Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe ConnectionCo-Occurring ConditionsOther PossibilitiesTreatmentWhen to See a ProviderFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
The Connection
Co-Occurring Conditions
Other Possibilities
Treatment
When to See a Provider
Frequently Asked Questions
Constipation may cause headaches in people who have certain medical conditions. Whileheadachesandconstipationare common disorders on their own, some studies indicate they may occur together.
This article discusses the link between headaches and constipation in certain medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia, celiac disease, mood disorders, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
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Headaches and Constipation
Researchers believe constipation may play a key role in starting a headache, or possibly that both headaches and constipation share a common trigger that causes the body to react.
A small 2015 study of children and adolescents found that for participants already diagnosed with tension-type headaches, the prevalence of constipation was 25%, which is higher than in the general population. Researchers noted that treating constipation issues typically improved headaches as well.
What Exactly Is Constipation?Constipation is described as not having a bowel movement, or passing stool, for three or more days.Constipation causes abdominal pain and stool that is hard, dry, and difficult or even painful to pass. Occasional constipation can happen to anyone for many reasons, including not drinking enough water, dietary issues, and even stress.Severe constipation can become a medical emergency. If you have extreme abdominal cramps, vomiting, and blood in your stool, seek immediate medical attention.
What Exactly Is Constipation?
Constipation is described as not having a bowel movement, or passing stool, for three or more days.Constipation causes abdominal pain and stool that is hard, dry, and difficult or even painful to pass. Occasional constipation can happen to anyone for many reasons, including not drinking enough water, dietary issues, and even stress.Severe constipation can become a medical emergency. If you have extreme abdominal cramps, vomiting, and blood in your stool, seek immediate medical attention.
Constipation is described as not having a bowel movement, or passing stool, for three or more days.Constipation causes abdominal pain and stool that is hard, dry, and difficult or even painful to pass. Occasional constipation can happen to anyone for many reasons, including not drinking enough water, dietary issues, and even stress.
Severe constipation can become a medical emergency. If you have extreme abdominal cramps, vomiting, and blood in your stool, seek immediate medical attention.
Conditions With Both Headaches and Constipation
There are several conditions with known links to both headaches and constipation.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Stress also has an impact on the severity of bothmigrainesand IBS. Researchers are exploring whether some people have a more hyperactive stress response that causes these conditions to occur together.
The nervous system may be the common link between IBS and migraine.Serotonin, a brain chemical known as a neurotransmitter, which is present in both the brain and the gut, seems to play a role in both IBS and migraines.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgiaand IBS are often comorbid conditions, meaning that they occur together.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that includes full-body aches and pain, tenderness to the touch in some areas, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and headaches.Several studies have reported fibromyalgia and migraine occurring together in 18% to 35.6% of people.
IBS symptoms can include chronic constipation. Researchers have noticed that as the severity of constipation increases, the symptoms of fibromyalgia seem to worsen in people. Further, the low-grade inflammation that constipation causes may actually trigger fibromyalgia.
Celiac Disease
Celiac diseaseis a genetic autoimmune disorder that affects 1% of the population.
People with both celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity can have many gastrointestinal symptoms, including chronic diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, and chronic constipation.
Researchers suggest that constipation occurs with celiac disease because of reduced intestinal movement due to inflammation in the mucosal lining of the intestines.
Researchers have also noted that people with celiac disease can have headaches either at the time of diagnosis or as the illness continues to develop. The headaches can be migraine or unspecific. There are theories about what causes neurological symptoms in people with celiac disease, but more research is needed.
Mood Disorders
Studies have consistently linked mood and anxiety disorders withfunctional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, which include persistent and recurring GI symptoms like constipation. The rate of patients with both mood and anxiety disorders and functional GI disorders is much higher than the general population, with rates as high as 50% in some cases.
Studies on constipation in adults show psychological factors have an impact. One study showed that constipated adults have higher psychological distress. Another study showed a 65% rate of common psychological diagnoses—includinganxiety,depression, and panic disorders—among patients with constipation.
It appears that anxiety, depression, panic disorder, andpost-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) often occur before an episode of constipation, or they may occur at the same time.
Another study showed that 24.6% of people with depression reported having disordered bowel issues, with chronic constipation being more common than in people without depression.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Researchers think there is a link between an altered gut microbiome, which is the system of microorganisms that occur naturally in the intestinal tract, and CFS. Several studies indicate that the intestinal microbiome is abnormal in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Migraine headaches appear to be much more common in people with CFS. One study found that 85% of people with CFS reported migraine headaches compared to only 5% of people without CFS.
There are other issues that can cause both constipation and headaches, including:
5 Diseases That Commonly Coexist With Migraine
In most cases, constipation and headache can be managed at home with simple remedies.
Constipation Treatment
Treatment for constipation includes:
How Constipation is Treated
Migraine Treatments
Treatment for migraines includes:
How Migraines are Treated
Talk to Your Healthcare Provider
If you’re having migraines and constipation at the same time, see a healthcare provider to determine their cause. Both headache and constipation are common symptoms that cause significant pain and discomfort, resulting in reduced function and diminished quality of life. Talk with a healthcare professional, especially if symptoms are getting worse or impacting your quality of life.
Summary
People may experience constipation and headaches or migraines at the same time. These conditions occurring simultaneously may be an indication of another health issue. Several conditions are linked to both headaches and constipation, including irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and celiac disease.
A Word From Verywell
Both migraines and constipation are treatable conditions. Once you find the source of your triggers, you will find these conditions are easier to treat. If you are having severe symptoms of either constipation or migraines, seek medical attention for relief and to rule out more serious illnesses or diseases.
Frequently Asked QuestionsConstipation may feel like a sense of fullness. You may have a feeling of needing to pass a bowel movement but are not able to. You may experience bloating and abdominal pain as well. Constipation can also cause you to lose your appetite and feel sluggish or lethargic, as though your energy is low.If a person has fewer than three bowel movements per week, that is technically considered constipation. Constipation can last several days, but if it’s coming close to a week and you still haven’t had a bowel movement, it’s important to seek medical attention. Your healthcare provider can prescribe laxatives, over-the-counter remedies, or other treatment recommendations based on your medical history. The longer a person is constipated, the riskier the condition becomes. Severe constipation can lead to an impacted bowel or worse, bowel obstruction, a serious issue requiring immediate medical attention.There are several ways to relieve constipation. These can include increasing water intake and eating more fiber. Fruits like apples and peaches may be helpful in relieving constipation.A migraine can last anywhere from four hours to several days. If your pattern of migraines worsens, it’s important to seek medical attention. You need to seek immediate, emergency medical attention if your migraine can be described as “the worst headache of my life," or if you are having vision problems, slurred speech, mental confusion, or seizures.One way to relieve migraines is with over-the-counter pain relievers such as Advil and Motrin, Aleve (naproxen sodium), or Excedrin Migraine. Other solutions include ice packs, resting in a dark and quiet room, applying pressure to your temples, and massaging your head and neck.
Constipation may feel like a sense of fullness. You may have a feeling of needing to pass a bowel movement but are not able to. You may experience bloating and abdominal pain as well. Constipation can also cause you to lose your appetite and feel sluggish or lethargic, as though your energy is low.
If a person has fewer than three bowel movements per week, that is technically considered constipation. Constipation can last several days, but if it’s coming close to a week and you still haven’t had a bowel movement, it’s important to seek medical attention. Your healthcare provider can prescribe laxatives, over-the-counter remedies, or other treatment recommendations based on your medical history. The longer a person is constipated, the riskier the condition becomes. Severe constipation can lead to an impacted bowel or worse, bowel obstruction, a serious issue requiring immediate medical attention.
There are several ways to relieve constipation. These can include increasing water intake and eating more fiber. Fruits like apples and peaches may be helpful in relieving constipation.
A migraine can last anywhere from four hours to several days. If your pattern of migraines worsens, it’s important to seek medical attention. You need to seek immediate, emergency medical attention if your migraine can be described as “the worst headache of my life," or if you are having vision problems, slurred speech, mental confusion, or seizures.
One way to relieve migraines is with over-the-counter pain relievers such as Advil and Motrin, Aleve (naproxen sodium), or Excedrin Migraine. Other solutions include ice packs, resting in a dark and quiet room, applying pressure to your temples, and massaging your head and neck.
18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Park MN, Choi MG, You SJ.The relationship between primary headache and constipation in children and adolescents.Korean J Pediatr. 2015;58(2):60. doi:10.3345/kjp.2015.58.2.60Rezaeiashtiani A, Jadidi A, Khanmohammadi-Hezaveh A, et al.Is the treatment of constipation can relieve the migraine symptoms? A randomized clinical trial study.J Pediatr Neurosci. 2019;14(4):186. doi:10.4103/jpn.JPN_19_19National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Constipation.Bin Abdulrahman KA, Alenazi NS, Albishri SB, Alshehri FF.Association of migraine and irritable bowel syndrome in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide survey.Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:8690562. doi:10.1155/2022/8690562Cámara-Lemarroy CR, Rodriguez-Gutierrez R, Monreal-Robles R, Marfil-Rivera A.Gastrointestinal disorders associated with migraine: A comprehensive review.World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(36):8149-8160. doi:10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8149Neumeister MW, Neumeister EL.Fibromyalgia.Clin Plast Surg. 2020;47(2):203-213. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2019.12.007Whealy M, Nanda S, Vincent A, Mandrekar J, Cutrer FM.Fibromyalgia in migraine: a retrospective cohort study.J Headache Pain. 2018;19(1):61. doi:10.1186/s10194-018-0892-9Mansız-Kaplan B.Ab0905 may chronic constipation-induced chronic inflammation affect the onset and severity of fibromyalgia symptoms?Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(Suppl 2):1919-1919. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.983Çakir M, Cezaroğlu S, Çobanoğlu Ü.Celiac disease in children with chronic constipation.Turk J Med Sci. 2016;46:651-656. doi:10.3906/sag-1502-130Qasim H, Nasr M, Mohammad A, Hor M, Baradeiya AM.Dysbiosis and migraine headaches in adults With celiac disease.Cureus. 2022;14(8):e28346. doi:10.7759/cureus.28346Hosseinzadeh ST, Poorsaadati S, Radkani B, Forootan M.Psychological disorders in patients with chronic constipation.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):159-163.PMID: 24834176Ballou S, Katon J, Singh P, et al.Chronic diarrhea and constipation are more common in depressed individuals.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;17(13):2696-2703. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2019.03.046Kenyon JN, Coe S, Izadi H.A retrospective outcome study of 42 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, 30 of whom had irritable bowel syndrome. Half were treated with oral approaches, and half were treated with faecal microbiome transplantation.Hum Microbiome J. 2019;13:100061. doi:10.1016/j.humic.2019.100061Ravindran MK, Zheng Y, Timbol C, Merck SJ, Baraniuk JN.Migraine headaches in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): comparison of two prospective cross-sectional studies.BMC Neurol. 2011;11:30. Published 2011 Mar 5. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-11-30Harvard Health.What to do when medication makes you constipated.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.Cleveland Clinic.Constipation.Cleveland Clinic.Migraine headaches.
18 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Park MN, Choi MG, You SJ.The relationship between primary headache and constipation in children and adolescents.Korean J Pediatr. 2015;58(2):60. doi:10.3345/kjp.2015.58.2.60Rezaeiashtiani A, Jadidi A, Khanmohammadi-Hezaveh A, et al.Is the treatment of constipation can relieve the migraine symptoms? A randomized clinical trial study.J Pediatr Neurosci. 2019;14(4):186. doi:10.4103/jpn.JPN_19_19National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Constipation.Bin Abdulrahman KA, Alenazi NS, Albishri SB, Alshehri FF.Association of migraine and irritable bowel syndrome in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide survey.Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:8690562. doi:10.1155/2022/8690562Cámara-Lemarroy CR, Rodriguez-Gutierrez R, Monreal-Robles R, Marfil-Rivera A.Gastrointestinal disorders associated with migraine: A comprehensive review.World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(36):8149-8160. doi:10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8149Neumeister MW, Neumeister EL.Fibromyalgia.Clin Plast Surg. 2020;47(2):203-213. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2019.12.007Whealy M, Nanda S, Vincent A, Mandrekar J, Cutrer FM.Fibromyalgia in migraine: a retrospective cohort study.J Headache Pain. 2018;19(1):61. doi:10.1186/s10194-018-0892-9Mansız-Kaplan B.Ab0905 may chronic constipation-induced chronic inflammation affect the onset and severity of fibromyalgia symptoms?Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(Suppl 2):1919-1919. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.983Çakir M, Cezaroğlu S, Çobanoğlu Ü.Celiac disease in children with chronic constipation.Turk J Med Sci. 2016;46:651-656. doi:10.3906/sag-1502-130Qasim H, Nasr M, Mohammad A, Hor M, Baradeiya AM.Dysbiosis and migraine headaches in adults With celiac disease.Cureus. 2022;14(8):e28346. doi:10.7759/cureus.28346Hosseinzadeh ST, Poorsaadati S, Radkani B, Forootan M.Psychological disorders in patients with chronic constipation.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):159-163.PMID: 24834176Ballou S, Katon J, Singh P, et al.Chronic diarrhea and constipation are more common in depressed individuals.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;17(13):2696-2703. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2019.03.046Kenyon JN, Coe S, Izadi H.A retrospective outcome study of 42 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, 30 of whom had irritable bowel syndrome. Half were treated with oral approaches, and half were treated with faecal microbiome transplantation.Hum Microbiome J. 2019;13:100061. doi:10.1016/j.humic.2019.100061Ravindran MK, Zheng Y, Timbol C, Merck SJ, Baraniuk JN.Migraine headaches in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): comparison of two prospective cross-sectional studies.BMC Neurol. 2011;11:30. Published 2011 Mar 5. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-11-30Harvard Health.What to do when medication makes you constipated.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.Cleveland Clinic.Constipation.Cleveland Clinic.Migraine headaches.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Park MN, Choi MG, You SJ.The relationship between primary headache and constipation in children and adolescents.Korean J Pediatr. 2015;58(2):60. doi:10.3345/kjp.2015.58.2.60Rezaeiashtiani A, Jadidi A, Khanmohammadi-Hezaveh A, et al.Is the treatment of constipation can relieve the migraine symptoms? A randomized clinical trial study.J Pediatr Neurosci. 2019;14(4):186. doi:10.4103/jpn.JPN_19_19National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Constipation.Bin Abdulrahman KA, Alenazi NS, Albishri SB, Alshehri FF.Association of migraine and irritable bowel syndrome in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide survey.Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:8690562. doi:10.1155/2022/8690562Cámara-Lemarroy CR, Rodriguez-Gutierrez R, Monreal-Robles R, Marfil-Rivera A.Gastrointestinal disorders associated with migraine: A comprehensive review.World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(36):8149-8160. doi:10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8149Neumeister MW, Neumeister EL.Fibromyalgia.Clin Plast Surg. 2020;47(2):203-213. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2019.12.007Whealy M, Nanda S, Vincent A, Mandrekar J, Cutrer FM.Fibromyalgia in migraine: a retrospective cohort study.J Headache Pain. 2018;19(1):61. doi:10.1186/s10194-018-0892-9Mansız-Kaplan B.Ab0905 may chronic constipation-induced chronic inflammation affect the onset and severity of fibromyalgia symptoms?Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(Suppl 2):1919-1919. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.983Çakir M, Cezaroğlu S, Çobanoğlu Ü.Celiac disease in children with chronic constipation.Turk J Med Sci. 2016;46:651-656. doi:10.3906/sag-1502-130Qasim H, Nasr M, Mohammad A, Hor M, Baradeiya AM.Dysbiosis and migraine headaches in adults With celiac disease.Cureus. 2022;14(8):e28346. doi:10.7759/cureus.28346Hosseinzadeh ST, Poorsaadati S, Radkani B, Forootan M.Psychological disorders in patients with chronic constipation.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):159-163.PMID: 24834176Ballou S, Katon J, Singh P, et al.Chronic diarrhea and constipation are more common in depressed individuals.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;17(13):2696-2703. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2019.03.046Kenyon JN, Coe S, Izadi H.A retrospective outcome study of 42 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, 30 of whom had irritable bowel syndrome. Half were treated with oral approaches, and half were treated with faecal microbiome transplantation.Hum Microbiome J. 2019;13:100061. doi:10.1016/j.humic.2019.100061Ravindran MK, Zheng Y, Timbol C, Merck SJ, Baraniuk JN.Migraine headaches in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): comparison of two prospective cross-sectional studies.BMC Neurol. 2011;11:30. Published 2011 Mar 5. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-11-30Harvard Health.What to do when medication makes you constipated.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.Cleveland Clinic.Constipation.Cleveland Clinic.Migraine headaches.
Park MN, Choi MG, You SJ.The relationship between primary headache and constipation in children and adolescents.Korean J Pediatr. 2015;58(2):60. doi:10.3345/kjp.2015.58.2.60
Rezaeiashtiani A, Jadidi A, Khanmohammadi-Hezaveh A, et al.Is the treatment of constipation can relieve the migraine symptoms? A randomized clinical trial study.J Pediatr Neurosci. 2019;14(4):186. doi:10.4103/jpn.JPN_19_19
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Constipation.
Bin Abdulrahman KA, Alenazi NS, Albishri SB, Alshehri FF.Association of migraine and irritable bowel syndrome in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide survey.Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:8690562. doi:10.1155/2022/8690562
Cámara-Lemarroy CR, Rodriguez-Gutierrez R, Monreal-Robles R, Marfil-Rivera A.Gastrointestinal disorders associated with migraine: A comprehensive review.World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(36):8149-8160. doi:10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8149
Neumeister MW, Neumeister EL.Fibromyalgia.Clin Plast Surg. 2020;47(2):203-213. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2019.12.007
Whealy M, Nanda S, Vincent A, Mandrekar J, Cutrer FM.Fibromyalgia in migraine: a retrospective cohort study.J Headache Pain. 2018;19(1):61. doi:10.1186/s10194-018-0892-9
Mansız-Kaplan B.Ab0905 may chronic constipation-induced chronic inflammation affect the onset and severity of fibromyalgia symptoms?Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(Suppl 2):1919-1919. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.983
Çakir M, Cezaroğlu S, Çobanoğlu Ü.Celiac disease in children with chronic constipation.Turk J Med Sci. 2016;46:651-656. doi:10.3906/sag-1502-130
Qasim H, Nasr M, Mohammad A, Hor M, Baradeiya AM.Dysbiosis and migraine headaches in adults With celiac disease.Cureus. 2022;14(8):e28346. doi:10.7759/cureus.28346
Hosseinzadeh ST, Poorsaadati S, Radkani B, Forootan M.Psychological disorders in patients with chronic constipation.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):159-163.PMID: 24834176
Ballou S, Katon J, Singh P, et al.Chronic diarrhea and constipation are more common in depressed individuals.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;17(13):2696-2703. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2019.03.046
Kenyon JN, Coe S, Izadi H.A retrospective outcome study of 42 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, 30 of whom had irritable bowel syndrome. Half were treated with oral approaches, and half were treated with faecal microbiome transplantation.Hum Microbiome J. 2019;13:100061. doi:10.1016/j.humic.2019.100061
Ravindran MK, Zheng Y, Timbol C, Merck SJ, Baraniuk JN.Migraine headaches in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): comparison of two prospective cross-sectional studies.BMC Neurol. 2011;11:30. Published 2011 Mar 5. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-11-30
Harvard Health.What to do when medication makes you constipated.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.
Cleveland Clinic.Constipation.
Cleveland Clinic.Migraine headaches.
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