Migraine

quote:

Originally posted by MaxJerz:
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.

Now I feel better! I always say that IKEA gives me a migraine and now I know whY!!!!

What I struggle with is . . . how do you know what the trigger is? I'm on temporary disability and things seem to be a bit better as far as severity goes. So is it because I'm getting more sleep and regular sleep? Is it because I'm not as stressed? Is it because I'm not around fluorescent lights like I was as work? Is it because the namenda is helping? Is it because I'm meditating more? How do you know what is causing the improvement? I want to eventually go back to work but I need to know what triggered the relapse in the first place so I can try to keep it from reoccurring or else I won't be back to work for long.

It could be any one of those things. Pay attention to the lighting the next time you're in a store; pay attention the next time you don't get a good night's sleep; pay attention if you feel stressed.

Once again, a migraine diary is invaluable.

Migraine Diary

I agree with the migraine diary. You will begin to see foods that you eat that always cause a migraine.

One of Sarah's triggers is hot dogs and she will get a ferocious migraine just minutes after eating them. Other triggers take longer but this one was really easy to figure out.

Good luck on working through this. We have found the diary to be hard to keep up with but it has really helped us see what we need to eliminate.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.
Melanie
lovemykids411

Catharine,

Sorry I'm a bit late answering this, but I do feel very strongly about what your doctor said -- that it's just not right. Let me give you some examples of why I think it was wrong...

• If you have food triggers, it can be up to 48 hours from the time you eat the trigger food to the time the Migraine attack starts.
  
• Some things will trigger a Migraine at some times, but not others. When we're sick with a cold or the flu, our bodies are stressed, and things that might not be a trigger at other times, may well be a trigger then.
  
• Stress, but itself, is not a trigger, but it makes us more susceptible to our triggers. Again, what might not be a strong trigger at other times, may well be strong enough to trigger a Migraine during times of stress.
  
• Many of us have "stackable" triggers -- triggers that aren't strong enough to trigger a Migraine if you encounter just one of them, but encounter two or more at the same time, and look out!

I have to say that what your doctor said makes me really wonder how well he understands Migraine disease.

Hope this helps!

quote:

Originally posted by Catharine:
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

I keep a migraine diary but it only helps me identify what my triggers are. Because I am becoming more aware of them, when I do see progress, I'm not sure exactly which trigger being controlled is contributing to my progress. I know what NOT to do and am trying really hard NOT to do them. It's helping but because I'm NOT doing several things, I'm not sure which one is helping the most. So my concern is . . . when I finally attempt to go back to work, how do I prevent a resurgence of migraines if I'm not sure which minimized trigger caused the improvement in the first place? (I'm not sure I'm explaining this well) If I know fluorescent lights, less than 9 hours sleep nightly, and stress are all triggers . . . and I go back to work being unable to control those 3 triggers . . . if the frequency and severity of my migraines return, how do I know which one is to blame? Hypotheticals, I know! It's just on my mind since I know this will probably be something I will have to deal when I return to work.

Hoopsky, it may well be that fluorescent lighting and sleep are stackable triggers for you, and one by itself will not trigger a migraine for you. Also, stress is not a trigger, but what is considered an exacerbating factor. Teri has an excellent explanation of both of these in the post above yours. Let us know if you need more clarification? We would be happy to explain it more if you need us to.

I do get what you're saying - I have the same problem because it seems that a lot of my triggers are stackable, so I'm not always sure what trigger is causing me trouble.

Hope this helps!