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Overheated woman holding onto a thermometer that's maxing out at the top temperature

Migraine and Body Temperature Regulation

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.

What did the research tell me?

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! I was glad to see I was not imagining the hot and cold sensations I was perceiving.

What is my normal body temperature?

My body always seems to run hot. I’m one of those people who prefers the cold to hot weather. 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.

What temperature does my migraine start?

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.

Is the heat of an attack related to pain?

Now I’ve not actually taken time to record my temperature, 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 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.

When do I feel cold during a migraine attack?

I never thought of hypothermia as a migraine symptom, but I knew several of my attacks came with a 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.

Is it all in my head?

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 hypothermia! I immediately felt validated after reading over the cases. I found that my body temperature issues were not just in my head.

Are we ever alone in our symptoms?

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.

So migraine can affect body temperature?

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 Googling migraine and temperature regulation.

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This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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