Alcohol induced migraine- what alcohol? Varies in a month
I get light flash triggered Arora migraines which, if i take couple paracetamol & ibuprofen within 20mins never goes beyond that but… half a glass of wine or a cocktail can also trigger the headache only usually some hours after. I cant pin down which type of alcohol because if varies in a month ie I could drink 4 cockatils or two glasses of wine & have no effect but another day, just half glass of wine triggers it. This goes straight to headache that i cant shift for the best part of 8hrs. Has anyone experienced this or can offer any advice. Its hard to pin down what or when because its so varied.
Thank you for joining the conversation. Alcohol can be a nasty trigger for many of us, but not all. It can be difficult to track down exactly what type of alcohol is triggering the attack.
Triggers can be stackable which complicates the issue. For example if you didn't sleep well, were dehydrated, skipped a meal or two, and a storm moved in THEN you had half a glass of wine you may experience an attack. On another day you may not experience any other triggers and have four cocktails and two glasses of wine and not experience a migraine. We have an article on this that may be of interest; https://migraine.com/living-migraine/trigger-stacking and another from Migraine Canada; https://migrainecanada.org/posts/the-migraine-tree/trunk/core-skills/triggers-avoid-or-cope/#:~:text=Yes!,you%20do%20get%20an%20attack.
What makes migraine triggers more complicated is they can change over time, mine sure have!
Let me know what you think and I'm sending you pain free wishes, Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Leader/Moderator Migraine.com TeamAll
I hear you. Some of us living with migraine disease are very sensitive to certain foods and alcohol. Have you found any foods that trigger a nasty migraine attack too?
I hope today is a low pain day, Nancy Harris Bonk, team member
Alcohol doesn't really trigger me.
We've heard from others who like you are not triggered by alcohol. Have you been able to find out what some of your triggers are?
Of course we can be the "perfect" migraine disease patient and still get attacks. I believe it's the nature of migraine!
I'm sending you wishes for a low pain day, Nancy Harris Bonk, team member
All of them although some are much worse than others. I can get away with one vodka drink.
Thank you for joining the conversation. I can tell you you're not alone in this. Some of us living with migraine are super sensitive to certain foods and alcohol, others not so much!
How are you doing today? I'm sending pain free wishes to you, Nancy Harris Bonk, team member
I am super sensitive to many things, alcohol included. Vodka is a big no-no. Wine, red or white, is not a good choice but I manage the pain it brings on. Beer is iffy. It depends on what it is made of (??) if that makes sense. Just being aware of the consequences of your choices is progress. It takes a lot of time and energy to figure it out but worth it. I have concluded that for now, I will abstain. Safe choice. Thanks for sharing. Hope you have low pain and a healthy day. Rebecca (team member)
