Migraine

Anyone else have a pattern of getting migraines about the same time of day? I've noticed (and my four years of migraine diary confirms) that more often than not my migraines hit early evening, from about 5 to about 8. DH and I even refer to it as my "danger zone" now.

I have no idea why, although having worked a 9 to 5 desk job for 25 years I'm thinking it's a letdown migraine pattern that got burned in and is continuing even though I haven't worked in 4 years.

Anyone else experienced similar patterns? Anyone have any idea why I would have this pattern? Anyone have any suggestions on how to break it? (I do try to take it extra easy from 5 to 8pm now, since I've noticed the pattern, and that does seem to be helping.)

Weird.

LauraSue

My migraines tend to start at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I just accept that it's that way. The migraines that start in the morning--which has happened three times this week--tend to be the really bad ones. Also, starting in the mid-afternoon has much less impact on my life, so I'm fine with my usual pattern.

My chronic daily headache very regularly sets in around 11 am and get worse by 3 pm, and worse again around 9 pm, like clockwork. I suspect this has a lot to do with my 9-6 desk job - I do 95% of my job on the computer under fluorescent lights. Not so good for my head. I'll have to go back through my headache diary to pinpoint my migraine time, but it seems to be very regular - set in around mid-afternoon. The migraines I wake up with are usually worse than those I get midday.

Yep. I have a definite pattern in the timing of my migraines!

For me, migraine starts during the night (as I sleep) and I am VERY aware of it as I wake in the morning. I know my TMJ is often bad at night, so I'm pretty sure that I am clenching or grinding my teeth either just before the migraine or when I first notice the pain (I get kinda stressed when I know the pain is starting). It's kinda like a chicken-and-egg question: Does the TMJ trigger my migraine? Or does the migraine trigger my TMJ???? I'm just full of mysteries like these!!!

I'm thinking about your pattern, LauraSue...Are you careful to eat on a regular schedule? Some of my friends have found that erratic eating patterns can contribute to their migraines. Do you drink caffeinated beverages? Or do you think it might have something to do with the timing of your medications? (If you take preventatives, do you take them all in the AM? Do you think they might they be less effective for you by the PM?) Just a few thoughts!

jenny

Lots of people do. For me, not so much. Usually it's either just part of a pattern, or it's tied somehow to a trigger factor. For instance, some people tend to get them in the mornings not long after waking, and it may be tied to a sleep issue or pattern.

Jenny,
I don't have TMJ, but I do clench my jaws sometimes. It is usually caused by stress or pain. So I think the clenching sometimes triggers my migraines if I am really stressed out. Then, sometimes my migraines cause me to clench my jaws because I am in a lot of pain. (Kinda like now!!)

quote:

Originally posted by jennyc:
Yep. I have a definite pattern in the timing of my migraines!

For me, migraine starts during the night (as I sleep) and I am VERY aware of it as I wake in the morning. I know my TMJ is often bad at night, so I'm pretty sure that I am clenching or grinding my teeth either just before the migraine or when I first notice the pain (I get kinda stressed when I know the pain is starting). It's kinda like a chicken-and-egg question: Does the TMJ trigger my migraine? Or does the migraine trigger my TMJ???? I'm just full of mysteries like these!!!

LauraSue,

Your reasoning about your job hours makes sense to me. Mine do not occur at any certain time. Sometimes I wake up with them, and like a lot of others have said, these seem to be the worst and hardest to treat. But then I have some that come on later in the day? Sometimes late at night. But some of the responses make sense, that it could be tied to your eating schedule, or maybe even your medication schedule? Do you get auras or prodrome with yours? Are you able to treat early? I think maybe that is why the ones we wake with are so hard to treat, becasue we are not given the chance to treat early.

I woke with one today. I got up and took my meds and laid back down. I slept a little and felt somewhat better after that. Then DH brought me chicken fingers for dinner from a place I have eaten them from several times before. I think they changed their chicken, though. They were smaller than usual, but I just thought maybe I just got some of the biggest ones before. Then about an hour after I ate them, BAM! Here comes a KILLER MIGRAINE!! I hate when that happens from something you thought was safe! But I just thought, maybe I was just more susceptible because of my earlier migraine?

Sorry to hijack your thread! I just get to ramling sometimes, especially when I am in pain.

I hope you are feeling better than you have been.

Sherry

Is it just during the work week or on the weekends as well?

Do you eat or drink the same thing for lunch? May sound silly, but you never know? How about the lights at work? Computer screen glare?

Migraines at Work? Check the Lighting.

quote:

Originally posted by jennyc:Are you careful to eat on a regular schedule? Some of my friends have found that erratic eating patterns can contribute to their migraines. Do you drink caffeinated beverages? Or do you think it might have something to do with the timing of your medications? (If you take preventatives, do you take them all in the AM? Do you think they might they be less effective for you by the PM?) Just a few thoughts!

Thanks, jenny. Yes, I eat on a careful schedule. I've noticed that if my blood sugar drops it can trigger a migraine. So that's not it. Well, having said that, I just made one change that might help. Caffeine isn't the problem. I've been wondering if it's the timing of my meds. I take a lot for my fibromyalgia and IBS and deptression. Most of them are long acting or I take them consistently through out the day. But there's one or two that may drop off around that time. I've been testing some changes in timing to see if that helps and I think I've found one that makes a difference. So good thoughts. Appreciate the ideas.

LauraSue

Sherry, I don't get auras but I do get a prodrome energy surge and light phobia. I'm now managing to treat within 15 minutes, unless I'm in denial or being willful!

Nancy, my eating schedule is very consistent. I eat about the same amount every day for lunch but the foods vary. A balanced meal of bread/starch, fruit or veggie and dairy. I don't think it's my meal schedule or the foods I eat. I've been keeping a migraine diary for 4 years now and I've never been able to identify any food triggers.

I no longer work, I've been on disability for 4 years. But I think my brain may still be programmed with the pattern from the 25 years I did work. I've read that it can get kind of "burned in." Yes, it happens on weekends too but that could also be the weekend letdown pattern. Fluorescent lights are a definite trigger for me, but fortunately I'm not exposed to them much anymore.

Thanks for the thoughts.

LauraSue

I am so interested to hear the responses to this post. I never thought about a migraine starting at different times of day. It is so naive of me to think otherwise! DUH! It makes total sense now! Of course they would start at all times of day, it just didn't occur to me.

My NPDH pain is all the time. 24/7. So, I always have a headache. But the headache phase of my migraine usually seem to start when I wake up.

(I just learned what prodrome and postdrome symptoms were a few weeks ago when I found this site and never really paid much attention to that.)

This most recent migraine headache happened this way, starting when I woke up, but I'm going to pay better attention to this as well as the prodrome and postdrome symptoms.

I think this is all so interesting. I'm learning so much more about my body. Before, it felt like it was all just "happening" to me even though I was writing everything down in a diary diligently. I just didn't know what it all meant. Now, I feel like I "know" what is going on. And that feels so good!

Kelly

mine often start later in the afternoon...thinking maybe its the time of day I'm most often getting a mid-day slump? I often awake with them also and I tend to tense up when I wake with one. When I get them in the morning, it seems they are a warning sign of what is to come, and that its only going to get worse. I have found if I take my meds and lay back down and do a little meditation and try to force myself to relax it seems to help. make sure you eat lightly just before the trigger hours? Maybe a little complex carbs would help and don't drink anything with caffeine, if that is a trigger for you. Some people, like my ex, find caffeine helps migraines. For me, its a trigger. Good luck!

My migraines don't have a specific time pattern but my cluster headaches do.

Each cluster is different. I'm afraid I'm about to go into another cluster cycle because I woke up this morning with the tell-tale ache behind my right sinus and my upper teeth right at that spot were throbbing.

Sometimes I'll only have a few headaches before the cluster diminishes but sometimes the cluster goes for weeks.

quote:

Originally posted by mom2ericha:
mine often start later in the afternoon...thinking maybe its the time of day I'm most often getting a mid-day slump? !

Mine too. If I'm still good to go by the time I eat dinner, I'm gonna make it through the night pain-freel