Common Migraine Triggers

[Retired]

Migraine triggers include:
Food & food additives
Alcohol (especially red wine), caffeinated beverages, nuts, nitrite/nitrate-preserved foods (hot dogs, pepperoni), smoked or pickled foods.

Light
Strong or glaring light. Flickering lights from TV or computer screen, strobe or laser lights, or reflections.

Smells/odors
Intense, specific food odors, cigarette or other smoke, perfumes, cleaning products.

Stress
Migraine attacks often occur after stress - especially on weekends and holidays. Many people mistake these as tension headaches.

Weather Changes
High humidity, atmospheric pressure changes, rapid temperature fluctuations, and exposure to extreme heat or cold may bring on migraine attacks. Many people mistake these for "sinus headaches."
Changes in sleeping habits
Too little, or more often, too much sleep can trigger migraines.

Dieting/hunger
Any change in eating habits, missed meals, change in schedule or dieting.

Loud noises/sounds
Sudden or prolonged loud noises.

Motion/travel
Reaction to motion sickness.

Caffeine
Having more (and sometimes even having less) caffeine than you are used to can trigger migraines.

Hormonal Fluctuations
The frequency of women's migraines is sometimes said to be related to hormonal fluctuation, particularly with regard to estrogen. In many women, migraines begin just prior to, or during, their monthly menstrual period, or during treatment with artificial hormones such as birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy.

To help identify which triggers affect you, keep a migraine diary for several months...the longer the better. Every time you experience a migraine, write down what you ate that day or what other conditions existed prior to the attack.
After a while a profile emerges that can help you avoid the triggers that affect you.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Re: Migraine Triggers

Keeping Track of Migraine Headache Triggers
by Valerie Johnston, How to Cope with Pain
October 14, 2012

The pain associated with migraine headaches can be so severe that it makes it nearly impossible to perform daily activities and can dramatically affect the quality of a person?s life. The throbbing pain is often described as blinding, since many people with migraines experience greater sensitivity to light during an episode, which can last anywhere from a few hours to several days.

Most people who experience migraines will do just about anything to stop the pain or to prevent the pain from beginning in the first place. Identifying the triggers that set off your migraine attacks is a great way to reduce how often you suffer from migraines. Many people share the same triggers, while some people have very specific triggers. You can use a notebook to keep tabs on what your triggers are. A notebook that includes your daily activities, description of meals, and an area for writing down what particular triggers you notice per day is ideal.



Common Food Triggers
For many people who suffer from migraines, certain foods act as triggers. Keep track of what you eat to determine what foods trigger your symptoms and what foods are safe to eat. Common food triggers include:

• Chocolate
• Ripened cheese (for example, brie, cheddar, or camembert)
• Foods with nitrates or nitrites (for example, hot dogs or bacon)
• Foods with MSG (for example, meat tenderizers or soy sauce)
• Sourdough bread
• Fermented food
• Nuts
• Snow peas
• Lima beans or fava beans
• Citrus fruits
• Sour cream
• Caffeinated beverages
• Alcohol
• Figs
• Raisins
• Avocados
• Papaya

Environmental Factors
Where were you the last time that you had a migraine attack? Department store perfume counters can be a particular problem for people who suffer from migraine headaches. Perfumes in the air anywhere can be a huge headache trigger. If you work in an office where someone wears a heavy dose of perfume or cologne, don?t hesitate to talk with your HR manager about the problem. Chances are that many people on staff will be thankful since perfumes cause even people who do not suffer from migraines to develop minor headaches and allergies.

Flickering lights, bright sunshine, and other forms of harsh light can trigger a migraine. Choosing softer lighting in your home, avoiding environments with harsh lighting, and wearing quality sunglasses during the sunniest parts of the day can help quite a bit.

Emotional Triggers
One of the most common triggers for migraine sufferers is stress. Emotions such as stress, anxiety, anger, and sadness can cause your brain to release the chemicals that trigger a migraine headache. Working on stress reduction techniques can be very beneficial for people who experience migraines.

Sleep
Do you experience migraine headaches more often when you don?t get sufficient sleep? Many sufferers must work toward developing a consistent sleep pattern. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule may be another tactic that you?ll need to undertake.

Menstrual Cycle
Women who suffer from migraines may find that their menstrual cycle is a regular trigger. During menstruation, estrogen levels drop, which can trigger migraine headaches. While you can?t stop your menstrual cycle, you can do things to balance out your hormones as much as possible, including getting regular exercise. Exercise produces endorphins, which naturally combat pain.

Long-Term Approach
Triggers differ from person to person. At the same time, what acts as a trigger for you once may not cause the same effect the next time. By keeping track of triggers over an extended period of time, you may find that there are specific combinations of triggers that cause your symptoms. For example, if you?re having your period, you may need to avoid alcohol or chocolate. This well-rounded approach for identifying your triggers will be worth the long-term results.

 

[Retired]

Re: Migraine Triggers

The interesting thing about triggers I have found, in my case, is that specific triggers are not absolute triggers.

There will be times when certain triggers will not affect me, but at other times they will. I believe at times multiple triggers, or certain combination of triggers are required for a migraine episode for me.

Other confounding factors might be the composition of certain foods, that may or may not contain certain ingredients that may or may not affect a migraine.

Foods with MSG (for example, meat tenderizers or soy sauce)

For me, this class of triggers includes dehydrated ingredients like powdered onion, powdered or dehydrated garlic or other dehydrated herbs that act in the same way as MSG because of the enhanced or exaggerated flavoring they produce.

Have you experienced variations and inconsistencies in your own migraine triggers?

Have you maintained a migraine diary for at least one year?

How do you treat your migraines?

 

[rdw]

Re: Migraine Triggers

Wind or a big change in the weather will trigger a migraine.

 

[PsychHealth]

Migraine triggers include:
Food & food additives
Alcohol (especially red wine), caffeinated beverages, nuts, nitrite/nitrate-preserved foods (hot dogs, pepperoni), smoked or pickled foods.

Light
Strong or glaring light. Flickering lights from TV or computer screen, strobe or laser lights, or reflections.

Smells/odors
Intense, specific food odors, cigarette or other smoke, perfumes, cleaning products.

Stress
Migraine attacks often occur after stress - especially on weekends and holidays. Many people mistake these as tension headaches.

Weather Changes
High humidity, atmospheric pressure changes, rapid temperature fluctuations, and exposure to extreme heat or cold may bring on migraine attacks. Many people mistake these for "sinus headaches."
Changes in sleeping habits
Too little, or more often, too much sleep can trigger migraines.

Dieting/hunger
Any change in eating habits, missed meals, change in schedule or dieting.

Loud noises/sounds
Sudden or prolonged loud noises.

Motion/travel
Reaction to motion sickness.

Caffeine
Having more (and sometimes even having less) caffeine than you are used to can trigger migraines.

Hormonal Fluctuations
The frequency of women's migraines is sometimes said to be related to hormonal fluctuation, particularly with regard to estrogen. In many women, migraines begin just prior to, or during, their monthly menstrual period, or during treatment with artificial hormones such as birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy.

To help identify which triggers affect you, keep a migraine diary for several months...the longer the better. Every time you experience a migraine, write down what you ate that day or what other conditions existed prior to the attack.
After a while a profile emerges that can help you avoid the triggers that affect you.

That is a very detailed list! Thanks!

 

[H011yHawkJ311yBean]

I apologize if I mentioned this before. I had a migraine this morning and although I don’t feel pain anymore, I’m still a bit foggy.

When I was on ADHD meds, my migraines lessened. And when they did happen, they were never as painful or intense.

Now my doctor has taken me off the meds and I’ve had a migraine today and one last week. And oh boy, they were rough!

So stimulants seem to help my migraines. I’m not sure what to do about this if it turns out I won’t be taking any more ADHD meds... I drink tea: orange pekoe or herbal, rarely ever black tea. And I only drink it in the morning. Should I switch to black tea??!! lol

Any ideas?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Coffee?

That seems to help some people.

 

[GaryQ]

Coffee definitely helps me...

if i don’t get my I get a really bad headache

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It can either help migraines or make them worse. It seems to be an individual thing.

 

[GaryQ]

We definitely need a tongue in cheek smiley because the rolling eyes snark just doesn't seem to cut it some times. Headaches are a common caffeine withdrawal side effect... Thankfully one thing I don't suffer from is migraines because seeing those I know suffer through them and personally having difficulty surviving just a regular splitting headache I don't think I would survive migraines!

 

[H011yHawkJ311yBean]

Bleah! No offense to ye that belong to that Coffee Cult... I can’t stand the taste of coffee. It smells delicious, and it even reminds me of my dad. I know some people swear by it. But unless it’s Coffee Cake, Coffee Ice Cream, or Coffee Crisp... Blargh. lol 😂

So, what you’re all saying is: I might as well just set up a hummingbird feeder in my kitchen...

😆😆😆

 

[GaryQ]

Bleah! No offense to ye that belong to that Coffee Cult... I can’t stand the taste of coffee. It smells delicious, and it even reminds me of my dad. I know some people swear by it. But unless it’s Coffee Cake, Coffee Ice Cream, or Coffee Crisp... Blargh. lol 

So, what you’re all saying is: I might as well just set up a hummingbird feeder in my kitchen...



No offense taken

the hummingbird feeder sounds like like a great idea :lol:

 

[gooblax]

I'm also on the anti-coffee team.
Don't even like the smell. When I had a mocha a few years ago I was way too hyperactive from it, so there's no point putting myself through that.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It's not a good idea for some people anyway, especially those with anxiety.

 

[gooblax]

^ Yeah that's my reasoning for not having energy drinks too. I have enough of my own mismanaged energy already