Migraine Heroes

Sex and migraine can have a complicated relationship, intimacy may relieve pain for some people, while triggering an attack for others.
In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores how migraine can affect intimacy, desire, and pleasure, and why the relationship can look so different from one person to another.
You’ll learn:
💡 Why sex can sometimes relieve migraine but trigger an attack at other times
💡 How migraine can influence sexual desire, comfort, and pleasure
💡 How Traditional Chinese Medicine interprets migraine during sex through a more holistic view of what may be happening in the body
Understanding the pattern can help make intimacy feel less confusing — and less dominated by migraine.
🎧 New episodes every Monday and Wednesday
🔗 Discover our work on migraineheroes.com

References:
The Impact of Sexual Activity on Idiopathic Headaches: An Observational Study (Hambach et al., 2013): This study found sexual activity improved migraine pain in some patients but worsened it in others. Read more here.
Primary Headache Associated With Sexual Activity — ICHD-3 (International Headache Society, 2018): These criteria define headache triggered specifically by sexual activity and emphasize excluding serious secondary causes at first onset. Read more here.
Sexual Dysfunction in Women With Migraines: A Systematic Review (Stech et al., 2026): This review found sexual dysfunction is common among women with migraine. Read more here.
Sexual Dysfunction Is Underrecognized in Patients With Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Dörtkol et al., 2026): This analysis found sexual dysfunction is more common in people with migraine than in healthy controls. Read more here.
Headache Associated With Sexual Activity—A Narrative Review of Literature (Ściślicki et al., 2021): This review covers diagnosis, mechanisms, secondary causes, and treatment of sex-related headache. Read more here.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for health-related concerns.

Janelle’s migraine journey began suddenly, with frightening speech and memory symptoms that sent her to the ER. Over time, migraine crept further into her life, until she was having three to four attacks a week.
In this episode, Janelle shares how she searched for a different approach, began understanding her own patterns, and gradually found her way back to family life, work, and feeling like herself again.
🎧 New episodes every Monday and Wednesday
🔗 Discover our work on migraineheroes.com

This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for health-related concerns.

Can someone else’s stress end up feeling like your migraine?
In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores how emotional tension from the people around you may affect your own nervous system even when you don’t feel consciously stressed.
You’ll learn:
💡 Why other people’s emotions may influence your migraine
💡 How to recognize when you’re absorbing tension from those around you
💡 Three simple ways to create healthier emotional boundaries
You can care deeply about others without carrying everything inside your own body.

🎧 New episodes every Monday and Wednesday
🔗 Discover our work on migraineheroes.com

References:
Reduction in Perceived Stress as a Migraine Trigger: Testing the “Let-Down Headache” Hypothesis (Lipton et al., 2014): This study found that a drop in perceived stress was associated with increased migraine onset over the following day. Read more here.
Understanding the Gaps in Headache and Migraine Treatment With Psychological and Behavioral Interventions: A Narrative Review (Zamir et al., 2023): This review explores trauma, emotional processing, and psychological approaches in headache and migraine care. Read more here.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for health-related concerns.

When you’ve tried so many things for migraine and still feel stuck, it can be hard to know where to turn next.
In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores three shifts that can help you move from confusion and self-blame toward a clearer way forward.
You’ll learn:
💡 Why feeling lost with migraine makes sense and how to replace self-blame with a more useful perspective
💡 Why searching for one single cause can keep you going in circles
💡 How to find a way forward when you feel like you’ve already tried everything
Sometimes, progress starts not with doing more, but with looking at your migraine differently.
🎧 New episodes every Monday and Wednesday
🔗 Discover our work on migraineheroes.com

This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for health-related concerns.

Have you ever noticed that a cold makes your migraine worse or strangely seems to make it disappear?
In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores what illness may reveal about your own migraine pattern, from changes in the immune and nervous systems to shifts in sleep, routine, and medication.
You’ll learn:
💡 Why a cold can trigger migraine in one person but seem to switch it off in another
💡 What changes when you are sick and which of those changes may matter for migraine
💡 How to investigate unusual migraine patterns instead of dismissing them
Sometimes, the strangest change in your migraine is also the clue worth paying attention to.
🎧 New episodes every Monday and Wednesday
🔗 Discover our work on migraineheroes.com

References:
The Role of Cytokines in Migraine: A Systematic Review (Thuraiaiyah et al., 2022): This review examines evidence linking inflammatory cytokines with migraine. Read more here.
Distinct Inflammatory Profiles Across Migraine States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Stuchfield-Denby et al., 2025): This review compares inflammatory markers across different migraine states. Read more here.
Cytokines in Primary Headache Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Musubire et al., 2023): This analysis examines cytokine differences in migraine and other primary headaches. Read more here.
Immunological Mechanisms of Sickness Behavior in Viral Infection (Krapić et al., 2021): This review explains how immune signaling produces fatigue, sleepiness, and other sickness behaviors during infection. Read more here.
Twenty Years of Research on Cytokine-Induced Sickness Behavior (Dantzer & Kelley, 2007): This review describes how inflammatory cytokines signal the brain to produce sickness behavior. Read more here.
Dural Immune Cells, CGRP, and Migraine (Balcziak & Russo, 2022): This review explores interactions between CGRP, immune cells in the dura, and migraine mechanisms. Read more here
CGRP: The Immune System’s Double Agent — Context-Dependent Roles in Inflammation, Resolution and Cancer (Assas, 2026): This review examines CGRP’s contrasting pro- and anti-inflammatory immune effects. Read more here.
Cytokine Storm Divergence in Viral Infections of the Upper Respiratory Tract (Chen et al., 2026): This review compares cytokine responses across respiratory viral infections. Read more here.
Aberrations in Peripheral Inflammatory Cytokine Levels in Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Geng et al., 2022): This analysis found higher levels of several inflammatory markers in people with migraine. Read more here.
Migraine and Autonomic Dysfunction: Which Is the Horse and Which Is the Jockey? (Miglis, 2018): This review examines sympathetic and parasympathetic dysfunction in migraine. Read more here.
Association Between Raynaud’s Phenomenon and Migraine in a Random Population of Hospital Employees (O’Keeffe et al., 1993): This study found migraine was more common among people with Raynaud’s phenomenon. Read more here.
Kranools. “I Never Get a Migraine When I’m Sick With a Cold. There Must Be Some Way to Take Advantage of This.” Reddit, r/migraine: This patient anecdote describes migraine disappearing temporarily during a cold. Read more here.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for health-related concerns.