Computer Programmer with Chronic Migraines

I've had migraines for as long as I have memory. They have varied from one every other month to three or four per week.

Being a computer programmer, I am on the computer 8 to 10 hours on a decent day of programming. I've used all kinds of display technology.

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The old CRT monitors weren't that bad as long as you kept a high enough refresh rate. I had the least amount of headaches on a standard LCD monitor. I think the quality of the monitor makes a big difference. The more expensive monitors will generally tend to give me less headaches.

A year ago I switched to an LED backlit monitor thinking that would help my headaches. It's actually made them worse. LED monitors use Pulse Width Modulation to control brightness. This makes a more noticable flickr than standard LCD monitors and will cause more eye strain and headaches. I'm going to be switching back to my old LCD and seeing if that makes a difference.

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