Triggers. Genetics. Preventatives.

Can you all help me out here please?

Those of you that know what causes you to have migraines.
Could you tell me please?
There is quite a little discussion going on elsewhere.
It is regarding triggers and genetics.

I am informed that there is no confirmed genetic link for migraines. ie, they have yet to isolate the gene.
So the argument is, how do we know, even in a family with migraines running through it that it is genetic and not "something else". Why with such an apparent strong genetic connection have they still not found this gene? Or are there more than one.??
And why does someone like me have them then. No family history at all. How recessive can this gene be??
It seems to be quite dominant for others....

Preventatives: If these borrowed drugs help some of us. Why have they not been able to determine how?
We use different families of drugs, why do they appear to work, albeit not that well for many? Surely, if they help us, knowing how they work on the conditions they are made for should help determine why they work on us?

And to end at the beginning. Triggers.
Could you please list your top 3 "certain" triggers.

I have only ever had one. The one that started it all seemingly: Hormones.
I have yet to find another. Diet, weather. Nothing really stacks up for me.
I just wake with migraine every 3 or 4 day, which then lasts for about the same period.
Although, sometimes I can go 7 or 8 days, thereby dispelling any suggestion (yes I was given one), that it is psychological,....

I would appreciate you guys commenting on here please.
I am not courting controversy. I would like to give some sound advice on my FB page, and I think we have a good catchment, and a wealth of experience here.

Thanks so much.
Pen

Hmmmm... I "know" for certain what causes about 50% of my migraines. Top 3 triggers:

1. Caffeine
2. Dehydration
3. Lack of sleep

The other 50%....??
Not hormones.
My dad does suffer from (less severe) migraine with aura, so there's a potential genetic link.

Preventatives - have been on Dotheipin (tricyclic antidepressant) for YEARS. It works. Most of the time!
LHx

Triggers:
1.Hormones
2.Stress/Anxiety
3.Chocolate, salty foods, sugary drinks, caffine

I have a whole list of triggers, I could go on and on.

My mom also suffers from migraines and so did her mom. My dad gets less severe headaches, but I guess you can call them migraines.

Right now I am on clonidine for preventative (it is a blood pressure medication). I've tried topomax which lost its effectiveness after a period of time.

The only trigger I've been able to pinpoint is weather.

Genetics:
my dad had migraines. My mom is going through menopause now and she gets really bad headaches. I had her tell me the symptoms the other day. Sensitivity to light, occasional vomitting, nausea, pain on one side. I'm no doctor but sounds like migraines. When she gets them she can't do anything.

Preventatives:

the only one I ever had success with was topamax. It did stop working after a while though.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much, please keep them coming...

P

Unfortunately, genetics is a lot more complicated than just genes. People not only have a certain set of genes, but these genes can be cut and pasted together in many, many ways (called splice variants) to form millions if not billions of different proteins. Isolating the genetic link in migraine isn't a trivial task and with our current technology is going to heavily depend on a researcher getting lucky.

It very well may be a few different genes that form proteins that interact with each other in a complex - most proteins don't work alone. So, for instance, say there is a complex composed of 8 proteins. A mutation in any one of those 8 genes could mess up the complex. And to add to the complexity, a mutation in any given gene could either mess up the complex a little or mess it up a whole lot. It's not a straight forward problem at all, and it's not made any easier by the lack of funding to pursue migraine research. Scientists can't just study things because they want to, unfortunately - they can only study what the government is willing to pay them to study.

As for my top 3 triggers:

1. Hunger
2. Dehydration
3. Lack of sleep

Oh, and to answer this question "And why does someone like me have them then. No family history at all. How recessive can this gene be??"

There's no reason you couldn't have been the first in your family to acquire the mutated gene. Genes aren't passed down as 100% exact copies of each other. As a single cell turns into a fetus and that turns into a human, genes become mutated along the way. Even as an adult, genes become mutated - a common cause of cancer.

Thanks Jayme. I am trying to digest all that, but have just eaten...Ha! No really thank you.

Can I ask others HOW do you determine these trigger?
Is there a knee jerk reaction to things?
How long is long enough to figure a reaction, especially with food??

P

Top 3 known triggers;
1. Missing a meal or a long delay.
2. Alcohol.
3. Perfumes.

Actually the worst at the moment is Tesco in Cardigan. Any other Tesco seems ok. It's just that shop. 15 minutes and I start the uncontrolled yawning. Then the aura starts.

I'm sure that these and other things are definite triggers as the reaction is so swift. In the case of perfumes, if I walk through the cosmetics counter at the front of Debenhams or the like I'll be ill by the time I reach the back. These triggers are easily avoided and I only have about 1 big migraine a month that comes on during the day.

Like you Pen, I wake with a full-on migraine but mine are about every 6 days or so. These attacks can't be aborted and last 3 days usually. Between times I have a milder migraine which I have described as being like a shadow of the real thing. Even these are bad enough though!

Forgot to say. My mother has migraines but only now and again. My sister is the same. My younger daughter (age 24)has 3-day migraines which have been pretty bad. She's just started on triptans and they seem to work.

PREVENTATIVES -

Cayenne
5HTP



TOP 3 TRIGGERS-

1. Neck becoming cold, twisted, or tight while sleeping
2. Low oxygen
3. Aspartame, MSG


GENETICS-

No family history of even headaches, let alone migraines


Chris

Top three triggers:

Bright Sun
Weather changes
Alcohol

Genetics:
Grandmother (maternal side), Mother, Sister and son.

Preventatives:
Have tried many with none to disasterous results. Currently rely solely on painkillers.

This is really interesting, I do thank you all.

Low Oxygen Chris....what is that please?
Sounds nasty...

P

Triggers:

1. Lights (flashes of lights, the sun, fluorescent lights etc...)
2. Fast Motions (vibrations, too quick head movement, movies/tv that are filmed in a jerky style)
3. Patterns (stripes, optical illusions etc...)

Genetics:

Father, brother, sister and daughter - everybody has different symptoms and different triggers


Preventatives:

None that seem to work

Hmmm choosing just 3 triggers...... tough one.

1. Nutrasweet (aka aspartame)
2. hormones before and after my friendly visitor
3. hunger


Genetics: maternal aunt, mother (who still swears they were only sick headaches, not migraines..but they WERE), two nieces.

preventives: have tried cyclic anti-depressants (raise my heart rate to 180-210), Inderal, Topamax, Depakote, magnesium, butterbur, feverfew, wellbutrin, many others I can't recall. LOL

Interesting thread,

Triggers - (hard to pick just three)

Hormones

Input Overload - I think of this like my head only gets so many lights, patterns, noises and smells in a given period. If I go over my limit- WHAMMO. I fell like this is all of Jewish Mother's triggers rolled into one.

Relaxation after stress - I ALWAYS get the morning after migraine. I am great in a tight situation, just not after.

Preventatives - tried them all. Depakote worked some for a while. All others failed or I was not able to tolerate side effects. Rely on massage and painkillers now.

Genetics - Paternal Grandmother, paternal cousins, two have debilitating chronic pain. Maternal Aunt.

Mary Anne

Input overload - I like that - can take only so many and then the brain shuts down........perfect way too look at........

pen wrote:Those of you that know what causes you to have migraines.
Could you tell me please?

I don't that I could ever say that I "know" what causes all my migraines. Knowing one's triggers is not the same as knowing what causes one's migraines.

pen wrote:Preventatives: If these borrowed drugs help some of us. Why have they not been able to determine how?
We use different families of drugs, why do they appear to work, albeit not that well for many? Surely, if they help us, knowing how they work on the conditions they are made for should help determine why they work on us?

Again, while this may be a good question, I think it asks too much of us as patients to try to answer. There is no way I'd be able to provide an answer to the question, "if these drugs help some of us, why have they not been able to determine how?" Add to that, I can't tell you why a preventative works for me, but not for another migraineur. It's not really fair to ask me, a humble patient, to try to figure that one out. It's a question for a medical professional.

But, that said, I can tell you I've tried at least half a dozen different preventatives, and only one, topomax, has actually worked for me long term. I'm up to 200mg a day.

pen wrote:And to end at the beginning. Triggers.
Could you please list your top 3 "certain" triggers.

I have only ever had one. The one that started it all seemingly: Hormones.
I have yet to find another. Diet, weather. Nothing really stacks up for me.
I just wake with migraine every 3 or 4 day, which then lasts for about the same period.

Is anything certain? Things that used to trigger migraines for me in my 20s don't trigger them now. Things that trigger them now didn't 2, 3, 5 or 10 years ago.
I can give you my current triggers, in order of "importance":

1. stress
2. hormones
3. hunger
4. excessive noise
5. strong smells (ie., perfumes)
6. variations in sleep pattern (too much or not enough sleep)

There are alot of foods I stay away from on principle, because they can often (but not always) trigger migraines. They include alcohol (especially red wines), foods with msg and aspartame, deli (processed) meats, and bananas. There are others but I forget. Coffee doesn't bother me, neither do onions or hard cheeses.

I am informed that there is no confirmed genetic link for migraines. ie, they have yet to isolate the gene.

I don't understand - there are known some genes that are responsible for M.
For hemiplegic M for one.
I thought these genes responsible were isolated?


As for my triggers, my top one are

1 noise
2. smell
3 bright lights


Risa

Oops, sorry for any confusion Bubbs. The "questions" are supposed to be rhetoric.....should maybe have made that clear. Triggers and causes. Point taken. For me they are the same because I have no idea how I came by the migraine disease, and no idea of any triggers, except, as I said, the hormones that kicked it all off. Given they should be dead and gone by now, any other triggers remain a mystery....Interesting your triggers have changed over time. Wonder if that is the same for others? Thanks for your input Bubbs

Risa. I cant answer your comment on the genetics. The report I was referring to on line has either been taken down or I have a problem. It said that as yet the gene has not been found, and that must mean there are either many, or possibly none....and that the social factors between families have not been given enough credence.
However, until I can find it.....I cant quote. Sorry.

Thanks, and to everyone.

Trigger; perfume, hunger, bannana

Genetics; sister and mother have milder version and are tied to weather change.

Preventives; I got some relief from 5-HTP and almost complete relief with Clonidine 3 x day. { 10 months }

I had childhood M from age 10-12, and returned at age 39. have endured 6.5 years. daily HA / M .

Top three triggers...

Weather changes
Not eating
Petrochemical or fumes of any kind ...paint, car exhaust, cleaners, perfumes, carpet glue, etc. 5 minutes exposure and I've got a migraine.

It's pretty obvious there is a genetic connection of some kind in my family. I can trace migraines through four generations and on both sides of the family.

I've tried just about every preventative, alt therapy, diet changes with adequate or minimal results. None of the preventative work for very long if they do anything at all. Some had such severe side effects that I can't take them. I've had better luck with keeping a strict diet. At least that way food triggers are not adding to the mess otherwise I would be adding food triggers to the list.

Just so you all know I am reading and taking this in (I think).
In order of prevalence these are the top triggers:

Hunger.
Smells.
Hormones

Then these, but less of us....
Sleep
Stress
Weather

Still like to know how you all pinpoint these triggers. How soon do you react? I have checked and checked and just when I think I have found something, it proves negative...

I am still looking at the rest of your comments regarding the other subjects, and again. Thank you.

If you are reading this and havent posted, please do, I know how far I have counted, so fire away..

Pen,

An interesting question. I think that like many things, migraines are not caused by genetics or the environment, but rather a combination of the 2. That is some people are more genetically susceptible to them, and then when some environmental trigger occurs, the body learns to get migraines in response.

In my case, my mother had migraines and my brother has had sever migraines for the past 25 years after a car accident. I recently found out from a 2nd cousin with migraines that our great grandfather also suffered from them. I never had hardly any headaches at all my whole life until I was 46, following an episode with a bulging disk in my neck. That rapidly turned into chronic headaches almost every day, even after the bulging disk was healed. Was it due to that? Or due to my age as I became perimenopausal and the neck thing was just a red herring? I still am not sure. I do know the natural projesterone is making a big difference.

I never found any food or drink triggers, not even caffeine or chocolate and still have plenty of both. Nor do I find that stress really makes any difference. I had them when there was no real stress going on and have done fine even under significant stress since I've been on this plan. The main sure triggers before were turning my head (such as looking at the ceiling or backing out of the driveway) and flying. Now neither bothers me. The main triggers are lack of sleep and hormonal (right before my period).

I strongly suspect there may be more than one type of causal factor that leads to people having migraines (different genes). In my family's cases since it seems to have effects a number of men, I suspect it may be something like thyroid which effects the whole endocrine system. (The iodine on this plan is for the thyroid and I suspect is why it is working for my brother). In other people's case there may be another underlying factor such as hormones getting messed up.

Pen,

Let's not forget that the mapping of the human genome was completed not all that long ago. There are a number of diseases that scientists are certain are genetic, but they haven't isolated the exact genetics of them yet. For Migraine, they do know of three genes that are related to familial hemiplegic Migraine. That's a start.

Preventatives: If these borrowed drugs help some of us. Why have they not been able to determine how?
Lack of research funding plays a part. With PET scans and other advances, researchers know far more about the pathophysiology of Migraine, but they still don't fully understand it, what is happening in the brain during a Migraine. Until they understand that, they're not going to be able to figure out that question about preventives. Researchers ask the same question. BUT, keep this in mind too. Even with drugs as old as antibiotics, a lot depends on personal body chemistry. The antibiotic that works best for you might not work at all for me. Think about other drugs too. Say, breast cancer drugs. What works well for some people doesn't necessarily help other people at all.

My top three triggers:

1. Weather changes
   
2. Missed or messed up sleep
   
3. Flying
   

Teri

Well I was able to tell mine were waether related after my manager at work states her headaches and neuro symptoms were weather related and she noticed that my M got worse when weather fronts moved through our area.

I started keeping track of weather and sure enough when a weather front approaches and the atmospheric pressure changes I would get a horrendous migraine.

Now that I have found relief with the Botox, when a front passes through I can feel what i call the pressure in my head changing but I can't feel the pain. Thank goodness.

Is this what you are wanting Pen?