Migraine

I know what some of my triggers were as a kid: Bananas, peanut butter, caffeine, Nutra-Sweet, chocolate, orange juice, a few others I'm forgetting. All had to either be in excess and/or in combination with others.

However, I rarely have attacks with headaches anymore. I didn't even realize I've been having such attacks until I found this site. (not a hypochondriac)

So, how do I track my triggers if I'm not even aware of symptoms/attacks?

Silverwulf,

You can learn more about how to identify and avoid your Migraine trigger foods by taking a look at these articles. The first article also includes a free downloadable workbook:

Managing Migraine – Migraine Trigger Foods

Common Migraine Triggers

Stackable Triggers

I'm fortunate not to have any food triggers but I know there are several members who do and they've done elimination diets to help figure out what foods trigger them. Hopefully, they'll be along soon to share their experiences with you.

Take care,

Hi there,

Changes in barometric weather patterns may trigger a Migraine attack for some people too. Unfortunatley we cannot avoid those. In some of the links LauraHost gave you, there is a Migraine diary. This is a great way to track what may and/or may not be triggering your Migraine attacks. It allows you to put down food, weather, medications (that work or don't) and so on. You can download our free Migraine diary: HERE

More information on Migraine triggers can also be found on this page:Migraine Triggers

I hope this helps.

The short answer for identifying and tracking triggers if you didn't know you had an attack would be that you can't. Once you've had enough acephalgic, or silent, migraines that you've learned to recognize them when they happen, then you can use a migraine diary to help sort things out. You can note the things you've eaten around the time of the attack, what the weather was like, and that kind of thing, and over time you'll start to notice patterns occurring in your entries. But you have to be aware of the migraine event first, or you wouldn't even know to look for a trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by Sliverwulf:


So, how do I track my triggers if I'm not even aware of symptoms/attacks?

Thanks for the links, those will help I'm sure.

Here's the problem, though. With or w/o headache, I still sometimes have an all-out attack, and those pretty well debilitate me for a whole day -- thankfully I'm usually good to go the next day...usually. However, I oftentimes get Prodrome (cravings and unexplained mood changes), Aura (phosphenes and/or mild auditory hallucinations), and Postdrome (comprehension problems and EXTREME fatigue) symptoms respectively; but those times don't affect me in any other way. So is that an attack?

Silverwulf,

Of course the best person to diagnose whether it's a Migraine attack is your doctor. We can't diagnose you over the internet but I can help get you started with some articles to take a look at and then you'll be better prepared to talk to your doctor or neuro:

Acephalgic or Silent Migraine – The Basics

Types of Headaches and Migraines

Anatomy of a Migraine

I hope these help! Please continue to let us know how you're doing, okay?

Hi Silverwulf,

Thanks for reminding me of peanut butter! It's something I eat a fair amount of and never thought it could be one of my triggers. I'm making a note in my food diary

Regards.