Migraines and headaches - triggered by late meals/skipped meals and periods. Please help!

[Mumsknot]

I am starting to get desperate. I’m nearly 53 and still have regular periods. I’ve started getting migraines in the days before my periods (I used to get this decades ago) but in addition to that, I have started to get them when I am late eating or skip meals.

last night I worked late (8pm) and when I finished, I didn’t feel like eating. I had had breakfast and lunch but just genuinely could not force myself to eat. I know I should have tried but I was tired and went to bed and of course woke up at 2am with my head feeling like it was going to split open, so nauseous I knew if I moved I would vomit.

I’m so fed up of it. I honestly want to cry. I just want to feel normal again. I got up at 4am and had a boiled egg and I’m just starting to feel normal again but I can’t go on like this. My period has started today too argh!

Does anyone have any tips? Any snacks I can eat to avoid this? I’ve cut out all sugar as I know it makes it worse.

Being hungry is a very common migraine trigger. I ate my way into obesity trying to avoid migraines from this.

It isn't really sugar that triggers the migraine but that you digest that more quickly so you get hungry again and then that triggers it.

Best way is to plan regular meals and snacks that have protein and complex carbs to keep you fuller for longer. And never ever skip a meal! At least have a snack on hand.

In terms of periods - would you consider the progesterone only pill? No periods, no menstrual migraine.

Unfortunately I have some sort of allergic reaction to synthetic progesterone - my skin comes up in boils!

what snacks do you suggest? I looked at cereal bars but they are so sugary

Thanks for replying!

I’ve done the same as a previous poster , put on 2 stone over the last few years as I tried to eat enough to stave off the migraines. Mine have reduced in number but increased in severity with hrt. So I get one really bad one but I’m ok the rest of each month. Trying to shift the weight while on hrt feels almost impossible but I am having less migraines.

Off the top of my head - Dr Karg crackers with some cheese. Boiled egg. Chicken. Porridge. Nuts. Chia pudding.

Basically anything fat/protein/whole grain.

Accidental finding - Mounjaro helped my migraine by wiping out the hunger. Otherwise I was basically stuck on weight loss as a migraine arrived every time.

Yes that’s exactly what happened to me - I lost weight and the migraines are back. It seems I can either choose to be overweight and have no migraines or a good weight with migraines. It’s so frustrating. I tried HRT for a year but sadly it didn’t help so I’m off it now.

Thanks for those tips - I will look up those crackers as I want something to carry with me.

Fellow sufferer here 😩

I never skip a meal, even if I'm not hungry as I know it is a definite trigger for my migraines.

Also, I tryto eat at the same time everyday as my head likes routine. It's tricky though if you are working late or have irregular finish times at work. I have 2 nights a week where I finish late but I still make sure I eat something at about the usual time/slightly earlier if it coincides with a break and then a smaller snack mid evening. It works out better for me to have something like a sandwich and some fruit rather than a bigger meal later when I get home.

Great snacks for me are things like bananas, nuts, biscuits, bread/cake, flapjacks etc.

Also make sure you are hydrated as dehydration is another key trigger ... so a steady intake of water throughout the day.

Good Luck OP, it is awful to suffer migraines.