What Triggers a Migraine???

I need some help from real people who suffer from migraines.

I went to my doctor, and I explained my headache. it lasted for 5 days before I went to the doctor. I thought it would go away after a while but it didn't. The doctor told me it sounded like a migraine.

It is always in the same spot. Same type of pain (in my temple area). it lasts for what feels like forever and doesn't let up. One lasted 6 hours at one time without medicine. They will go away, and then it hits me all of a sudden and it just keeps getting worse.

In the past 14 days, I have had a migraine at least 10 of those days. It is normally one a day. but today it has happened twice. 6 of the 10 were before I went to the doctor and I have had one about every other day or so since.


My doctor said that there is nothing she can really do unless they last for over 2 months. She thinks it is "just a migraine" and is almost sure of that.

What I guess I really wanted to know is what are triggers for your migraines? I have been keeping track of when they occur, and what I ate before they happen, and what I was doing, but there is nothing consitent as to what could be causing it. and its like it comes without warning and just bam, I'm in pain...

I don't drink at all. I don't smoke. I Only eat chocolate in extreamly small amounts and not often at all. maybe one chocolate item every 2-4 days. Caffine? nope, only drink water, or caffine free soda and it is watered down. haven't had coffee in forever so it can't be that.


thanks to all that can help...

dehydration (only a guess)

thanks for your guess. I thought the same thing.. great minds think alike.

at first that is what I thought too, but I drink water a lot. at least 3 liters throughout the day. sometimes more if it is a hot day, or if I work out (which is rare). I never go anywhere without a water bottle.  

here are other ones I have considered.

I have also thought of stress, but I'm actually less stressed than I normally am. I normally stress over everything, but lately I have been letting a lot of things just go with the flow, since the headaches started.  I wanted to see if stress was causing it, I actually got one while watching my favorite reality show. no stress there, and it still happened....

not eating enough: I have upped my calories recently to 1450cals. pretty balanced. but along with the headache I get naseous. when I did it was soup and crackers, and juice, but always got enough calories, because as soon as the headache went away I would be able to eat normally.

I can't think of anything else. I am hoping I can find the trigger or triggers because if I can that would mean that the headaches aren't something more serious..

I would say if it is not outside factors such as stress or what you are eating or drinking it could be an inside factor.  Hormons can trigger them.  And that could be whether you are male or female.  As well as the weather or stong odors like perfume.  Also it may be a food that is doing it.  Some aged cheeses, deli meats, anything with MSG in it, and sometimes bananas and citrus fruits.  The easiest way to determine what it is, is eliminate these things from your diet for about a week or two then reintroduce them one at a time with a couple of days in between each.  If it isn't a food then it may be one of the other things I mentioned.  Hope this helps.

wow, thanks bbangel. I never heard about msg's being a trigger. and I didn't know about those foods either.

 I will try to take a closer look at my food log and see what things it has in common of the days I get a headache. and I will start eliminating those foods first.

Yesterday it took 2 and a half hours for my perscription medicine to kick in for my headache to go away (and I only take meds when absolutely neccessary). And I took it at the very start of a pain.

If anyone else has ideas, please post. right now I am at the point I will try anything.

Do you get pain anywhere else?  I get pain in my neck first and then I get the headache, so does my son.  If so it could be tension migraine, that is what I get.

usually when i have a migraine it's from either lack of sleep, stress, lack of caffeine, too much sugar, dehydration.  i also get them from MSG (as does my dad).

 

Usually with a migraine you feel nauseaous and you have sensitivity to light and sound.  But that is usually, there are people you don't have these but they are very few.  I have severe tension headaches which I thought were migraines at first but my doc said they weren't because I didn't have the sensitivity and nausea.

I deffinantly have the nausea. it is pretty consistent as soon as the pain starts. the light sensitivity I really didn't notice being a problem though.

Sometimes my vision starts to get blurry as my headache worsens, though. at first I thought it was my contacts, but it isn't.  I discussed this with my doctor, she said that happens sometimes.

I always have a pain in my neck/sholder area because I have a very large chest and it puts strain on my sholders, so that isn't new. but it has been more so on the left side which is where the migraine is every time.

yesterday I noticed a tingle where the pain normally is, that part wasn't painful, just weird feeling as I never noticed it before. I guess I was actally paying attention this time.  about a minute after the tingle it was a full blown migraine. 

(I am going to sleep for the night, but I will be back in the morning to check if anyone has any other ideas. I am trying process of elimination. I am going to try everything to see if its a trigger for me.)

Everyone's migraines have differetn triggers.  mine are most typically related to hormonal swings or stress.  I was in a similar boat to you with almost constant migraines for months and my regular primary doctor couldn't seem to get them under control.  They were so bad for a while that they actually affected my eyesight and my vision decreased.  I now see a nuerologist that did tons of testing and got me on the right medicine. I am now migraine free about 99.6% of the time.  Its awesome. You should push to see a nuerologist that specializes in migraines to get the best care.

When my daughter got a migraine for the first time, I went to the library to see if I could find any books about dealing with headaches in a natural way as I felt she was too young to have to rely on pharmaceuticals for a problem like this if it was avoidable.

I found Heal Your Headache.  We both read it.  She has adopted the strategies and food restrictions to keep her triggers below her threshhold.

The meds they use to treat migraines, the author says, cause rebound headaches sooner or later. So you end up on a med and still get no relief.

But she hasn't gotten another headache yet, so .... so far it seems to work.

Maybe your library will have this book?

:)

Possible triggers I've had trouble with...

 

1. anxiety/stress

2. caffeine

3. too much exposure to fluorescent lights

4. sulfites (red wines for example) 

 

I've had migraines since about age 12 (I am almost 35). My triggers seem to be hormonal mostly. Like clockwork I get a migraine that lasts for 2 days, right before I start TTOTM. The good news it that they go away like clockwork, too, and I know they are coming and I sort of plan for them.

Two other things that trigger me are lack of caffiene, and too much pain medicine (like Imitrex or Excedrin) which causes a rebound effect. I've not been able to pin it down to any types of food. Lack of sleep and stress give me headaches but not the same as migraine.

And also - everyone is different with their triggers and their symptoms. Not everyone gets the aura or the nausea. I've never gotten the aura, but I get the nausea abuot 50% of the time.

Original Post by eridrummond:

Everyone's migraines have differetn triggers.  mine are most typically related to hormonal swings or stress.  I was in a similar boat to you with almost constant migraines for months and my regular primary doctor couldn't seem to get them under control.  They were so bad for a while that they actually affected my eyesight and my vision decreased.  I now see a nuerologist that did tons of testing and got me on the right medicine. I am now migraine free about 99.6% of the time.  Its awesome. You should push to see a nuerologist that specializes in migraines to get the best care.

I agree. Took me years go get diagnosed. Not everyone has to experience that. If you have insurance you should def try to get in to a specialist. And even if you don't, if you can budget to see a neuorolgist it will be well worth the money.

thanks to everyone. my docotr said she didn't want to try anything major (like refering me to a neurologist) unless they keep on happening for over 2 months. she wants to make sure its not something else first. 

Thakns i will deffinantly keep a close eye on all of the things you guys have listed as triggers. hopefully I have overlooked something and I can pinpoint what is causing them. If I still can't then It might actually be hormonal, but at least I can show my doc that I'm narrowing the list down and trying to be proactive with this.

It seems like anything and everything trigger mine.  This includes, but is not limited too, chocolate, caffeine, sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, bright sunlight, being on the computer too long, being in extreme heat for extended periods, certain smells such as fresh asphalt and many perfumes, most tv dinners and various frozen foods....I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

If I were you, I'd look for a neurologist.  There are so many drugs out there, so I'm not sure why your doctor won't give you anything.  I've tried nearly every abortive, and almost all of them have helped me.  Those are the ones, such as Imitrex, that you can take when you feel a migraine coming on.  There's no reason to wait until you've had them two months.   

I used to get migraines all the time in high school.  I had no idea why.  Then, as a shocker for graduation, I cut my hair; 17 inches of thick hair.  I didn't realize for a while but after cutting my hair I didn't have any more migraines . . . until it grew long again.  This process has happened three times.

A little over a year ago I started getting migraines again.  The strange thing was that my hair wasn't as long as it had been with migraines before.  Earlier this year I had my wisdom teeth removed and haven't had a migraine since.

I also get headaches if I skip meals (therefore, I try not to skip meals).  They aren't migraines but over-the-counter medicines that usually work for regular headaches don't work with these headaches and these headaches last for three days, getting a little better everday.  My sister-in-law, an RN, says it may be due to fasting hypoglycemia.  I was talking with someone a few months ago about her hypoglycemia and she said the same thing happens to her when she skips meals.

Maybe none of these situations have anything to do with your migraines but I thought I would throw them out there as my experiences.

My triggers tend to be some combination of the following:

• Inflamed or infected sinuses
• Not eating breakfast before exercising
• Sleep schedule disruptions
• Stress
• Flying
• A drug (theophylline) prescribed for another condition (asthma)

I have also known people who have had migraines triggered by:

• Dental problems (cavities, abcesses, wisdom teeth)
• TMJ
• Head injuries from an automobile accident

I'd also suggest thinking about any changes in your life that coincided with the onset of the migraines, including:

• Changes in furniture (chairs, sofa, or bed that you use regularly)
• Changes in clothes (new shoes or snugly fitting clothes)
• etc.

I hope you find out what is causing them and that they go away soon!

I've had migraines for almost 4 years now. As several people have said, migraine triggers are different for each person. Try to start keeping a "migraine diary", (date of the migraine, nausea/vomiting, light/noise-sensitivity, aura (any noticeable things that make you realize that a migraine is coming... these might not be clear to you yet; it took me almost a year to be able to identify mine.), level of disability (were you bed-ridden or able to function?), any triggers that you've noticed and any medications you're on)... I know it sounds like a lot but it goes a VERY long way in identifying if it IS a migraine and what to avoid to keep them at bay.

nomoreexcuses said something about the book saying that there were migraine meds that caused rebound headaches... this isn't typically used in reference to the preventative meds as much as the painkillers used to immediately "attack" a migraine.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much help as I could! Hope I've helped!!!

i've had migraines since 1998 and i've found several things that may trigger them but i still get them every here and there...

skipping meals
lack of sugar/carbs (the days i don't eat bread or fruit)
loud sounds
obnoxious smells (perfumes, foods, etc)
lack of water
lack of sleep
bright light (really sunny days, flashes of lights directly in my face)
lack of caffeine (odd, yes i know)

my neurologist has given me atenolol (sp?) to take every day. i think it's a blood thinner but seems to work. my headaches are down to once or twice a month.

a lot of things trigger my migraine headaches ... pre-menstrual syndrome, dehydration, loud noises, bright lights, when my blood sugar shoots up (i'm not sure if this is common), chocolate and raw onions ... i don't take anything for it because nothing seems to work ... i just drink three glasses of water ... this usually helps