Five Tips for Traveling with Chronic Migraine

Summertime is traveling time for many of us. Unfortunately, travel and chronic migraine don’t often mix. Make the most of your trip with these five tips:

1. Update your medications. Make sure you have plenty of medicines on hand for the length of your trip (plus a few extra days, just in case). Count your over-the-counter drugs. If you know you’re going to need refills on your prescriptions, put in your request at least a week in advance to allow for any unforeseen pharmacy delays. Also, consider asking for an extra or different form of medication for your trip, if necessary. For example, I have a prescription for Sprix (a ketorolac nasal spray that needs to be refrigerated). I didn’t want to deal with refrigeration issues on a week-long, cross-country trip, so I asked my doctor for a one-time prescription for the medicine in pill form. I know it won’t work as well for me (because my migraines generally come on very quickly), but it’s better than nothing. Additional preventatives may also be an option (if, for example, flying is a major trigger for you). Talk to your doctor to see what he or she recommends.
2. Add a recovery day, if possible. If your schedule and pocketbook allow it, try to add in an extra day at the start of your trip for recovery. If you’re traveling for a special event, for example, schedule your arrival a full 24-hours early. That way, if a travel-triggered migraine hits, you have time to rest and recover before the big day.

3. Plan around your triggers. If you’re going to stay with family members who always wear strong perfume and/or keep scented candles around the house, ask them in advance if they’d mind keeping the house (and themselves) smell free for the duration of your stay. If that isn’t an option, consider staying somewhere where you can have more control over your triggers. If you’re attending a conference or another big event that takes place somewhere you know will be laden with triggers (fluorescent lights, for example), try to build in plenty of rest time around your activities. You may also want to stay as close to the event as possible to maximize your ability to take a nap if you start to feel a migraine approaching.
4. Keep to your schedule as much as possible. This is particularly tricky when traveling, but if skipping meals or altering your sleep schedule is a big problem for you, do your best to stay on track. (Make sure to take your medications on time too, if applicable. An alarm on your phone can help with this.) If sticking to your normal routine isn’t an option, try to build in some routine somewhere. Get up at the same time every day, even if it is a different time than you’d normally get up, and eat your meals at regular intervals. Even the smallest of routines can help.
5. Carry a smaller, travel-friendly version of your migraine tool kit at all times. At the very minimum, this should include a full day’s worth of medication (abortive and rescue), dark sunglasses, and earplugs.

For more tips on traveling with migraine, be sure to scroll through our travel survival guide slideshow.