out there in case there were others like me who were getting 8+ migraines a month.

 

story time first, though!

 

 

 

Back in 2009, I wasn't allowed to reenlist in the US Air Force because of my PT Test failures. Being stationed in Las Vegas for 6 years, playing World of Warcraft, working midnight shifts, and eating fast food every single day lead me to be ballooning from 190 to 260 pounds. After I got out I fought back against the decision and submitted a package that would change my reenlistment code, if the board sided with me.  While I waited on the decision, which I knew would take a year, I lost 85 pounds first by going to Planet Fitness at night for cardio on an elliptical for the first 20 pounds, and the rest I lost through a personal trainer. I eventually actually won my case and was assigned a reenlistment code that would allow me to get back in if I wanted, though I chose not to because I have a dream job (Mike Ditka just walked by).

 

Around that time I started watching MLP, in fact, it was October 13th 2011, so tomorrow is my 4 year mark in the fandom. I immediately became so obsessed with the show I stopped going to the gym, and since then my weight shot back up to 246. This brings us to the present, and the relevant part of this topic.....

 

 

 

I live and work a very sedentary lifestyle. A lot of times I'm staring at a computer screen, in a semi comfortable office chair that doesn't support my neck at all. Until a month or so ago I'd frequently get migraines because of my lifestyle. One thing I noticed was that if the pain was in the right side of my head, 2 Excedrine would kill it, but if it was in the left side and behind my eyes, forget it, I needed Sumatriptan (Imitrex). Nothing less than that could help me. In addition, any time I tried to exercise, I found that 6 hours afterwards I would get a crippling migraine. No matter how light the physical activity was, I was bed ridden with pain, and not even the powerful prescription migraine pills could do much for the pain. The thing is, I used to exercise a lot, like the story above says, and migraines were never the problem. It was about a month ago that I realized the difference was the fact that back then I was exercising about 3 hours before bed, and would be sound asleep by the time a migraine would trigger. I could avoid that trigger by simply being sound asleep. I tried this out and it actually works. For the past month I've been going to my local 24 hour gym, and doing an hour of cardio, 4-5 nights a week, and I'm perfectly fine afterwards. I've also almost completely stopped getting migraines at all, just 1 since then, where as I'd usually have had about 10.

 

So I suppose 2 things to take away from this are:

 

1) If you're suffering from migraines, and you're as sedentary as I was, maybe try going to the gym

2) If physical activity triggers your migraines, try doing that activity before bed, so you can avoid any potential triggering situations afterwards.

 

I hope this helps at least one person out there, and thanks for reading my wall of text. 

Yeah exercise is extremely important, sitting down is like the worst thing apart from chugging soda.

[Kivil 1,721]

It seems to me like my migraines were related to circulation. By improving my circulation I've been able to drastically reduce them. Maybe try this? Go easy, like 20-30 minutes at first, before bed.

I am too young to leave the house at night and I also don't have a gym near by enough to walk so I do my situps and push ups

[El Duderino 879]

Amazing what a little exercise can do. Awesome that you found something that works for you.