Headaches after skiing

[Sibhusky]

I've been taking magnesium for 20 years now. Not an ounce af improvement. What I've found with Riboflavin, magnesium, Feverfew, yada yada, you might see "improvement" for 6 weeks - 3 months, but once you look over the course of a full year, it was just a fluke. The best thing I've tried is Petadolex (butterbur). I haven't tried Aimovig because the cost is so high. If I were working, it might be worth it, but I'm retired.

The one thing I would stay away from as a preventative is Topamax. It makes you nuts. After 14 months, my family was thrilled I stopped. It did slightly reduce the frequency, but the side effects were not worth it. I have heard the same story from many others.

 

[Blue Streak]

I’ve noticed this season I’ve been getting headaches the day after skiing often. I don’t think it’s dehydration, as I drink plenty of water and electrolytes afterwards. Is it likely a result of the calorie deficit from a full day of skiing in the cold? Maybe I’m not eating enough the day after? Thoughts on how to handle this?

Avoid I-70.

 

[Heeler]

The good thing about magnesium is that it also helps a lot of the bodies other natural processes, i.e. melatonin production, insulin secretion & sensitivity among many others. It may help by itself, in concert with other methods or not at all but it is an easy, safe option to try. I recommend a Mg citrate powder supplement as it's absorbed more easily by your body. If nothing else it will help keep you regular

 

[crgildart]

Magnesium is also given to people at risk for seizures. a lot of the migraine prevention regiments are antiseizure products.

 

[LiquidFeet]

My son in law got such massive headaches when snowboarding as a beginner that he collapsed on the ground and could not get up. This happened several days in a row when he and my daughter were skiing with me on vacation. I gave him magnesium and it didn't happen again.

Magnesium does work in some cases.

 

[BC.]

The good thing about magnesium is that it also helps a lot of the bodies other natural processes, i.e. melatonin production, insulin secretion & sensitivity among many others. It may help by itself, in concert with other methods or not at all but it is an easy, safe option to try. I recommend a Mg citrate powder supplement as it's absorbed more easily by your body. If nothing else it will help keep you regular

Yes...if u take Magnesium....go for the Magnesium Citrate....your body supposedly absorbs it better.

 

[Prosper]

Everyone’s headaches are different. What works for one might not work for another and what doesn’t work for one might work for another. Same goes with side effects of medication. Work with your doctor or neurologist to find what works best for you and realize that it may change over time. The brain is a the most complicated supercomputer ever created, is very difficult to study and each one is unique. While it may take some time to find what works best, many can find relief both with acute and preventative treatment.

 

[palikona]

i will discuss with my neurologist, but it seems to me that if I generally (not every time) get a migraine or exertion headache the night or day after skiing, the use of triptans would make more sense than a daily prescription, because I’m skiing 1 or occassionally 2 times a week. Thoughts?

 

[Sibhusky]

I'm with you, I'd rather not take something constantly if it can be treated as needed. You might also experiment with knocking off an hour sooner and see if that helps.

 

[Prosper]

i will discuss with my neurologist, but it seems to me that if I generally (not every time) get a migraine or exertion headache the night or day after skiing, the use of triptans would make more sense than a daily prescription, because I’m skiing 1 or occassionally 2 times a week. Thoughts?

There’s no right answer to determine when some should take a medication to prevent migraines. It’s an individualized decision. I would generally encourage someone to consider a preventative medication for severe migraines especially if not easily controlled and/or frequent migraines. However, how frequent is subjective. Most would agree that a few times a year is probably not frequent and once a month or more is a more reasonable definition of frequent. I would consider once or twice a week definitely frequent enough to discuss preventative medication. Other considerations are whether someone has other medical conditions. Sometimes migraine medication can treat two conditions at once. Your PCP or neurologist should be able to determine if that’s the case for you.

 

[palikona]

Went to a neurologist after getting an MRI and I’m all clear. MRI was normal. No migraine indications it turns out. So it seems I just get exertion headaches after skiing (and hiking or biking hard). He gave me a medicine called Cambia, an anti inflammatory drug, to take before skiing. We’ll see if it works and if it doesn’t, he said we have many therapeutic options that don’t include migraine medicine to treat this, including a benign daily med that may help if I’m getting these too often.

 

[Pequenita]

@palikona are you male or female?

 

[palikona]

@palikona are you male or female?

Male. Why?

 

[Pequenita]

Male. Why?

Women can start getting hormonal changes around your (our) age that can lead to more headaches, etc., and we don’t often connect it to a hormonal shift. I (female) have been getting more headaches than when younger, and it sucks. I don’t think I can directly tie them to an activity like skiing, but I definitely felt like crap yesterday after skiing.

Anyway, I didn’t want to assume whether you were m or f.

 

[palikona]

Women can start getting hormonal changes around your (our) age that can lead to more headaches, etc., and we don’t often connect it to a hormonal shift. I (female) have been getting more headaches than when younger, and it sucks. I don’t think I can directly tie them to an activity like skiing, but I definitely felt like crap yesterday after skiing.

Anyway, I didn’t want to assume whether you were m or f.

Ah I see. Damn headaches are so complicated.

 

[palikona]

I went skiing for the first time this season, kept it to 3.5 hours and took Cambia right before, per the neurologist’s advice. And sure enough, I felt great at altitude after not being up from Denver in 2.5 months and I didn’t get an exertion headache later that day or the next day!!!

 

[Sibhusky]

So you only take it the night before, as a preventative, and not as a cure?

 

[no edge]

Yes...if u take Magnesium....go for the Magnesium Citrate....your body supposedly absorbs it better.

Natural Calm is a good choice.

 

[palikona]

So I’ve tried magnesium and it hasn’t helped me. My neurologist put me on 20mg (to start) of propranolol and I was getting all spacey/dizzy about 8 days in. I tried to deal with it for a few more days but it was awful. Think it may have lowered my HR a bit.
Any suggestions of preventative migraines meds to ask my doc about?
Thanks.

 

[Sibhusky]

Try Petadolex. It's butterbur. It worked great for me for a year, then seemed to stop. I still take it, just like I still take magnesium and propranolol, because I'm afraid to stop taking them. I occasionally go to three Petadolex a day to try and break a pattern but truth be told since migraines are seemingly caused by multiple triggers (like weather plus sleep plus chocolate or whatever) it's very hard to figure out how to change your life. I've been tracking them along with correlations to probably 30 things for three years, and just tracking them in general for far longer. Most likely combo is lack of sleep plus high humidity plus a barometric change, but exertion can also do it.

There's an MRI test to identify whether you get migraines? Have never heard of that. I've been having migraines for 45 years and no one has ever suggested I get an MRI.

Is the Cambria no longer helping? Or have they changed their minds and now it is a migraine? @crgildart has had luck with Aimovig, but that's clearly for migraines, not whatever you are diagnosed with (?)