A party in my head

[RavingRavs]

There’s constant activity - thumping, pulse and a party like atmosphere in my head. I took a CT scan almost 5 years back and was diagnosed with tinitus. This feeling gets worst the day after intense exercise (zumba or weights) so much so that the right side of the head starts to ache, a dull ache, from behind the eyes to my jaws and also a slight sore throat. I went to A&E the first time it happened, they checked CRP levels - all clear. I do read a lot on my mini phone but my eye checks are all clear. I do drink water after exercises and sometimes salt and lime water. I’m 56 year old. Anyone else experience this?

Yes, I do. It's an early migraine symptom for me.

One of the things about a migraine headache which distinguishes it from a regular headache is that it's on one side of the head only.

Exercise is a migraine trigger for me.

Might be worth a thought?

Have you stopped exercising then? I’ve stopped lifting weights but too fond of zumba to stop 😢

No, because the overall effect of being fitter results in less migraines in the long term, but sometimes the immediate effect (within 24 hours is that it triggers a migraine). Also I love my bootcamp class, it brings greater benefit than the problems it causes me.

But I have drugs and plans to manage the migraines when they happen, so it's manageable. If they were uncontrolled I'd probably avoid it.

I was once told that finding out my threshold with how much I can do and gradually extending the threshold is the proper way to manage that. But I've never had the patience for that, so I just exercise and if it causes a migraine (doesn't always), I take a tablet for it and hide until it kicks in.

Also- only adding this as you've posted in the menopause forum.

Migraines have got dramatically better since starting HRT. Like gone from 15 a month to 2...

Check your neck - is it tighter one side than the other? (Try leaning your head to the right and left, and then turn it to the right and left. Don’t test your range of movement looking up, by the way, it’s not good for your neck, but you can check if you can put your chin on your chest.)
Are the muscles in your face and jaw relaxed?
I very rarely get a ‘real’ headache - most of mine are caused by muscle tension.

I hold a lot of tension in my neck due to my desk job of 30 years.