Is it normal to feel hungry when you have a migraine?

Answer 1

Migraine is a genetic neurological disease in which pain is only one potential symptom - there are Migraine attacks not associated with any pain. Migraine as such is then caused by your genetic makeup, not hunger. Migraine attacks are often triggered by something that has disrupted the physiologic makeup of the body. Inconsistent eating habits are some of the most frequently reported Migraine triggers. This trigger can be a part of any type of Migraine.

For appropriate diagnosis, treatment and prevention of headache disorders, seek the help of a board certified headache specialist.

Answer 2

Not everyone who has a migraine experiences nausea and vomiting. And everyone reacts to pain differently. If you are not a person who reacts to head pain by losing your appetite, then having an appetite during a migraine is a normal response.

One could suppose, that because your body is searching for serotonin during a migraine attack - both to get rid of pain by increasing endorphins and to constrict blood vessels thereby relieving the migraine - that hunger may be a natural response to trying to resolve a migraine.

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Having strange food cravings as a direct cause of a migraine can happen, but only in the prodrome phase - which is before the aura and before the actual head pain.

Answer 3

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Binge eating can be associated with migraines in the sense that when people are in the middle of a binge, with that ferocious need to fill themselves, they aren't paying attention to the amazing amount of food triggers they might be ingesting.

Also, people who binge eat often are not drinking enough fluid. Especially in those who are bulimic, there is a large electrolyte imbalance from purging. Dehydration is a migraine trigger.

ALSO - people who binge eat are not necessarily nourished. They go for easy foods - usually high in carbohydrates and fat. A binge is not usually made up of a balanced diet. So, binge eaters are often deficient in essential nutrients. There are nutrients - such as magnesium and B-complex, which can prevent migraines. A person who is deficient in these minerals is setting themselves up for pain.

Answer 4

As a migraine sufferer of 24 years I can safely say the only thing that I have found that nearly always causes my migraines is hunger.

In fact, many studies have shown that eating small regular meals to keep your blood sugar steady can have a major effect in reducing the number of migraines in many sufferers. I've found if I let myself feel hungry for too long or binge on sugary foods- the high or the low in blood sugar will often lead to migraines.

So although it seems the hunger pangs themselves may not be the cause of migraine, the drops in blood sugar associated with hunger may.