What are your migraine triggers?

Hey Migrainegirl,

I just wanted to mention that I tried the Andrew Jones program at one point when I was desperate and both the lack of results and the correspondence I had with him / his clinic really turned me off.

I have a science degree and asked him some pretty pointed questions about the biology behind his recommendations. His answers were all very evasive and left me feeling that the program was a scam. I wish I could be more specific with respect to my concerns but it was years ago and I don't remember the details. However, if he has been shut down there's probably a pretty good reason for it. You have to be so careful what you buy on the internet.

Ooops. Forgot a few but I think Zomigman already covered them... hormonal fluctuations and physical injury / strain (I have been in a few car accidents and before the migraines got bad, I suffered from chronic back pain). My back is a lot better now but my physio still thinks that my migraines may be related to my back injuries and more particularly to the neck pain.

Thanks for the info about wine. I don't know anything about the chemical makeup, only that even a sip of it will trigger a full blown migraine for me. I avoid even smelling it if possible. Beer actually has the same effect. The only alcohol I seem to be able to drink is Rye and I have no idea why.

Weather is a bad one for me. I live a little north of Toronto Ontario Canada, and we get some of the most diverse weather you can imagine. In early spring for example this year, we went from snow, to 4 inches of rain, to 30 degree Celsius heat all within once month. We had 2 days last week where it was over 40 degrees with the humidex. One say was 43, which is 109 F. And 'feels like 43' with the humidity, is 43 when you are out in it lol. Anyway, anytime we get the drastic weather changes, I get nailed with a migraine.

I have neck and shoulder problems, and if I don't keep on top of them with massage I get headaches that start as a tension headache, then seem to morph into a migraine.

Food wise, other than wine I haven't found many tiggers, and I have tried restrictive diets to isolate. I just have to follow the everything in moderation policy basically. If I eat way too much of any one thing, I will feel like crap in one way or another. I eat very little dairy, minimal meat, as much fruit and veges as I can. Oranges is one thing that I avoid because I have a slight allergy to them.


One absolute guaranteed trigger for me is lack of sleep though. If I run into sleep issues, which unfortunately happens a lot in spurts, I get nailed with some of the worst migraines I get.

It may be easier to list what isn't a trigger than what is. Certainly feels that way sometimes. My triggers are:

Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet)
weather changes
lack of sleep
bright light
not eating on time
getting too hot
flashing light
hormones
crying
stress (normally hits as soon as the stress eases)
too much citrus
exertion
bending over for any length of time
chemical or fuel smells

wow Brenda.....your triggers are identical to mine!

I have had a really good 10 days, no migraines until yesterday since I was feeling so good I decided to clean the house from top to bottom, this involved bending over to sweep up dust from the floor and within minutes I had neck stiffness and the start of a headache that by evening was a full blown migraine....just from doing something as simple as sweeping the floor!!! so frustrating.

On a positive note I took a triptan and went to bed and woke feeling normal this morning so am crossing everything it stays away!

Another trigger I think I've pinpointed lately is not drinking enough water....I seem to be ok if I make sure I drink 2 litres of water a day any less and I seem to be headachey if that makes sense but that may be just a coincedence as I have so many other triggers too

I'm glad I'm not alone Jul. Most people don't believe me when I say bending over like that gives me a migraine. I had to get myself one of those gripper aids just so I could easily pick things up off the floor. Sometimes I feel like I'm 87 instead of 47.

Reading this thread has reminded me of something, and I'm curious if anyone else can relate to my experience.
All of my triggers have already been listed, major ones being dehydration, low blood sugar, sudden physical exertion, changes in schedule/sleep patterns, bright sun exposure and stress. I suspect that my sensitivity to these triggers and therefore, the amount of migraines I get, subsides when I am in very good physical shape. On the other hand, when I am not in good shape and exercising minimally--3x week or less--not only are my headaches worse, but more things will trigger them.

This is why I think so:
Last summer I cycled across the Southern US from May-August. It was humid at first, dry in texas & beyond, and temps did not drop below 90 F most of the time. I got migraines for the first 2 weeks, then suddenly they disappeared. I did nothing different, except I got in shape. I was chronically dehydrated the whole summer, partly due (I discovered later) to the topamax I was taking. I should have been drinking 3x the water of everyone else, but I was not retaining anything or sweating at all. This proved to be a problem in drier states.
Anyway, I survived, and despite the terrible condition my body was in--lack of energy due to depleted blood sugar, not processing water correctly, extreme physical exertion for multiple days at a time, lack of sleep/recovery at night, consistent sun exposure for 6-10 hrs/day--I did not get any migraines!

I always attributed this to the, somewhat, regular schedule I followed during the bike tour. Now I definitely think it is due to my physical fitness level. Exercise has so many health benefits, it really should not be underestimated or overlooked.

Here are some things that triggers migraines for me

Too much Stress
Too Tire to work
Eaten too much
Too Hungry
High Blood Pressure

Another this is I went using a tanning bed but after a slept and the next morning, I went nuts because of the pain. Do you think tanning myself caused this one or it's just something else?

Hi All,

My migraine triggers:
-Loud noises
-flashing lights
-exhaustion
-any meat with nitrates (ham, bacon, hor dogs.)
-mushrooms

Other than that, a mixed up schedule is not good.

Pain free days
sailingm

Just been reading through this thread and thought I would add mine. I've only started having migraines this year and I've had 3 so far this year. 1 in March, 1 in July time and 1 just finishing up now in November. So I can safely say my triggers are not food. Theres nothing I only eat once every few months.

All 3 migraines have come on whilst I have been at work. I think my triggers are a combination of dehydration and staring at the computer screen for too long. I also think stress plays a part, my work isnt stressful, but once I get a migraine I start panicking and worrying which only makes it last longer.

So I now have a bottle of water on my desk always, I'm trying to remember to take breaks from the computer and do other jobs. Thankfully when I get a migraine they arent very painful, the aura just lasts days and really scares me and stresses me out. Thats what I want to avoid.

My triggers include:
All meat except shrimp (I became a vegetarian for this reason)
smells (anything stronger than soap)
loud noises
smoke (BBQ, cigarette, marijuana)
actual marijuana with send me into a tail spin for days
bright lights
sun
reading
stress
not sleeping or over sleeping
homework
But i have a headache disorder so i'm over sensitive to a lot of other things!

Mine are Milk, Egg, Wheat, Tomato, Beef, Corn, Soy. You can find a list that a doctor compiled after a large research study here:

Egger, J., et al. "Is migraine food allergy?: a double-blind controlled trial of oligoantigenic diet treatment." The Lancet (1983): 865-869.

I learned a while ago that my diet was by far the best way to manage my migraines. I now eat mainly rice, vegetables, and fish and have almost no migraines.


Best,
Steven

Change in sleep, change in weather, stress, cheap alcohol, getting over heated

I've been prone to migraines, and tension headaches, since I was 10; and I'm now 38. The only triggers I've been able to work out so far would be:-

Muscle tightness in my neck and shoulders.
Loud noises.
Bright or flashing lights.
Strong smells (eg. perfume, petrol (gas), fresh paint, smoke, etc).
Extremes of hot or cold weather (thankfully the cold weather doesn't get too extreme here in Australia).


I'm sure there'd be more, but that's all I can remember at the moment.

it seems that dehydration has a lot to answer for.
also lack of sleep, lack of food
before periods?
change in medications
and coffee.