Feverish or Freezing: How a Migraine Affects Your Body Temperature

I’ve always had an odd symptom occurring with my migraine attacks relating to my body temperature. There are times when I would feel hot. This wasn’t like a fever but more like an extended hot flash. Other times I would feel cold and seemed to have a hard time getting my body to feel warm enough. It started me wondering if, in fact, this was just another one of those weird migraine symptoms. My curiosity soon led me to the internet, of course.

Research confirms migraine can cause temperature shifts

After reading through a few medical research papers and clinical papers, my suspicions were confirmed. There were indeed cases of documented temperature variations related to migraine disease! I was glad to see I was not imagining the hot and cold sensations I was perceiving.

My normal baseline temperature runs hot

My body always seems to run hot. I’m one of those people who prefers cold weather to hot. This is kind of ironic since I live in Florida, where the average temperature for me seems to be set on broil, especially in the summer months! That aside, I do spend most of my time indoors due to migraine.

The heat of an attack mimics severe hot flashes

During an attack, I frequently reach for my trusty ice packs and head for the darkness of my bedroom. My head feels hot, and I can suck the cold out of the ice packs pretty quickly.

Now I’ve not actually taken time to record my exact thermometer readings, but the sensation I feel is definitely one of heat. It’s hard to wrap my head around sometimes, but even though my skin is like ice, I’m like a furnace on the inside. In the articles I reviewed, I read that body temperatures increased with the pain intensity of a migraine attack. The increases noted were about at the level of a low-grade fever. I found this quite interesting.

The freezing phase brings severe chills and shivering

I never thought of hypothermia as a migraine symptom, but I knew several of my attacks came with a deep sensation of cold. I just could not warm up sometimes. I’d be sitting there, actually shivering. I didn’t have a fever; I was just experiencing a cold sensation right to my core.

During these attacks, I would switch from ice packs to heat. I would be bundled up with blankets and retreat to my room. This symptom always freaked me out because it was so far from my norm.

Needless to say, I was once again relieved to find cases of people suffering from migraine who also were experiencing mild hypothermia! I immediately felt validated after reading over the cases. I found that my fluctuating migraine body temperature issues were not just in my head.

Why validating unique symptoms matters

It’s far too often, I think, as migraineurs that we experience symptoms we feel are just our own. We feel they are just in our heads, but with the quirkiness of migraine, I have found that anything is possible. When I take the time to research migraine and its symptoms, I always seem to find something I didn’t suspect.

How the brain's thermostat misfires during an attack

I knew that my body’s thermostat was getting messed with during an attack, and I found evidence that supported just that. I may be crazy regarding other things in my life, but this time I know I was secure in my sanity, if only for a moment! For those who are interested, the cases I read were found by searching for migraine body temperature changes and temperature regulation.