Caffeine and Migraines

– Does Caffeine Trigger or Treat Migraines? –

We all love coffee.

At least the great majority of people does.  In fact, the empowering dark liquid is one of the most popular beverages in the world.

And, the coffee’s popularity and diversity of our entire coffee universe is still continuing to grow.

Throughout our history of coffee, many great coffee drinks and techniques have been invented. There are various deliciously tasting coffee creations for us to choose from.

On top, coffee also comes with a lot of great health benefits. Some people even say that it makes them happier and live longer.

One of the most important and well-known ingredients of coffee is caffeine.

For many people, coffee and essentially its ingredient, caffeine in particular, has become a central role in their daily lives. The energizing stimulant helps us getting through our days more efficiently.

But, there are also quite a lot concerns about caffeine. Especially, regarding overdose use, addictive and withdrawal symptoms.

While caffeine is usually fine for the vast majority of people. Some people can experience milder but also stronger symptoms, such as migraines.

In general, caffeine can be both a treatment and a trigger for migraines.

It may be helpful in treating the condition of having migraines. If you know you are benefitting from using caffeine or not.

However, for some people should maybe better limit their caffeine consumption or even avoid it at all.

Here is everything you need to know about the connection of caffeine and migraines.

What is a migraine?

In general, a migraine is a neurological condition.

It can cause multiple symptoms. Frequently, these symptoms are characterized by intense, debilitating headaches.

These symptoms may include the following.

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Difficulty speaking
• Numbness or tingling
• Sensitivity to light and sound

Typically, migraines often run in families. And, they can affect all kinds of ages.

Furthermore, the diagnosis of migraine headaches is determined based on clinical history, reported symptoms and by ruling out other causes.

Overall, there are two common categories of migraine headaches.

The first ones are those without aura, previously known as common migraines. Secondly, there are those with aura, previously known as classic migraines.

Moreover, migraines can already begin in our childhood. Or, they show up much later and may not occur until early adulthood.

Statistically, women are more likely than men to have migraines. One of the most common risk factors for having migraines is each person’s individual family history.

Lastly migraines are different from other headaches.

What Can Cause Migraines?

Generally speaking, a variety of certain triggers can cause migraines.

These may include the following.

• Stress
• Strong smells
• Fasting or skipping a meal
• Frequent dehydration
• Humidity
• Bright lights
• Hormone level changes

This may surprise you.

But, did you know that a great variety of medicines presumably treating migraines actually contain caffeine as ingredient?

So, you are maybe consuming caffeine this way already. Even though, you might not be a regular coffee or tea drinker.

Overall, caffeine and migraines and its connection can go two ways. Theoretically, caffeine can either ease or worsen migraines.

At the end of the day, it all depends on us.

How Caffeine Eases Migraines

Before a migraine is happening, our blood vessels typically enlarge in our brain.

Naturally, caffeine contains vasoconstrictive properties as well. And, these properties can restrict our blood flow.

As a result, this means that consuming caffeine can decrease the pain, which is commonly caused by a migraine.

So, typically and besides the usual benefits of caffeine. There are also very specific and positive effects between the connection of caffeine and migraines.

Nonetheless, health experts usually do not recommend heavily relying on caffeine to treat migraines.

This is for a variety of reasons. And, one reason is that it can make migraines worse.

How Caffeine Worsens Migraines

Besides caffeine potentially making migraines worse, some people can even become dependent on it.

In case you are becoming too dependent on caffeine and you are consuming larger amounts on a very regular basis. Your body will get used to caffeine and its boosting effects.

Consequently, you will need more caffeine to still get the same results.

Some people are excessively consuming and drastically increasing the caffeine levels quite regularly. This can also harm your body in some other ways. These may include tremors, nervousness and sleep interruptions.

Just recently, studies identified caffeine overconsumption and caffeine use disorder as a significant problem for some people.

For example, one study on more than 100 people found out that people experiencing migraines were able to reduce the intensity of their headaches quite significantly.

Because, they either consumed much less caffeine or even stopped at all.

As you can see, there is quite a strong link between caffeine and migraines for some very effected people.

Can I Still Drink Coffee?

Of course, you can.

People frequently suffering from migraines should maybe just better be informed.

For instance, you can have a look at this article and see how much caffeine is maybe too much for you. Plus, here you can see how much caffeine is usually in a cup of coffee.

Furthermore, this article answers the question, if caffeine is actually addictive or not. For the very vast majority of people, it is harmless. Even in larger amounts.

And, then there is also decaf coffee for some people out there.

So, any concern doesn’t automatically mean that you shouldn’t have a cup of coffee or tea at all, when you are feeling a migraine.

Caffeine does not cause any headaches.

It is as simple as that. But, caffeine can certainly trigger what is commonly known as ‘caffeine rebound’.

A caffeine rebound occurs when you are simply consuming too much caffeine. And in consequence, you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms from it.

In some cases, these side effects can become quite severe. Sometimes, they are even worse than a typical headache or migraine itself.

Health experts say that an average of 2 percent of people experiences this.

Furthermore, there is not really a set or very specific amount of caffeine that can cause rebound headaches.

At the end of the day, every individual person will react differently to caffeine.

So, you may be fine with 2, 3 or even 5 to 6 cups of coffee per day. And, someone else may already experience rebound headaches after just one cup in a whole week.

What About Caffeine and Migraines’ Medications?

The combination of caffeine and migraines does not only cause rebound headaches. At least, some people may get headaches or migraines.

But, in general, caffeine is not the trigger alone.

Indeed, some medications can trigger rebound headaches as well. This is if you are regularly using them. For example, Triptan drugs, such as Sumatriptan (Imitrex), can eventually trigger migraines in some cases.

So, should you combine caffeine and migraines’ medications?

In case you are choosing caffeine to treat potential migraines, is it better to combine it with other medications? Or, should you only use caffeine?

Here are a few examples of combing caffeine with medications.

For instance, if you are adding caffeine to Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Aspirin (Bufferin), it can theoretically boost relief of migraine pain by about 40 percent.

Some studies show that with the combination of acetaminophen and aspirin, caffeine seems to be more effective overall. And, the participants of the study became faster-acting than taking Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) alone.

Another study highlighted similar results. It showed that caffeine seemingly works better in conjunction with medication for migraine relief.

However, it should be about 100 milligrams or greater.

This would deliver and provide concerned people with a small but effective increase to ease migraines.

Migraines – Should You Treat it With Caffeine?

First of all and before making any long-term health decisions, I would like to recommend you to go and seek professional advice from health experts.

Talk to your doctor of trust about your caffeine intake.

Especially, if you are regularly experiencing caffeine side effects or withdrawal symptoms, which can lead to migraines.

As I mentioned earlier, the very great majority of people is absolutely fine with caffeine. But some consumers should maybe limit it. Or even entirely avoid it.

Please also keep in mind that you cannot only find caffeine in coffee or tea.

There are many other popular sources like the ones below.

• Chocolate
• Soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Some medications

In general and as part of a study, Vincent Martin, who was the co-director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute, gave a very good advice.

People who are frequently dealing with migraines should ideally limit their daily caffeine intake to no more than 400 mg.

This is more or less the general opinion shared by many health experts.

However, some people should consume considerably less or even nothing at all. Therefore, caffeine cannot always be part of every person’s treatment plan to ease migraines.

This is also including pregnant women. Or, women who wish to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

Usually, our own body and experiences will tell us how much caffeine is eventually too much for us.

The Bottom Line – Caffeine and Migraines

In summary, even though caffeine and migraines are connected and may help easing pain relief, health experts have not entirely made up their mind yet.

For example, the American Migraine Association is still advising against simply treating headaches and migraines with caffeine alone.

If only caffeine is your choice, then it should maybe not be more than two days per week.

Some studies suggest that combinations of caffeine with certain medications show positive results.

But, before regularly consuming anything, it is always better to seek medical advice, first.

So, how about you?

What is your opinion on the topic of caffeine and migraines? If you regularly experience severe headaches or migraines, how do you usually ease the pain?

Does caffeine play a role in your treatment plan or not?

Overall, did you have any negative caffeine side effects when either drinking coffee or tea, for example?

Feel free to share your caffeine and migraines’ experiences with us, if you like.

Until then, stay safe and healthy.

Cheers!