Migraines

sarahmaryfearnley

I have had migraines since I was a child and have discovered that my biggest triggers are (in order) food, weather, and sleep regularity.

I regard to food, aged proteins are big no-no for me. These include hard cheeses, the longer they are aged, meaning more fragrant and more delicious they are the worse the are for me; lunch meats of really any sort; bacon or really any other processed meat. Other semi no-no's include chinese spices (not the msg, more like anything soy based) and excessive amounts of beer (I think its the yeast).

Two interesting facts about migraine triggers are food triggers tend to be a delayed reaction and triggers tend to work on a thresh hold, kind of like an allergy attack. If I eat cheese pizza, I will more than likely get a migraine but anywhere from 2-5 days after eating. So, MFP's food diary has been a great tool to look back and see what might be triggering attacks.

I think about the treshhold as things I can control and things I can't. For me, there is little I can do about the weather but a lot I can do about food. So, if I'm really careful about what I eat, when we get low pressure systems moving through, I can usually avoid an attack or at least minimize my incapacitation.

If your having them for several days on end, that makes me think there is something in your diet that you regularly ingest that is constantly putting you above the threshold and triggering continuous attacks.

Best of luck. I hope you can find some relief.

MelStren

I"ve had migraines for about 4 years now. My advice to you is to journal EVERYTHING!
Every thing you eat. I mean everything! If you use mayo, write down everything that's on the label.

Where you are and when the migraine starts.

What part of your head hurts and how the migraine "travels" around your head.

Smells that lead to headaches

lights, if they cause a headache.

weather changes for the day...

Keep in mind that a food can trigger a migraine up to 3 days after it's been eaten or as soon as you eat it. That's why it's important to write down what you've eaten EVERY day, not just migraine days.

Medications.

Keeping a journal will start to show, hopefully, a pattern in your migraines and will help your dr. create a plan for you.

Mhaney

cut out artificial sweeteners. worked for me.

MelStren

This book was a big help to me.

A migraine sufferer's cookbook by Meredith Bentley
ISBN 155395290-1

jojostar85

I've suffered from migraines since I was 11 years old and had a really horrible year when I was 14-almost had to drop out of high school for that year. What made the difference for me then was regular exercise and sleep pattern, as well as managing stress better.

I still struggled with migraines as I got older and it was only in the recent 2 years that I finally got a grip on it-when I made the decision to eat clean. I just made sure that everything I ate was wholesome and natural, not processed. If I wanted something that I could buy but was processed, I would make it at home instead with whole ingredients. I've had only 2 migraines that I can remember since then!

One of the biggest triggers I've noticed is oil-that meant deep fried foods, greasy sauces, and anything with a copious amount of oil would just set it off and put me out of commission for up to 3 days.

sa11yjane

Sadly there is not always a cure for them. Could you ask your GP to refer you to a specialised migraine clinic? (My friend has been referred to one in our [London} area.

I do empathise with you and sincerely hope that you can have support to enable them to become less debilitating and more manageable. A last thought, I only suffer from them occasionally and they are usually triggered by tiredness/skipping a meal but a few months ago I had one that just wouldn't shift for a few weeks. The doctor put me on beta blockers that just piled on the week so I stopped them and went to an osteopath. Two treatments later and it was gone- magic! x