Migraine after long cycle run

[pedalpower2]

I have suffered migraines for years, several triggers have been eliminated. One that can't is flashing lights. Sometimes a sudden reflection of full sun from a puddle will trigger it, and going past trees or a tall hedge with the sun flickering through will do it.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I have suffered migraines for years, several triggers have been eliminated. One that can't is flashing lights. Sometimes a sudden reflection of full sun from a puddle will trigger it, and going past trees or a tall hedge with the sun flickering through will do it.

Didn't have migrains until my BP went to 175 / 125.

But constant exposure to a electric blue flash from an old style Zerox machine meant I was sensitised for life and the sun etc will bring on headaches.

[Andy3460]

What do you have in your water bottles on those rides? I get one or 2 migraines a year.
In 1987, I started getting 2 a week. Worried, went to the doctor. His first words after I'd told him that were, "You drink diet Pepsi don't you."
He said that they had just changed the sweetener to aspartame, (called NutraSweet in those days,) and that was, in his words A trigger for violent migraines. He said it also caused heart palpitations, vision problems head and stomach problems, and he was amazed that it had ever been passed as fit for consumption. He also said it would be in lots more stuff soon. He was right, it's in drinks, yogurts, vitamin pills.......
A few months ago I bought some Isostar drink tablets for cycling, started getting migrains again. Checked, aspartame was in that. I hadn't checked because, why would you need artificial sweeteners in an energy drink?
BTW. Because many people are avoiding aspartame, manufacturers are hiding it by calling it E951.
I know lots of people don't have problems with it, but whenever I start getting regular migraines, I check anything I have changed in my diet, it's always there.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
When the product appeared aspartame I remember that it said on the bottle that if may affect 25% of users, mine was stomach upset so I have avoided it like the plague.

Are you suffering migrains or bad headaches?
I had both and the headaches lingered on and I gave up cycling for several years I put the headaches as a 33% reason the others were performance and alienation at work.

BP meds can screw you right up, I am having a problem at the moment with BP...............its like watching the clouds before a storm

I stay off any additive / medication I can, even thought about ditching some of my meds that are purely preventative, my poor immune system probably needs to be guarded though so its a catch 22 for me.

[millimole]

I went through a phase of getting Migraine Aura (visual migraines) and it was bloody scary. At the time I thought it was a combination of heat and exercise possibly with a bit of dehydration thrown in for good measure - while these may have been triggers, in combination or singly, I now think with hindsight that the root cause was stress.
While people may cycle for relaxation, factors in the everyday world will have a profound effect on your health, both physical and mental.