Can migraine trigger a fever?????

I'm new to the forum. Suffered migraine for over 30 yrs. I often feel feverish as onset occurs. Never had a Dr comment on it, never thought to mention it actually. Having grown up with them since 4 yrs old, I take a lot of the symptoms as "normal".

I have had migraines for several years and when they first come on I always feel like I have a fever and I am flushed, but I have never actually had a temperature ( I've checked several times)

Hi GizmoKat!   In response to your question, "Can a migraine trigger a fever?", the answer is more than likely "No, it can't." Nothing about the (relatively poorly) understood physiological aspects of the HA would indicate a positive correlation with an increased body temperature.   However, if large amounts of caffeinated beverages or alcoholic beverages were ingested a few hours prior to the onset of the migraine, it's likely that the diuretic effects of caffeine and alcohol would result in dehydration, and being dehydrated will cause an increase in body temperature. Along the same lines, if nausea accompanied with severe vomiting had occurred a few hours prior to the onset of the migraine, again causing dehydration, a temperature spike may occur but not because of the migraine headache, itself. Ironically, the trigger for the migraine would also be the causal agent responsible for the 'fever'.   Anecdotally, I'm familiar with people "experiencing chills" as a symptom, but I've not heard about people feeling feverish. Do you feel the heat all over, or is it just around the head? Do you perspire; does it feel like a 'hot-flash' and ends quickly, or does the fever sensation last for the duration of the headache?   To GoneClimbing ; very astute. It's a good move to document everything about your HAs. The more symptoms you can identify and are aware of, the better diagnosis your physician can provide, and the better treatment can be offered. I'm curious if you're male or female. What's the usual range for your temperature?   GizmoKat , I'm just willin' to bet that you're a female. Peri-menopause can hit anywhere between 35 - 55, and along with it comes a great fluctuation in body temperature throughout the 28 days of the menstrual cycle, as well as daytime versus nighttime. But if you could experiment and determine what your basal temperature variance is, and then compare that with your temperature at the onset of a migraine attack, that would be useful information for your physician. Will you see an actual increase in degrees, or will your results be similar to GoneClimbing's?   Lastly, I don't want to always be the voice of pessimism, but I wouldn't anticipate the MRI to yield much useful information. It’s just not a good diagnostic indicator of migraines. But an MRI can help eliminate other differential diagnosis your physician may be concerned about . Good luck, and please let me know what you learn about the temperature readings. I’m very interested in hearing back.   Regards,   No Whining     Post Edited (No Whining!!) : 6/10/2011 12:48:52 PM (GMT-6)

Hi, I'm just beginning to get back to normal 2 days after having experienced what I consider to be a migraine but what I suspect may have some link with diabetes. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow but just wanted to share this.

On the night of the migraine I had not eaten very well at all - so I guess it's my own silly fault! - I'd missed breakfast and had some of the previous nights pizza warmed up for brunch. Then forgot to eat for the rest of the day as I was unusually busy but had two high energy/caffeine drinks early evening and was later munching on mints that I had left next to my computer. about 9pm I stood up and something didn't feel right, but no obvious symptoms. Decided to have an early night - went out the back for one last cigarette and began feeling really cold even though it was a mild evening. Headed straight to bed in the hope of sleeping it off but the headaches started, stomach retching and feet still very cold. Laying in bed completely immobilised by the headache but unable to sleep, my partner phoned a helpline for some advice and got the go-ahead to take my migraleve tablets. Symptoms gradually started to ease but about 4am I became very feverish - hot and irritable. This subsided as dawn approached and despite feeling extremely tired at this point, was relieved that the migraine symptoms had gone with only a feeling of an upset stomach and heart burn which was relieved (although not completely cured) with gaviscon.

A positive outcome of this experience is that I think I've finally proved to myself that my migraines are caused by a combination of saturated fats (especially if eaten on an empty stomach) and caffeine. Where the sugar comes into the equation I'm not too sure, but I suspect the feverish symptoms that occured after the migraine was some kind of "delayed" sugar rush, as though my body had been unable to break down the sugar earlier when the migraine was present.