Headaches When I Exercise page

[onalark]

This has been happening since before primal. Had sort of hoped it would resolve with the diet change, but nope.

Basically, when I exercise HARD (like this morning) I tend to get headaches. Pounding headaches. They go away after about two hours, but they don't exactly make me want to exercise.

This morning's exercise was an intro to CrossFit. It included: pull-ups, situps, push-ups, rowing machine, and squats. This REALLY seems to happen anytime I wind up in a position that puts my head below my heart. Burpees always cause this condition.

I don't have high blood pressure, and I don't tend to eat before exercising. I am hypothyroid with reactive hypoglycemia, though the latter has largely vanished since ditching grains. I keep hydrated when I work out.

Any advice, O Wisdom of the Forums?

[GaretJax]

Wish I had an answer for you. I too used to have this problem of getting headaches when I did HIT exercise. I am a fairly heavy coffee drinker and found that if I reduced the amount of coffee I was drinking, and didn't have any coffee for about 2 hours before a workout that I wouldn't suffer from headaches. The caffeine was my headache menace. If you aren't consuming caffeine then I don't know what it could be.

[Dragonfly]

Magnesium supplementation has completely eliminated my exercise-induced headaches. 400-600 mg Mag Citrate before bed. Helps with sleep, too.

[js290]

Any advice, O Wisdom of the Forums?

Exercise induced headaches...

[adamsaysyo]

i get them also. Anything seems to give them to me, actually. But a hard crossfit WOD, definitely - but then a few hours later i am good to go, maybe even an hour later i am okay. Rarely i'll have to take a triptan to make it go away.

[davem]

I am a fairly heavy coffee drinker and found that if I reduced the amount of coffee I was drinking, and didn't have any coffee for about 2 hours before a workout that I wouldn't suffer from headaches. The caffeine was my headache menace.

I get the headaches sometimes as well, generally when I've neglected to drink a little coffee or espresso prior to a lifting workout. They have largely gone away since I started supplementing Magnesium as Dragonfly stated.

[onalark]

Caffeine, eh? That's possible, and I do have a 12 oz cup every morning (though never with workouts).

Already taking magnesium, but thanks for the suggestion!

Oh well, at the very least glad to hear I'm not alone!

[onalark]

Exercise induced headaches...

Very interesting. Thank you!