Peptides for migraines and tension headaches?
- Thread starter teetee07
- Start date
Your question caught my attention, so I looked into it. From what I found, the primary legitimate peptide-linked treatment route for migraines involves medications that target CGRP. (CGRP is itself a peptide that plays a role in migraine signaling.)
Research:
https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/anti-cgrp-treatment-options/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11861264/
As for specific peptide compounds someone might explore, oxytocin, Selank, or BPC-157 could come up, but the evidence supporting them for migraines or tension headaches appears far weaker.
Research:
https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/anti-cgrp-treatment-options/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11861264/
As for specific peptide compounds someone might explore, oxytocin, Selank, or BPC-157 could come up, but the evidence supporting them for migraines or tension headaches appears far weaker.
RubbaDubba1
Explorer
My Dr is the one who turned me onto this. I see him via telehealth a few times each year (and get a few items prescribed); he's in regenerative medicine and writes peptide scripts. According to him, the secretagogues — Tesamorelin, Ipamorelin and Sermorelin — bring headache relief to a portion of his patients, though not everyone. Why that happens, he can't say; it just seemed to occur by chance for some, and in my case it landed as a lucky break. That's my medical disclaimer, duly disclaimed.
My history: a 9 day headache once sent me to the ER, I've been to a Med Spa repeatedly for IVs loaded with everything helpful to break one, I've done 6 rounds of trigger point injections, dry needling, cupping, Graston technique, I get 30-40 back/neck spasms daily, I've had enough physical therapy to qualify for the Olympics, I swallow far too many pills each day, and I have a Neurologist plus a Dentist lined up to begin Botox once I reach that stage. Lately it's been brutal — 8 weeks ago I had shoulder surgery, and the trigger points on my right side are the worst they've ever been. Those are my references, for reference.
Onto your question (I nearly skipped it). For me Ipamorelin is the winner. It isn't a cure; sometimes it appears to help a headache fade or dial down the intensity once one has started, but as a preventative it's outstanding. Taken before bed on an empty stomach, or first thing when I wake, I'd estimate roughly 14-18 hours of coverage on average. The pain still hits at 100%, the thing that sets off my tension headaches, and I can feel my head pounding like a Gorilla trying to bust out of a cage — yet no headache, or only a dull one. I've tried Sermorelin and it didn't do much, though I want to give it another longer run. Tesamorelin on its own I haven't used; I have used a Tesamorelin/Ipamorelin blend and it works reasonably well, just not better than Ipamorelin alone. The CJC-1295 no dac/Ipamorelin blend is the best of them — the strongest headache suppression, if that's even a term, and sleep improves slightly.
Obviously do your own due diligence. My schedule is only 5 days a week, or 3 on and 1 off. On the Ipamorelin I've gone as high as 500mcg daily, but more didn't reliably help. I've come across mentions of this on other forums too; it's all anecdotal, naturally. Still, I'd rather use this than begin an abortive plus everything I see advertised on TV. I've read about people who've had migraines for something like 30 years. I hope you get some relief.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
There are a number of treatments in the standard medical toolkit that work well for migraines.
Which are you after: stopping a migraine once it hits, or preventing ones that keep coming back?
Maybe you have already gone through a lot of options, maybe not. Either way, if a solid GP has not weighed in, or a neurologist when the attacks are more frequent, more severe, or do not respond to first line treatments, then that route is probably worth taking. On the whole it is more likely to leave you with fewer headaches than a pile of peptides, none of which have been tested in humans as effective migraine therapies.
Sadly, whether the goal is acute migraine treatment or preventing recurrent attacks, no single treatment works for everyone every time. What does exist is a wide range of options, each with fairly good success rates, so typically you try several medications over time until you land on the one that suits you.
Tension type headaches are a different matter, but the same competent treatment has a good chance of finding effective therapies.
Analgesic overuse headaches are also very common, and may need a neurologist opinion on best treatment options.
Which are you after: stopping a migraine once it hits, or preventing ones that keep coming back?
Maybe you have already gone through a lot of options, maybe not. Either way, if a solid GP has not weighed in, or a neurologist when the attacks are more frequent, more severe, or do not respond to first line treatments, then that route is probably worth taking. On the whole it is more likely to leave you with fewer headaches than a pile of peptides, none of which have been tested in humans as effective migraine therapies.
Sadly, whether the goal is acute migraine treatment or preventing recurrent attacks, no single treatment works for everyone every time. What does exist is a wide range of options, each with fairly good success rates, so typically you try several medications over time until you land on the one that suits you.
Tension type headaches are a different matter, but the same competent treatment has a good chance of finding effective therapies.
Analgesic overuse headaches are also very common, and may need a neurologist opinion on best treatment options.
Each month I get an Ajovy shot, a CGRP medication, and it has clearly cut down how often my migraines hit. Nurtec, another one in that class, worked too, though keeping up with it was annoying since the schedule was every other day.
When it comes to peptides for migraines, I don't have much background or curiosity, but I did use BPC-157 before for unrelated reasons, and as far as I could tell it made no difference to my migraines.
DragonOfTheSea
Explorer
* Just a heads-up: what follows is only a set of leads for you to dig into further. Do your own deeper digging so you can confirm how you feel about them *
+1 — I've also come across the claim that CJC-1295 without DAC combined with Ipamorelin, the pair @RubbaDubba1 brought up, may help in a good way.
On top of that, I've read that GHK-Cu can cut headache/migraine symptoms in what feels like almost no time at all (15-20 minutes).
Even so, given how many different things can set off migraines and headaches, I seriously doubt a single catch-all answer exists for you to stumble on. Like @lessthanhalf said, plenty of non-peptide practices and therapies are out there too. My sense is that lots of folks assume "there's got to be a peptide for this!" about every ailment we have, but sadly that day hasn't arrived, haha.
+1 — I've also come across the claim that CJC-1295 without DAC combined with Ipamorelin, the pair @RubbaDubba1 brought up, may help in a good way.
On top of that, I've read that GHK-Cu can cut headache/migraine symptoms in what feels like almost no time at all (15-20 minutes).
Even so, given how many different things can set off migraines and headaches, I seriously doubt a single catch-all answer exists for you to stumble on. Like @lessthanhalf said, plenty of non-peptide practices and therapies are out there too. My sense is that lots of folks assume "there's got to be a peptide for this!" about every ailment we have, but sadly that day hasn't arrived, haha.
Pin&Play
Explorer
I just realized it's been at least 2 months since my last headache. In the past, tension headaches hit me every couple of weeks, and they were pretty much guaranteed when I was stressed out or after getting only 1-2 nights of bad sleep. Lately I've had no shortage of sleepless nights.
Here's what I've been using fairly consistently, and any of these could be the reason things changed:
- Tirzepatide. Strong possibility here
- multivatimin. Possibly... though I'm about to stop it, so I'll find out
- KPV. It may have done something for IBS/stress, but I can't connect it to headaches from lack of sleep — though there's no way to be sure
Also, my blood pressure has been running lower than it normally does, so that could play a role as well
Here's what I've been using fairly consistently, and any of these could be the reason things changed:
- Tirzepatide. Strong possibility here
- multivatimin. Possibly... though I'm about to stop it, so I'll find out
- KPV. It may have done something for IBS/stress, but I can't connect it to headaches from lack of sleep — though there's no way to be sure
Also, my blood pressure has been running lower than it normally does, so that could play a role as well
You all are great. I really appreciate the feedback. There are certainly a few options here that I can explore. Headaches have been something I've struggled with on and off for years, and at one point my doctor brought up botox as a migraine treatment, but I have no interest in going that route.
Galapagosfit
Explorer
was this prescribed to you by your doctor?
my wife gets aura migraines, and here in quebec the public insurance won't cover ajovy (fremanezumab) until you've tried at least 2 to 3 other meds first.
her migraines come at random, and between them she can go several months without any. that makes it tough for the neurologist to track how the treatment is working, because he writes a prescription, my wife goes four months with no migraine, and then suddenly she gets four within one week.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
GLP medications are very likely to cut down on migraines. Research is limited, yet liraglutide was shown to lower migraine frequency, and a substantial body of data from human as well as animal research indicates that glp drugs alter pain pathways and might work well against numerous pain conditions, among them neuropathic pain and abdominal pain. My guess is that eventually new trials will appear covering the more recent glps in relation to migraine.
One could also reasonably expect that the general health gains brought by GLP's and weight reduction would help with migraines, through an improved metabolic profile and less systemic low grade inflammation, and perhaps even through healthier dietary choices.
One could also reasonably expect that the general health gains brought by GLP's and weight reduction would help with migraines, through an improved metabolic profile and less systemic low grade inflammation, and perhaps even through healthier dietary choices.
This thread has been genuinely useful to me. Chronic headaches and migraines have had me cycling through a long list of approaches. What makes it extra frustrating in my case is that exercise itself often sets one off — anything with arms overhead, or anything that involves hard straining. Lately I've been able to run a fairly modest 3 day split with far fewer headaches than before. And now that it's been brought up here, that timing lines up pretty closely with when I began reta. That's really intriguing, and honestly there are moments when I'm ready to try just about anything. So putting a few different peptides to the test to see how they affect them is something I find very appealing. I also came across some material about Semax and headaches/migraines, so that might be worth trialing too.
Flash-BCR
Explorer
Migraines have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. During my teenage years, the attacks were quite intense...Over the past 4 or 5 years though, what I get is more of a symptom-based version...Bright squiggly spots appear right at my focal point and essentially leave me unable to see....then those squiggles move outward toward my peripheral vision and slowly disappear...from beginning to end, it takes roughly 30-45 minutes...Afterward I'm left with a mild headache hangover, but it's not severe, definitely nowhere near what I dealt with when I was younger....so to make a long story short, over the last 4-5 months, ever since I started GLP-1s along with various peps, I haven't had a single migraine...one of the better perks of the pep world...
laansasa
Explorer
Same here. I used to deal with migraines frequently, but after I began tirz & KPV, the only headache I've had was 1 that didn't turn into a full migraine. I'm sure it came from 1 weekend of not getting enough sleep, which is different from the migraines that used to hit me on a regular basis.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
My own situation is remarkably close to that. As a kid, my migraines hit hard and were a big enough problem that I lost a number of workdays every year. About all I could do was stay flat with a pillow pressed over my face until the pain let up.Flash-BCR said:
Migraines have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. During my teenage years, the attacks were quite intense...Over the past 4 or 5 years though, what I get is more of a symptom-based version...Bright squiggly spots appear right at my focal point and essentially leave me unable to see....then those squiggles move outward toward my peripheral vision and slowly disappear...from beginning to end, it takes roughly 30-45 minutes...Afterward I'm left with a mild headache hangover, but it's not severe, definitely nowhere near what I dealt with when I was younger....so to make a long story short, over the last 4-5 months, ever since I started GLP-1s along with various peps, I haven't had a single migraine...one of the better perks of the pep world...
Then I found eletriptan, and it usually kills the pain outright instead of just dulling it the way ordinary painkillers do, which leaves you still hurting. The catch is that each eletriptan tablet I take appears to roughly double my chance of another migraine the following day, so it is not a flawless fix.
For much of the last few years I have also been getting just the aura, which used to be uncommon for me: small wavy colored lines that gradually widen and then disappear. These days the headache often never arrives afterward, even if I take nothing. Since I am on so many medications that could each affect migraines, pinpointing which 1 or which combination is doing the good is difficult.
SleepyPenguin
Explorer
This discussion drew me in because I've had migraines come and go over the years.
No peptide has ever made me feel sure it improved my migraines, though I find the CGRP drugs worth watching since they're backed by actual human data.
Headaches, I've come to see, are not simple. Sleep, stress, hormones, diet, blood pressure, and inflammation each appear to matter. In my case, working on those fundamentals helped more than hunting for a single "magic" compound.
I'm still watching the research, though.
No peptide has ever made me feel sure it improved my migraines, though I find the CGRP drugs worth watching since they're backed by actual human data.
Headaches, I've come to see, are not simple. Sleep, stress, hormones, diet, blood pressure, and inflammation each appear to matter. In my case, working on those fundamentals helped more than hunting for a single "magic" compound.
I'm still watching the research, though.