If you feel a queasy, uneasy sensation in your stomach during a migraine attack, it’s probably not from the late-night takeout you ate. According to a 2017 study in the Journal of Pain Research, nausea occurs in about 58% of people during a migraine episode—and that’s a conservative assessment1. Data from an older, self-reported survey published in the journal Headache found most people experience vomiting and nausea during an episode, with estimates closer to 70 to 90%, respectively2.
For non-migraine folks, those numbers may seem surprising. After all, throbbing head pain and visual disturbances are typically viewed as the telltale signs that a migraine is on the horizon. So, how can symptoms that happen way down in the stomach have anything to do with the above-the-neck signs that most people associate with a migraine? For people living with migraine, nausea is just another piece of this complex puzzle.
Fortunately, we have some answers about why you feel nauseous with a migraine, and more importantly, tips on how you can stop the pain and discomfort before it goes too far.
What causes migraine with nausea and vomiting?
The who and why of migraine attacks are already a bit of a mystery, but symptoms can be Clue level head-scratchers. Even though nausea tops the list of migraine symptoms for many people, why this happens is not clear-cut. The good news is experts have a few theories that shed light on the link between migraine and nausea.
Migraine involves certain areas of the brainstem.
A migraine commonly includes things like nausea, but sometimes vomiting and diarrhea, too. Jack Schim, M.D., F.A.H.S., F.A.A.N., co-director of the Neurology Center of Southern California, tells SELF that experts think at least part of this is due to migraine affecting different brainstem areas involved in autonomic functions—the things your body just does automatically—such as digestion. The idea is that migraine attacks irritate the nerves that activate this system, triggering those not-so-fun symptoms.
Migraine decreases serotonin levels.
Another theory, Medhat Mikhael, M.D., pain management specialist and medical director of the non-operative program at the Orange Coast Medical Center’s Spine Health Center, tells SELF, is that migraine decreases serotonin levels in the brain, which is believed to contribute to nausea. Serotonin is generally known as the happy chemical keeping our mood on an even keel (among many other important functions in the body). So, it’s no surprise that a decrease in our feel-good chemicals could have noticeable side effects. Dr. Mikhael also says that a decrease in serotonin can trigger motion sickness, another uneasy feeling.
Migraine triggers changes in blood vessels in the brain.
It’s thought that migraine attacks change blood vessel diameter in the brain. Typically, the diameter increases in size and tugs on the meninges (shock absorber between your skull and brain), which causes throbbing or pulsating pains. “When these changes affect parts of the brain that regulate nausea and vomiting, you may experience stomach problems,” Clifford Segil, D.O., a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California tells SELF.
He says one area of the brain, in particular, is on the shortlist of suspects that may trigger nausea and vomiting in people with migraine. That area is called the rostral dorsal medulla and essentially relays sensory information from the spinal cord to the brain. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, nausea in the prodrome phase of a migraine—basically the opening act—is linked to activity in this part of the brain.3
Migraine causes a certain neurotransmitter to be released.
Migraine pain is linked to the release of a neurotransmitter—one of your body’s messengers—called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).4 In fact, certain migraine medications act on this very thing to try to stop a migraine attack from occurring in the first place. Dr. Schim says this neurotransmitter is also prevalent in the gut, which could have something to do with that I’m-going-to-hurl feeling when you have a migraine.
Types of migraine and headaches that can cause nausea
By now you’ve probably figured out that migraine attacks are complicated—we don’t yet know exactly what triggers all the symptoms. What we do know is that certain types of migraine are more likely to cause nausea and vomiting. Oh, and to make matters even more confusing, some headaches—that are not migraines—may also make you toss your cookies.
This means, you take one article, and you use the article distribution system. It will generate thousands of unique versions of your article, and publish those unique articles to hundreds of websites that are related to your niche.
Take a look at our comprehensive guide to the best and most popular information ebooks and products available today on Detoxing, Colon Cleansing, Weight Loss and Dating and Romance. They are all in one spot, easy to find and compere to make a quick selection for the product that best fits your needs or wants.
So browse through a category and make your preferred selection and come back here to read more choice articles and get a few more helpful tips on ways to help your enhancement.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. “saubiosaubiosuccess.com is a participant in third party affiliate and advertising programs; The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Awin network, and other affiliate advertising programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees and commissions by advertising and linking to products on other sites and on Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.”
We use anonymous cookies and various 3rd-party services to optimise and to offer you a better, more personalised, browsing experience with advanced accessibility enhancements.
Dismiss
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
.jpg "Here’s Why We Don’t Say Someone ‘Has a Migraine’")
.jpg "5 Things That Might Be Triggering Your Migraine Attacks at Work")
