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Migraine - what are your triggers?

42 replies

noarguments · 11/02/2012 13:41

I've started getting what I believe could be migraines. Proper nausea, headaches, dizziness etc - where you actually have to retire to bed in a pitch black room.
Am trying to work out what could be triggering them. What are you triggers?

Thanks!

OP posts:
sosickofthesoundofscreaming · 12/02/2012 22:08

Eyeofthe storm - on the plus side, each time I have had a child (I have two) the frequency of my migraines has decreased (obviously not the ideal cure...)!

bonzo77 · 12/02/2012 22:08

champagne. Occasionally other things. Occasionally no trigger. But interestingly I don't think I have had one since I was 5 months pregnant with DS, which was over 2 years ago now. That one was caused by champagne.

countessbabycham · 12/02/2012 22:08

I find the headache the worst part.Absolutely writhing around crippling pain.I find if I catch it early enough I can use over the counter migraine tablets and wet flannel on forehead.Ordinary ibuprofen or paracetamol,or even co codamol don't work for me.

SilverMachine · 12/02/2012 22:08

Hormones are definitely a trigger. At one point, I suffered with them at least once a week (and up to three times a week) and would be incapacitated for up to 12 hours each time. I had a Mirena fitted about four years ago and have not had a single one since.

Mine used to start with a slight headache which then got increasingly worse, sensitivity to smell and light and fatigue. IKWYM about a 'look' catsmamma, my mum could always tell when I was getting a migraine.

Moodykat · 12/02/2012 22:13

Aspartame/artificial sweeteners are the only trigger I have ever isolated. They also make my chin itch and make me short of breath. Nasty bloody things. And they've started to add them to all sorts recently. Happened after I brushes my teeth and the bloody toothpaste had it in!

noarguments · 14/02/2012 09:41

Thanks for all the replies - was away from PC for a while. Think I'll start writing down stuff that I ate / did / felt before each one (once I can see straight that is!) to see what I can work out. Many of these triggers (stressful day, too much PC work, bright lights) could have applied last time. Too much chocolate always applies Grin

OP posts:
nellyjelly · 14/02/2012 09:46

I have migraine. Not one thing triggers me off. I believe that there is a threshold over which you get a migraine if you push yourself over it. So though wine, chocolate etc can be fine one day, on another day when I'm tired or driving in bright sunshine, the combination can set me off.

I know one is coming as get incredibly thirsty and crave fruit juice. Very strange.

Thank god for Imigram I say! They have saved my life!

Flisspaps · 14/02/2012 09:51

Orange juice - even tiny amounts. Lots of sugar.

Listmaker · 14/02/2012 09:53

my dsd1 suffers terribly from migraines and used to have them so often she missed loads of school especially during her GCSEs. We couldn't figure out the triggers but then we realised that they started in October and petered out in March/April and she would be more or less fine all summer. So she got a light box and it has made it sooo much better for her. So hers is all about the amount of daylight which we've never heard of anyone else having before. She gets SAD basically and being low triggers the migraines.

OracleInaCoracle · 14/02/2012 09:55

chocolate, hormones, stress and tiredness.

festivalwidow · 14/02/2012 11:48

Stress, too little sleep and low blood sugar are my triggers. Flashing or strong sunlight doesn't help either.
This meant that life with a newborn was one long migraine...
Generally I get a prickly feeling in my hands, then my vision blurs before 'blacking out' altogether. The more severe ones also give me a rushing sound in my ears - horrible. Don't tend to get headaches badly, but can get a washed out hangover feeling for a couple of days afterwards.
Bizarrely, Pringles seem to help!

Elibean · 14/02/2012 11:58

Tense neck/bad back
Not drinking enough water
Unexpressed anger/giving myself a hard time
Low blood sugar
Lack of sleep
Adolescence/perimenopause ie hormonal fluctuations

And possibly choc/cheese - but to be honest, can have any of the above and no migraine. When several factors kick in at once, especially the bad neck these days - I get halo of lights, tunnel vision in one eye, then headache/nausea.

I find an aspirin and loads of water, if taken immediately, and a good painkiller (ie codeine plus paracetamol) tends to prevent the worst sort of headaches. I used to take triptans, but the aspirin plus water seems to work as well (dissolves teeny clots in the blood vessels around the brain, according to my GP, which is the cause of most migraines).

SP0104 · 14/02/2012 19:43

Mine trigger is a cracker ! any form of 'liquid' chocolate, ie chocolate sauce, chocolate milkshake, hot chocolate, chocolate custard, chocolate pudding with the sauce in the middle.
My SD once made us all a hot chocolate drink made with melted bars of chocolate and milk - I think I lost three days with the pain.

KenDoddsDadsDog · 14/02/2012 21:15

Wow that is strange! And a nightmare.
I just had a slice of sacher torte and had to take preventative painkillers afterwards. It was bloody lovely though!

Primrose123 · 14/02/2012 21:41

My triggers are:

Orange food colouring
Bright or flashing lights, sometimes even the sunlight reflecting off something shiny
Extreme cold or heat
Lack of sleep
Not stress itself, but the relief when the stress is over (if that makes sense)
Jarring my neck
Although sometimes I get a migraine but there are no obvious triggers.

I have the same symptoms as many of the posters on here have described:

Disorientation, loss of vision, co-ordination and speech, people's faces looking blurry or fuzzy, tunnel vision, seeing zig zag lines, feeling and possibly being sick, extreme pain in my right eye and all around the eye socket, sensitivity to light, noise and the cold.

I take naramig and ibuprofen, and this helps take the edge off the pain if taken early enough.

I started getting 2 - 3 migraines per week about 8 years ago, had to give up all caffeine, and went on beta blockers for six months, which made me put on a few stone. Sad

Also, I used to suffer from quite bad rhinitis, and have been told that this can be connected with migraines.

nellyjelly · 15/02/2012 20:31

I never had any migraine when pg so expect hormones are an issue, the up an down of a cycle so to speak.

eggtimer · 15/02/2012 20:34

The smell of 'cool linen' pot pourri from M and S. (weird but true)

Low blood sugar, tiredness, stress.

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