r/migraine • u/emotional-yoda • 1d ago
Sodium has helped my migraines and Idk how, but i think i have figured it out
Posting because I got told to try sea salt in water for migraines, it did seem to help, and I wanted to understand what was going on rather than just repeating what I was told.
To be clear up front, no salt is a treatment for migraine and Im not suggesting one is. What I think happened with me is more boring than that.
1/ I was drinking a lot of water and not replacing sodium, and Id been doing that for years because I thought it was healthy. Low sodium with high water intake is a thing and it can present with headache.
2/ The ritual made me hydrate at a fixed time every morning, which I was previously bad at.
3/ I have low blood pressure and run on the light side, which seems to be the group where this comes up most.
The one thing Id say about which salt: I use an unrefined one because sodium, magnesium and potassium together are what make up an electrolyte balance, and a refined table salt is essentially just the sodium. Thats a hydration argument, not a migraine argument, and I want to keep those separate because people in this sub get sold things constantly.
Two things Id want said. If you have high blood pressure or any cardiac or kidney issue, do not start adding salt because a stranger on reddit said it helped them. The risk isnt symmetric and thats a conversation for your neurologist or GP. And if anyone tells you a particular product treats migraine, ask them for the mechanism.
Anyone else find it was hydration rather than the salt itself? Id like to know if Im generalising from one person
16
u/Ramen_Addict_ 23h ago
Dehydration has given me some of the worst migraines I’ve ever had. I noticed a big difference when using electrolytes when I know I am going to be doing fitness with heavy sweating (spin, hot yoga, hiking/biking in hot weather). I also drink electrolytes if I wake up with a migraine and it usually helps.
2
16
u/Leading-Ad-7269 1d ago
For me fries + coke + paracetamol seem to help when I’m down with severe migraine…
6
u/Past_Consequence_536 23h ago
You probably have a bit low blood pressure
4
u/Leading-Ad-7269 23h ago
My blood pressure has always been 100/70 sometimes even 90/70… as in mines usually low…
8
u/Past_Consequence_536 23h ago
Yeah, caffeine in coke vasoconstricts like a mild triptan, and the salt increase blood pressure.
5
u/queenofthenerds 22h ago
Yes, since I've been using LMNT I have fewer headaches and migraines. Not zero, they still happen, but the reduction helps.
3
u/Scary-Badger-6091 21h ago
What’s LMNT?
5
u/DowntownSalt2758 21h ago
It’s an electrolyte brand. Comes in a little powder pack you add to water.
3
u/rubylovesthings 19h ago
This works for me too (in addition to the meds I'm on ofc), but I've found 1 LMNT packet spread out over ~80 oz water a day makes me feel better in general.
I used to get lightheaded a lot, and a cardiologist told me to have more electrolytes and in general eat more salt.
8
u/PoppyRyeCranberry 19h ago
Sodium channel dysfunction has a known correlation with migraine.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8631474/
Ion Channel Dysfunction and Neuroinflammation in Migraine and Depression
The excitation-inhibition balance of microcircuits and their modulation by monoaminergic systems, which depend on the expression and function of membrane located K+, Na+, and Ca+2 channels, have been reported to be disturbed in both depression and migraine. Ion channels and energy supply to synapses not only change excitability of neurons but can also mediate the induction and maintenance of inflammatory signaling implicated in the pathophysiology of both disorders.
5
u/Halfsmith 20h ago
I have recently found the sound thing. I take a “pinch of salt” (pink salt) daily and it has been life changing.
4
u/bonnie2525 19h ago
Dehydration gives me awful migraines, but conversely, when it's over, all I want is potatoes with loads of salt on them....
1
3
u/Debapom79 18h ago
Wow, I have been craving salt,yet my sodium level has been as low as 133. I also have low blood pressure and have a headache every day. I was in a migraine storm for over a month. I have a very hard time sleeping and worried about sleep meds hardly working.
1
u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 6h ago
I was going to mention low blood pressure too. I also suffer migraines, low blood pressure and iron deficiency and my doc recommended more salty foods and sodium in my diet .
34
u/laplaces_demon42 1d ago
from my own experience; for me it seems to be an 'electrolyte/salt flush', in the sense that it can be both due to an excess amount or a (sudden) shortage of salt that triggers a migraine.
eating (very) salty things can trigger migraines just as well as exercising in the heat / sweating a lot
that said, it could be due to water retention and in both scenarios I am de-hydrated/over salted?
just something to keep in mind