Migraine

Hi,

I was speaking with my doctor yesterday and asked him why my triggers sometimes don't trigger an attack.

He said that they probably weren't triggers, and that triggers usually cause an attack 80% of the time and within 30mins. Any longer and there are too many unknown variables that could be a cause as well.

It sounds logical so I tend to agree that it has to be obvious that its a trigger right? Otherwise anything and everythign can be a trigger.

What are your thoughts?


Thanks,

Catharine

Hi Catharine!

My thoughts are that I would think that a trigger would be obvious if you knew what was triggering you. For example, you might not realize that a certain food or foods were triggering you if you did not do an elimination diet. Then, you could be certain of what it is.

I've found keeiping a detailed migraine diary has been extremely helpful in IDing my triggers and making me more aware of what affects, helps, or contributes to my migraines.


HERE is an awesome link to several articles on Migraine Triggers if you haven't already seen it.


HERE is a great podcast (you can read it instead of listen if you wish) on Migraine Trigger Identification and Management.

Hope this is helpful!

Kelly

Catharine, Kelly has been very helpful, giving you some good links to look at.

One thing I might add - triggers can be stackable. Meaning, maybe chinese food won't trigger you on day one when you eat it, but chinese food with a glass of red wine and some stress, which makes us more susceptible to our triggers, thrown in to boot might just send you over the edge into migraine.

Stackable Triggers

Use the diary Kelly linked you too - that's the best way to start identifying a trigger.

Adding to what Deb said, I've discovered in keeping my migraine diary that most of my triggers are stackable. That has made them difficult to identify, but it also makes them a little easier to control as I don't have to avoid all of them all the time.

Thanks! I'll read up on the links.

I've kept a diary before and found no constant triggers. The ones I did find didn't always trigger an attack.

How soon do you have an attack after an obvious trigger?

How many percentage of the time do your tiggers cause an attack?


Thanks,

Catharine

It really varies by the trigger for me. For instance, at the last apartment complex DBF and I lived in, there was this woman who lived below me who had a cat, which normally is fine. (I myself have a cat.) However, this woman didn't ever clean up after the poor cat. So her apartment had this awful stench of cat funk. And I mean awful. We thought there was a dead animal in there.

This was a problem because this woman's apartment's exhaust fan was right outside the *only* window in our studio apartment - and it was the summer in a place with no air conditioning. So, what would happen is this woman's exhaust fan would cycle on and the cat funk would get sucked into our apartment. It triggered an awful migraine for me instantly - and I never trigger that quickly.

My few food triggers - sugar, artificial sweeteners, MSG - usually get me within a half hour of eating the offending food.

Flying is another big trigger for me, and that one will get me almost immediately as well.

Weather fronts usually get me anywhere between a few hours to half a day before the front comes through.

Fluorescent lighting in stores, combined with "sensory overload" - if I'm looking at too much stuff too quickly - will trigger not only a migraine but also dizziness, nausea and often diarrhea within 15 minutes.

So, the short answer is, it varies. I will also say that I have constant pain now so when I say "trigger", what I mean is, make much worse.

Ditto what MJ said.I think in most people trigger onset probably varies.

I don't have many triggers. For a while I didn't think I had any triggers. But, after reading about migraine triggers and paying more close attention to my body's reaction, I discovered I actually do.

Hormonal fluctuations and my menstrual cycle triggers me. It is hard to say onset. But, I tend to have migraines right before my menstrual cycle and also during. I've also had migraines triggered by ovulation.

Travel (in a car) is a huge one for me. It depends how long I'm in the car. But, invariably, a migraine is triggered within the drive or after.

If I don't sleep a same schedule everyday, my migraines are usually triggered the day after not getting enough sleep or significantly changing my habits...getting up way early/going to bed really late.

Crying is a stackable trigger for me. With other variables, it triggers a migraine immediately or worsens the one I already have.

Oh! And a big trigger for me is not drinking enough water in a day. Staying hydrated really prevents those H2O triggered migraines.

As far as what percent of the time do triggers cause an attack. Well, In my experience, I think it is most of the time if not all the time that those triggers affect me. That is how I ID'd them. Again it is important to take into consideration 'stackable' triggers that may only occur under certain situations/combination of other triggers.

Kelly

You've gotten great information from our members here. Nice job ladies!

As Deb, MJ and Kelly have said, it depends on the person and the trigger, whether they are food or non-food triggers.

After eating a Chinese meal in NYC years ago, I got a Migraine on the subway about 45 minutes later. Thank you very much MSG!

Kraft has a Toasted Sesame Asian Salad dressing that sounded great. After about 30 minutes, I had a Migraine. MSG.....

If our son eats chocolate a few days in a row, he will get a Migraine. But one day he is usually ok, unless he gets dehydrated, or oversleeps. Then he will most likely get one.

Let us know if the Migraine trigger information helps. If not, we are here for you.

I'm such an extremely black or white person so its hard for me to understand the many variables of a trigger; when it affects differnt people, stackable triggers, etc. Lots of grey areas.

I guess I'll start my diary and start with tracking the known triggers in the articles.

Thanks,

Catharine

I know trying to figure out the trigger issue may feel confusing. When you start writing things down in your diary it may be come clearer.

Let us know, ok?

Yes, this is Nikoli and his last migraine a week after Easter clinched it for me. It's not just occasional chocolate, it's massive quantities like Easter and Halloween.

quote:

If our son eats chocolate a few days in a row, he will get a Migraine. But one day he is usually ok, unless he gets dehydrated, or oversleeps. Then he will most likely get one.

I am pretty much repeating what everyone else said, your triggers are probably stackable. I don't know about the 1/2 hour thing though... I have heard it can be anywhere from 24-48 hours, especially if they are stackable.

I myself, even though I keep an exhaustive migraine & food diary, have only found one obvious trigger: sunlight (d'oh!!). I am actually pretty sure I don't have any food triggers because I pretty much eat the same stuff all the time.

Keeping a migraine diary never hurts though. Try also keeping a non-migraine food diary. That will make it a little easier to track stackable food triggers, if you have any. This way you can have a list of everything you have eaten for 24-48 hours.

hope that helps a little!

I haven't been having migraines for very long, only about three years, and while I haven't kept a migraine diary/journal, the only things that I've really identified as triggers are stress and low blood sugar. I only even recently noticed that low blood sugar is a trigger for me because I'm on Topamax (not hungry anymore, tada!), so when my migraines went up, I figured it out. So forcing myself to eat every two to three hours (when I remember, more fun with Topamax) pretty much solves most of my migraine issues before they start.

Usually, though, I can tell when something is going to trigger a migraine because I'll get a sort of really painful sensation at the base of my skull which allows me to make the necessary preparations for the oncoming migraine. Most of my triggers are fairly random though, but sometimes they seem to be consistent, like soda (but not coffee, so it's not caffeine).

Welcome Immer.

Our article on migraines and how they work may be interesting to you. Also, if you're having them frequently, it might not be a bad idea to keep a diary to avoid even more triggers.

[URL=http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/understanding-migraine-29375-5.html ]Anatomy of a Migraine[/URL]

Hi, Immer Klein, welcome to the forum. We're glad you found us.