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migraines afternoon & evening

I've got chronic migraine (10-20 days/month). They overwhelmingly hit in the later part of the day, anywhere from mid afternoon til bedtime if I'm staying up late. I saw another thread with someone whose migraines are specifically evening and include symptoms throughout the day. What about others? I sometimes have "pangs," little stabs of pain that come and go, for a couple hours before a migraine fully hits, and/or light and sound sensitivity, appetite loss, fatigue, and this year increasingly fuzzybrain. (I talk to my headache specialist about my medication use and my symptom constellation.)

I'm just trying to figure out why the timing is so consistent and if there are things I can do to target the timing for prevention. I work in healthcare and am out and about doing home patient visits, not stuck behind a computer. I carry tension in my shoulders but am aware of that and try to do simple stretches and shoulder rolls at least a couple times a day. I tend toward stress and anxiety and use mindfulness and other techniques to help with that. I've noticed in recent years that there's a subtle correlation where if I let my blood sugar drop I'm more prone to migraine (despite not being hypoglycemic), & between that and general preference I graze throughout the day in addition to three small meals rather than a more traditional food pattern. I'm a night owl working a 9-to-5 and I know I could use more sleep than I get, which I'm sure isn't helping. (It's not traditional insomnia in that when I get to bed I sleep ok, but getting myself actually to bed can be pretty hard when I'm not tired and am anxious about stopping what I'm doing and losing consciousness instead.)

  1. Hi Galadhwen,

    Thank you for reaching out to our community. While we can't give you medical advice, we can provide information (and support!!) you can share with your doctor.

    Because those of us with migraine disease have overly sensitive brains, if we get dehydrated, or skip meals and don't maintain a regular sleep schedule, we may be prone to getting a migraine attack, I know I am! If I skip meals or get overly hungry I'm bound to get a migraine attack. If I oversleep, a migraine attack will ensue.

    You may want to try keeping a regular sleep schedule, stay hydrated and not get overly hungry and see if that helps. Does that make sense? Will you let me know what you think?

    Wishing you a low pain day,
    Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Advocate/Moderator

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