r/migraine

I thought maybe sharing your biggest triggers would maybe help someone else here realize a trigger or learn how to deal with theirs.

Mine are:

- STRESS

- Barometric pressure changes

- Sunlight exposure without sunglasses

- High temperatures for extended periods (95F+, 2+ hours)

- Failure to eat & failure to drink water

- Squinting, neck tension, and/or other facial tension for extended periods

- Offensive smells (e.g., people who bathe in perfume, cigarette smoke, heavy chemicals, B.O., strong food odors)

EDIT:

- Fluorescent lights! The most evil lights ever made.

I had a migraine every other day before the massive heatwave.

Now it is everyday.

Does anyone else have the same increase of episodes these last few weeks?

Not sure if this is just me, but wearing sunglasses really reduces my migraine attacks.
I started doing it outside even when it’s not super sunny, and I noticed way fewer episodes. Anyone else experience this?

Hello everyone,

So I've been stuck with this 24/7 photophobia for almost 2 years now. It's kind of always the same and never worsens or gets better. Since it does not respond to habituation and comes with muscle tension in the neck and trigeminal nerve pain all of over the head, it a least appears to be migraine-adjacent.

All my blood tests and scans come back clear, except for my CD8+/CD4+ ratio which was 0.54 recently, which kind of confirms my immune system is still dealing with the aftershock of a virus I had a couple of years ago, most likely Covid.

It likely being post-viral syndrome, I don't fit in any clean diagnostic box like migraine, dysautonomia or visual snow syndrome. Neurologists just tell me they have no clue about what it is and I just have to wait it out while putting me on relatively light stuff like 400mg riboflavin, but that's not been very effective.

So I researched this myself and have at least tried treatment that could theoretically make a dent in it: nerve blocks in the V1, V2 and occipital area. Nerve block in the V2 area (sides of the head) helped the most very briefly. Stellate ganglion block with no effect on the light sensitivity though it made me (even) calmer. I tried Nortryptiline for a few weeks and it overstimulated me, while that was already a problem with the light doing that, and it dysregulated my sleep, so I weaned myself off.

And most recently migraine (PREEMT) botox or the 39 injections all around the head and on traps. It's been 5 days though so too early to say if it's going to do anything. And a long-covid doctor suggested I tried vagus nerve stimulation so I've also been doing that via a Nurosym device for 5 days.

Next on my list is trying a CGRP antagonist but I already know it's going to be a struggle to find a neurologist that agrees to it here in Belgium because I'm missing too many migraine symptoms.

Anyway, my question is for the people on here who experience interictal (so not during episodes but in-between) photophobia: is there a treatment that effectively made it go down? I've seen a few people mention that botox and CGRP monoclonal antibodies did that for them so I wanted to see if there were more people out there whose light sensitivity has been helped by these treatments.

I'm not interested in any management strategies like using dark mode or using tinted glasses, I already (have to) do that and it's doing nothing good or bad for the light sensitivity itself, it just reduces the discomfort on the moment, and regularly invites mockeries from people around me, so if I could find a way to be this, that would be great.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Migraines used to knock me out, make me super fatigued, and the entire day was gone.

My recovery time is much faster now with the below combo all the same time, the minute I get an aura.

1. Sumatriptan (old standby to hit the migraine itself)

2. 4 Advil (to get ahead of the headache that comes during recovery)

3. Caffeine Pill 150mg (to combat the intense fatigue side effect of Sumatriptan)

4. Electrolyte mix (to replenish quickly)

I feel like I'm a drug addict mixing uppers and downers trying to get that perfect cocktail but man o man I can't tell you how much better my recovery with this.

I know we're all searching for that thing or things that will work for us, so sharing this if helpful!

What's a time when you suddenly realized you stupidly or just a. Idently realized you've wrecking balled yourself into a bad migraine?

For me, it was vaccines. Normally, it's fine, but I have been in a highly sensitized state for weeks and got all the vaccines the doctor offered out of habit. When the shivers set in hours later, I knew I stressed my system out beyond recovery. Buckle up butter cup.

I've seen there have been a couple studdies trying to link the two, and wanted to toss my hat in the arena as well.

Male, 39, started gatting migraines in grade 3 and they've been monghly or bi weekly occurences my whole life.

Cambia or T3 would usually dull the attacks in a couple hours enough to function lightly on bad days. I miss those days.

My life has begun to fall apart since October 2023.

My wife and I took Covid seriously, and we both managed to avoid it, until we didnt. Nailed after lockdown ended from a family gathering with children. Worst flu we ever had, and I ended up roasting with a fever of 103.5 for a couple days, called the doctor and they said I should call for an ambulance and Inpassed out before I could. Managed to wake up several hours later and the fever had broken. Ever since then however my migraines have become nearly constant with my good days being biweekly or worse.

Waking up with them is the usual, and the vertigo when moving with nausea that accompanies them is debilitating to the point where I miss over half my working days each year. I'm blessed with an employer who understands as they also suffered migraines for many years, as did their husband.

I've been shotgunned the usual suspects, Cambia now just makes me have to sleep the whole day, sumatriptan, amytriptaline, candesartin, propanolol, naproxen, baclofen, Ubrelvy, Emgality injection, and others.

At best they knock me out for 6 hours making me unable to get to work, and at worst they cause anxiety or depression related side effects that make me worry for my already shakey mental health.

I had to fight with my neuro to get an MRI (wouldn't agree to contrast) and was simply told there was nothing concerning.

I'm fraying at the edges of hope and just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced the same worsening of symptoms after a bad fever/illness/Covid to help better argue my position with my neuro.

Wishing you all a pain free day.

So I have been suffering from migraines from school years but they are less frequent now. Im 26F. the way it goes for me is as follows: Id get disturbance in my vision which i recognise the instant it happens. then it turns to blind spots and then it gradually expands. if it happens on the left region of my sight, the pain first starts on the right side of my head before spreading to whole of my head. offf its awful when it happens. i cannot think straightly i feel like someone has just stopped my brain. and has wrapped a tight cloth around my head and squeezing it. the vision disturbance and pain gets fine in several hours but the unable to think straight feeling still lingers around at least a day.
the triggers? i really dont know sometimes i think its blood circulation problem. there are days when im so busy and sleep deficit with all the people around but i dont get the migraine. sometimes im relaxed none of the reason is there and i suddenly get it.
I want to reach to the root cause and get it cured. I really wanna what is happening in my body that causes it. I have been to neurologist but they dont seem to listen or investigate it in depth.

Hi,

I have been a life long reader and posted in this group. I tried it all. Seriously everything for chronic migraines. All meds. Mayo clinic. steroid epidurals. PT. Chiro. you name it.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's this year. Started on levothyroxine some supplements and COMPLETELY had to cut gluten out of my diet. I have not had a migraine or chronic migraine flair up since.

Posting in case this helps anyone. My T3/T4 were normal. My Thyroid antibodies were extremely high. Please reach out with questions.

Its been about 6 weeks since my cluster headaches started this year. 3rd and 4th weeks were the hardest with sleep deprivation, and daily morning headaches which left me ever exhausted. Since last week the headaches have been less frequent and i only had one headache last week. But the thing is Im constantly sleepy and tired and I feel no motivation for anything at all even on headache free days and weeks. I always have a lingering tightness in the right side of my neck and shoulder.
I am yearning to feel myself again.
Does this happen to you guys as well? How do you deal with this constant sense of fatigue? And how long does this usually last?

I'm currently in my cluster headache cycle, and I've started noticing something that I'm not sure is real or if I'm just overanalysing.

A bit of background:

• I had about one week completely headache-free.
• The morning after eating a dish containing dried shrimp and dried anchovies, I woke up with one of my typical severe cluster headaches.
• Then, two days later, I was cooking eggs in the same pan that had been used for the dried seafood. As soon as I smelled the fumes, I immediately noticed a strange sensation in my right nostril, followed by the familiar pain signals running around my right eye and to the back of my skull (the usual side for my attacks). I left the kitchen immediately, and fortunately, the pain never progressed into a full attack.

Another thing I've noticed this year is that I seem to have had a headache after eating fish on several occasions. I'm not sure whether this is a real pattern or whether I'm now paying much more attention to everything because of the headaches.

For context, I've never had a seafood allergy. In fact, I grew up eating seafood, including dried fish, as a major part of my diet without any problems. Since my cluster headaches started this year, I've completely stopped drinking alcohol because I know it's a well-known trigger during an active cluster period. And I don't eat much aged cheese or processed meats anyway.

One more thing that makes me wonder: I also had a headache after eating instant noodles once. Again, this could be a coincidence or me overanalysing, but it made me think about whether there could be a common ingredient (histamine? MSG? preservatives?).

Has anyone else with cluster headaches noticed dried or fermented seafood or regular fish, or strong cooking smells as a trigger?

I’m still using tiny pieces of pills from an ancient prescription. No one will write a script for more so that’s annoying. I use Amerge and Imitrex plus flexeril, excederin, motrin, benedryl, magnesium….just want to put it out there because its bs that the medical community won’t admit benzodiazepines can be a saving grace for migraine. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Hello all,

My wife is currently having a migraine now. I give her whatever she wants and asks for; she is currently asleep thankfully. I am just trying to understand if this experience of getting cursed with migraines is typical. I have been reading that it may be typical because 1 in 4 women experience repeating migraines around their late 20s and 30s.

Her first migraine was triggered by walking out of a building and seeing the bright sky. She had an aura and had difficulty thinking & reading. Neither of us has experienced a migraine, so this was all new to us. I took her to the ER because I was genuinely spooked. The ER doctor who saw her referred her to a neurologist and mentioned that she may have a "complex headache", but googling since then I believe it is formally called "complex migraine"?

She has seen her general physician and the neurologist since the first migraine. No doctor believes this is anything serious. Regardless, she will have an MRI next week.

I suppose my question is to people who suffer this unfair problem: did you just get your first migraine and now all of a sudden you are living your life around them? I can tell this is making her a bit depressed and she feels guilty for "ruining my free time" (I don't care about my free time I just want her to feel good again). Is this something we will just have to learn how to live around?

Considering getting back on an antidepressant after being off of citalopram for over a year. Also hoping it can help my daily dizzy. I need some positive stories please. 💖

I never had migraines until a dr put me on Yaz a few years ago. I stopped using it and my migraines went away. I started using what I used to be on (Femcon), but eventually over time I started having migraines on that. My dr tried Slynd, but that didn’t help either. If I don’t take pills, I’m generally ok. However, I’m approaching my mid-40s and my cycle is suddenly all over the place and I hate it (20 day cycles). I want to go back on the pill, but can’t take the continuous migraine. What has worked for others? Progesterone only pills cause other problems for me, so I can’t take that. I also didn’t have luck with Mirena (bad cramps & bled the whole time it was in).

As the title sais, I've been on atogepants for three months now. They definitely brough the severity of my attacks down (from maybe an average 8/10 to a 3/10) but so far they haven't touched frequency. I still get over ten migraine days a month, they just aren't as bad as before. So question for people who've taken qulipta: Has the effectiveness further improved even after the three month mark, or is this as effective as they're going to be for me? I know everyone reacts differently to migraine meds ofc, but I'd like to hear about experiences others had ^^

I think the last couple of days' weather is a major point in favor of consuming more electrolytes. 😅

I was discussing this with a coworker recently: Between obesity, allergies, and god-knows-what, I'm a mouth breather. Also I work a job where talking to customers happens a lot. So dry mouth is inevitable.

So inevitable, in fact, that it's usually the most frequent "thirst" signal I'll get to remind me to drink more.

And yet I drink the bare minimum recommended amount... if I finish the half-liter of water I have sitting on the counter. Most of the time I forget it's even there, and only drink non-water options on meal breaks because of the taste.

(That "bare minimum" includes a drink I no longer pack in my lunches at that. So I'm drinking less now.)

Fast forward to this past week when it's been hot and humid and I've been all sweaty, and I've actually regularly been drinking that half liter... and getting queasier than normal. Could be the heat, could be other conditions rearing their ugly heads (thanks reflux!)... or could be my electrolytes going out of balance.

Any quick thoughts or similar experience?

Edit: I googled it but only saw results about overhydrating. Not sure if it medically counts as that or if it's just an issue with keyword searches.

Also electrolyte-wise: the drink I quit packing is Mott's watermelon burst (tasty but trying not to overdo things--also it has stevia to warn anyone who might have issues with that), I take an electrolyte pill with my morning meds (planning to switch mostly to my powders for decluttering reasons once this is gone), and I drink maybe an average of one Liquid IV per week when the migraine is just that bad. I still have a canister of Skratch Labs I haven't opened 😅 and I caved and bought Untammed/Mineral Mist that I'm waiting to receive, plus I keep getting ads for Le Lick that I'm curious to try.

Hi, I’m just looking for some support/advice right now. I literally just got diagnosed with chronic migraines with aura less than a week ago by a neurologist, as well as diagnosed with minor astigmatism/nearsightedness by my eye doctor just a few days ago. I started this journey because back in October I suddenly had intense bouts of light sensitivity and severe dizziness. I started taking nasal spray every day as prescribed by an ENT and that helped a ton but obviously has not 100% made everything better. (We still don’t know why this helps lol, but it does).

I still get daily headaches, largely triggered by bright light and bright screens, and sometimes I get quite dizzy still (though again, it’s a lot better now). I’m getting glasses soon with an anti-glare coating to hopefully help with the light triggers.

Anyways, I just feel really frustrated and upset. I had a huge migraine with dizziness this evening and it makes it to where I can’t really do anything when I feel that way. My eye doctor said it’s unlikely that my prescription (as it’s so low) is causing my migraines. Does anyone have any advice or words of wisdom? I just need to know that things get better, as in these moments I feel really hopeless and scared.