Triggers and remedies
I would like to share my list of migraine triggers and remedies.
1. Food triggers : gluten including wheat, rye, bran ( all grain forms including sticky rice that is not normally thought of as a migraine trigger ), chocolate. some nuts, alcohol, too much coffee, milk products, asparagus, too much cheese, preserved meats, preservatives like nitrates and sodium phosphate.
2. going more than 3 hours without eating- a guaranteed migraine.
3.Other triggers : Very hard exercise often brings on a migraine 4 hours after exercise. STRESS ! Smoke, perfumes bright lights at an angle overhead, loud noises.
4. Remedies : 3x 325mg Aspirin with soy milk if taken as soon as the migraine is noticed, useless if I wait too long. Zomig nasal spray zolmitriptan works every time to kill a migraine but can't be used more than 2 times per week. Heat on head and neck. Massage buzzer on neck and base of skull reduces but does not eliminate the pain. Same with standing in a shower letting warm water flow over my head. Lie down in a quiet dark room with a cold wet facecloth over eyes and forehead.
5. Prevention : Moderate exercise outdoors . Flunarizine drug reduces migraines to 5x per month, down from 25x per month and tried 16 other drugs without success. Religious sticking to avoidance of food triggers. Avoiding stress. Don't listen to the radio, just plain irritating. Get the same amount of sleep every night at the same time and too much sleep seems to be as bad as not enough. Wear sunglasses and a hat outside in sunny weather to cut the bright light. If you can play music on an instrument do so frequently. Interaction with people helps, especially talking about crazy ideas( dopamine effect )
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to type up all of this
. I have no doubt other community members will be able to learn more about potential triggers they experience after reading your post. I can resonate with a lot of the triggers you have, like sensitivity to gluten and perfumes. Both seem to have a major impact on my migraines, and I do my best to avoid both.
I'm also so glad to hear that Flunarizine helps reduce your migraines to five times per month. That is a huge improvement from 25 times per month. Fingers crossed that they will continue to decrease as you learn more about yourself and your triggers.
Best,
- Cody (Team Member)Thanks, Cody. I have been battling migraines for about 24 years, have tried every wacky home remedy and doctor recommended drug out there. Unfortunately the Flunarizine is something that works for about 4 to 6 months, then loses its effectiveness, so I stop it for a month or two, then start taking it again and it works for another few months. I find the My Migraine site to be pretty helpful.
My, what a lengthy migraine journey. Interesting how the flunarizine loses its efficacy over time and then seems to reset after you take a break from it. We hear many people talk about how their migraine prevention and rescue medications lose efficacy. Most times we hear about people responding to this challenge by moving on from these treatments and trying others. Your strategy is most interesting. I always wonder why our treatments stop working - I've often thought it's the migraine finding its way around medications (like a mouse searching for cheese in a maze) but I'm sure it's something more scientific than that. Thanks for sharing this approach. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
