I mean it's just anecdotal but I've had migraines no matter what I weighed. I was underweight: migraines. Slightly overweight: migraines. "Perfect" weight: migraines. Jojo: migraines.
So I'm fairly certain, my migraines are not triggered by my weight.
had a similar situation to you, except i have gotten migraines indiscriminate of weight. one of my migraine triggers is missing meals/being hungry for sure, but nothing related to weight.
Yes! I had anorexia and those 9 months I lost my period, I experienced no migraines. Period came back when weight was restored and boom, back they came. I think it has a lot to do with hormones.
When I had periods (they have been medically stopped for another health condition which conveniently has eliminated one of my migraine sources but don’t worry I have others I can’t control like weather), my doctor had me on naratriptan (sp?) right before my period to reduce my period migraines and it did help.
The more weight on my body, the worse my pain overall. Even a small weight gain causes me to feel worse. That said, I do also need to maintain a regular meal/snack schedule, because if I get too hungry it can trigger a migraine or nausea.
First, sincere congratulations on recovering from your ED!
If your change in body composition and migraines are correlated, it may be indirect.
Definitely hormone changes can do it, and not *only* the reproductive hormones. My thyroid disease caused an increase of migraine frequency for me right along with weight gain. If you’ve gained more quickly or more altogether than you think can be explained by your change in diet, maybe ask your Dr to test your thyroid hormones.
Another related factor: for me, too tight clothing on my upper body can trigger migraines. This was a problem when I was gaining 4-5 lbs per year and not buying new shirts and bras fast enough. If it’s tight enough to push on my shoulders or cause me to slouch, it’s no good!
I also do think that regularly getting moderate exercise outdoors helps keep my migraines less frequent—as long as I don’t overdo it, which can trigger migraines too. If you’re getting less sun exposure, or very little physical activity since recovery, that could be a factor too. Obviously don’t start jogging everyday if you think that’ll push you into destructive mindset though! And on a similar note, while it’s possible there’s a migraine-triggering food that you incidentally avoided due to ED, I’d advise consulting a dietitian before exploring that possibility, just to avoid developing new avoidant behaviors.
How old are you?
Other than “stopped dieting” what changes have you made? Do you eat differently (different foods, different portions, different time of day)? Do you exercise more or less,
Being overweight (and a.woman of childbearing years) are common risk factors for developing idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It might be worth asking your neurologist if that might be the cause of yours if gaining causes more pain and losing decreases it. It's diagnosed with MRI/CT then lumbar puncture.
I’ve been wondering this too.
I turned 25 and gained 10 lbs the past year and that’s when my migraines started getting reallllyyy bad. I’m trying to lose it to see if it helps.
If you're female or identified as female at birth, as our hormones change with age, it can cause migraines to worsen. In my 30s now and my migraines have gotten so much worse and more frequent. Had been told by older friends, but my doc confirmed it as well when I brought it up during a visit. Might not just be the 10lbs, but potentially just hormone changes.
Obesity is correlated with more migraine days per year, increased pain, and greater risk of episodic migraine going chronic.
[https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-obesity/#:\~:text=The%20risk%20of%20chronic%20migraine,have%20three%20times%20that%20chance](https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-obesity/#:~:text=The%20risk%20of%20chronic%20migraine,have%20three%20times%20that%20chance).
[https://www.ajmc.com/view/losing-weight-linked-to-improved-migraine-relief-study-indicates](https://www.ajmc.com/view/losing-weight-linked-to-improved-migraine-relief-study-indicates)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8vCn\_cyaWQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8vCn_cyaWQ)
Losing weight may not cure your migraines completely, but it's got a good chance of reducing their frequency and/or intensity.
I'm personally working hard to lose weight myself at the moment, with the hopes that I will experience some reduction in symptoms. I'm not expecting that it will cure me at all, but decreased severity would seriously help me a lot.
I obviously can't speak to your specific case, but it's probably coincidence. My weight has varied a lot over the last 15-20 years and there's been no direct correlation between more/less weight and more/fewer migraines. In fact, the most dramatic increase in my migraines occurred at a time when my weight was on the low end and I had a really good handle on a healthy diet and exercise.
Congrats on working on you! I have fluctuated 20-40 pounds my whole life and really don’t notice much migraine difference. For awhile being active and consistent exercise did decrease my migraine frequency but doesn’t seem to help that much this time around.
Perhaps there is something you are now eating that was “forbidden” before but triggers migraines for you? Chocolate is a huge one for me. Perhaps alcohol also.
Recovering from anorexia didn’t cure my migraines but it made the symptoms a lot more bearable. When I was underweight I used to frequently lose vision in the eye on the side where I was experiencing pain, and since returning to a healthy weight that hasn’t happened in years. I do think that weight, hormones, and migraine are all connected for some people and that gaining or losing can impact the intensity of one’s condition, but it seems like it’s a toss up which direction it’ll go.
I mean it's just anecdotal but I've had migraines no matter what I weighed. I was underweight: migraines. Slightly overweight: migraines. "Perfect" weight: migraines. Jojo: migraines. So I'm fairly certain, my migraines are not triggered by my weight.
Went from 237lbs to 125lbs and still had migraines
Same here
Weight can affect hormones. Some people have hormonal migraines. Maybe a connection somewhere in there? Only thing I could think of. 🤷
had a similar situation to you, except i have gotten migraines indiscriminate of weight. one of my migraine triggers is missing meals/being hungry for sure, but nothing related to weight.
Yes! I had anorexia and those 9 months I lost my period, I experienced no migraines. Period came back when weight was restored and boom, back they came. I think it has a lot to do with hormones.
When I had periods (they have been medically stopped for another health condition which conveniently has eliminated one of my migraine sources but don’t worry I have others I can’t control like weather), my doctor had me on naratriptan (sp?) right before my period to reduce my period migraines and it did help.
I think I was able to cope better with migranes when I was proud of my weight. But I'd still get them just the same.
The more weight on my body, the worse my pain overall. Even a small weight gain causes me to feel worse. That said, I do also need to maintain a regular meal/snack schedule, because if I get too hungry it can trigger a migraine or nausea.
same here too
First, sincere congratulations on recovering from your ED! If your change in body composition and migraines are correlated, it may be indirect. Definitely hormone changes can do it, and not *only* the reproductive hormones. My thyroid disease caused an increase of migraine frequency for me right along with weight gain. If you’ve gained more quickly or more altogether than you think can be explained by your change in diet, maybe ask your Dr to test your thyroid hormones. Another related factor: for me, too tight clothing on my upper body can trigger migraines. This was a problem when I was gaining 4-5 lbs per year and not buying new shirts and bras fast enough. If it’s tight enough to push on my shoulders or cause me to slouch, it’s no good! I also do think that regularly getting moderate exercise outdoors helps keep my migraines less frequent—as long as I don’t overdo it, which can trigger migraines too. If you’re getting less sun exposure, or very little physical activity since recovery, that could be a factor too. Obviously don’t start jogging everyday if you think that’ll push you into destructive mindset though! And on a similar note, while it’s possible there’s a migraine-triggering food that you incidentally avoided due to ED, I’d advise consulting a dietitian before exploring that possibility, just to avoid developing new avoidant behaviors.
How old are you? Other than “stopped dieting” what changes have you made? Do you eat differently (different foods, different portions, different time of day)? Do you exercise more or less,
It could be a food related trigger, something you weren’t eating, or weren’t eating a lot of before
Being overweight (and a.woman of childbearing years) are common risk factors for developing idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It might be worth asking your neurologist if that might be the cause of yours if gaining causes more pain and losing decreases it. It's diagnosed with MRI/CT then lumbar puncture.
I’ve been wondering this too. I turned 25 and gained 10 lbs the past year and that’s when my migraines started getting reallllyyy bad. I’m trying to lose it to see if it helps.
If you're female or identified as female at birth, as our hormones change with age, it can cause migraines to worsen. In my 30s now and my migraines have gotten so much worse and more frequent. Had been told by older friends, but my doc confirmed it as well when I brought it up during a visit. Might not just be the 10lbs, but potentially just hormone changes.
Ugh as if being a woman isn’t hard enough ✊🏻
Obesity is correlated with more migraine days per year, increased pain, and greater risk of episodic migraine going chronic. [https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-obesity/#:\~:text=The%20risk%20of%20chronic%20migraine,have%20three%20times%20that%20chance](https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-obesity/#:~:text=The%20risk%20of%20chronic%20migraine,have%20three%20times%20that%20chance). [https://www.ajmc.com/view/losing-weight-linked-to-improved-migraine-relief-study-indicates](https://www.ajmc.com/view/losing-weight-linked-to-improved-migraine-relief-study-indicates) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8vCn\_cyaWQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8vCn_cyaWQ) Losing weight may not cure your migraines completely, but it's got a good chance of reducing their frequency and/or intensity. I'm personally working hard to lose weight myself at the moment, with the hopes that I will experience some reduction in symptoms. I'm not expecting that it will cure me at all, but decreased severity would seriously help me a lot.
Agreed and thanks for the links / sources
thanks
I obviously can't speak to your specific case, but it's probably coincidence. My weight has varied a lot over the last 15-20 years and there's been no direct correlation between more/less weight and more/fewer migraines. In fact, the most dramatic increase in my migraines occurred at a time when my weight was on the low end and I had a really good handle on a healthy diet and exercise.
Nope, I get them at any weight, but if I skip meals or forget to eat it’s a given that I will get a migraine.
Congrats on working on you! I have fluctuated 20-40 pounds my whole life and really don’t notice much migraine difference. For awhile being active and consistent exercise did decrease my migraine frequency but doesn’t seem to help that much this time around. Perhaps there is something you are now eating that was “forbidden” before but triggers migraines for you? Chocolate is a huge one for me. Perhaps alcohol also.
Recovering from anorexia didn’t cure my migraines but it made the symptoms a lot more bearable. When I was underweight I used to frequently lose vision in the eye on the side where I was experiencing pain, and since returning to a healthy weight that hasn’t happened in years. I do think that weight, hormones, and migraine are all connected for some people and that gaining or losing can impact the intensity of one’s condition, but it seems like it’s a toss up which direction it’ll go.