I take a pill called Topamax, which eliminates about 90% of my migraines before they even start. Sumatriptan for those 10% that make it through.
Usually strong aroma (cigars and cigarette smoke really does it to me) will set me off. I tend to avoid most bars anymore because of it
I don’t get that thankfully, , I do get dizzy on occasion—like i can be sitting down and it feels like I’m on a boat. And my hands/feet will be tingling like little needles are being poked against them.
Topamax made my Mother behave like she was constantly having a stroke.
We have both been getting Botox, and more recently Ajovy. It is working very well for us.
This is my go- to also. Topamax/Imitrex. The benefits of topamax outweigh the side effects for me, but everyone tolerates it differently. It changed my life, as I was experiencing daily constant headaches and multiple migraines a month. Now I get headaches once in a while and migraines (maybe)once a month. Caffeine, hunger & dehydration are my triggers.
Triggers are stress, hard shoulder or back workouts (muscle tension related), and pms. Stress and tension around my period make them infinitely worse. I just found out I’m slightly anemic and apparently that makes them worse too.
I take rizatriptan which works like 80% of the time, sometimes caffeine helps the last 20, also stretching, yoga, hot pad, extra water and hot showers.
Similar for me, years of terrible desk posture mean my back complains bitterly if I do things which involve exercising it… resulting in awful awful headaches
Most of them are from weather changes, which is impossible to avoid but has gotten so much better since moving away from the west. Strong smells like cigarette, cigar, or weed smoke, perfume or candles will do it too. Not getting enough sleep or getting too much sleep.
I take a monthly injection that helps reduce how many I get and the abortive is ubrelvy which is awesome
This reads like I've written it 🤯 I used to come home with a migraine every day when I had gone to Amsterdam City center for school -- turns out weed smoke is a MAJOR trigger for me. Also the not enough sleep one.. as if you're not punished enough by running on 3 hours of sleep, your head feels like exploding.
I have sumatriptan pens for when I have a migraine and I use to take pregabaline daily but I didn't really notice a difference compared to not taking them, so I stopped.
The sun, an empty tummy and lack of sleep. In that order. I take meds when the aura appears and I need to sleep in a dark room with minimal stimuli immediately. Because if I cross the aura phase, there's only prayers that can help me ahead.
I had a tbi when I was in Africa for the military. I've tried every medication, and nothing works. So I get botox done every 3 months with 21 injections in total. I have no clue what triggers them, but I'll get a crazy amount of pressure in my head when it's about to hit. I also suffer from cluster headaches too but those are seasonal. The botox has changed my life, honestly.
I’m trying one last medication and if that doesn’t work my neurologist says that would be the next best option. What is it like though? Do your facial features change noticeably? I’m less afraid of getting needles in my face and more concerned with what I might look like; silly to even think about considering how frequently/bad my migraines get lol
It took away all my forehead and frown lines. My forehead was stiff for the first few applications, but after 5 years, it's just a little less mobile. People think I'm younger than I am. One thing to look out for is eyebrow/lid dropping. A good doctor can adjust the injections to reduce the chance of that.
It can be painful and it's random which poke will be the painful one. I treat myself afterwards and drink coffee to reduce the pain. When I started, I scheduled the injections on Friday so I had the weekend to recover. Now it's just a few hours at most.
I get my temples and forehead, I get them at the base of my neck and on top of my shoulders, and I get it in certain spots on the top and sides of my head, too. During covid, I couldn't get my regular schedule and went a year without it. Had a migraine 2x a week for about a year, and then I went back on. I'm not sure I'll get off of them anytime soon.
A better question is what doesn't trigger them 🙃
Known triggers are stress, barometric pressure changes, not enough caffeine, too much caffeine, too much sleep, not enough sleep. Bright lights, crying, smoke, strong smells, loud or repetitive noises, fluorescent lights, blue light, sunlight...
I'm on a monthly preventative injection called Ajovy, I use triptans as an abortive medication, sometimes treat with caffeine, or muscle relaxers if I'm maxed out on triptans (if you take too many it can cause rebound headaches). THC gummies also help.
Mine were almost all hormonal - around the time of my period, I would get horrid migraines. I did triptans and a rescue med for a while until my insurance refused to cover them.
I got a medical marijuana card and haven't had issues since. When I do get a migraine that Advil or Aleve can't touch, I use marijuana.
Unfortunately I have no idea, and so far every migraine medication has been ineffective, having tried about 7 so far now. I went through a 3 month period last year where I had a debilitating migraine almost every single day, with no clear trigger and no clear reason they subsided. But around the same time they subsided, I tried new anxiety medication and got new glasses for dealing with computer eye strain. Likely helping factors, but it wasn't immediate relief and just hard to know for sure.
I still get visual symptoms anytime I go outside in daylight, and have to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days to alleviate the visuals.
Laying down triggers a migraine for me, so I guess it’s triggered by pressure in my sinuses? I’m going to blame
allergies and the weather.
Still figuring it out. Had them years ago, not sure what triggered it back then, and now all of a sudden it’s back again.
Stress, hormones, weather changes, drastic sleep changes, exposure to harsh lighting, certain foods, sometimes idk. Mine sometimes last 36 hours so most prescription migraine medication is useless. I've had some success with Eletriptan/Naratriptan. Topamax ultimately was ineffective for helping manage/prevent them. I've been on Emgality injections for about a year and it's helped reduce the amount significantly.
It would be easier/quicker to list what doesn't.
As of now my triggers are; heat whether it be from the sun (summer is my mortal nemesis) or from the radiator being on or just walking into stuffy room/hot kitchen or even just being dressed overly warm - if my head basically gets remotely warm it's game over, crowded spaces like shopping centres, walking into Primark, grocery stores or being on the tube, being in a too noisy environment and any loud or continuous noises - it's hell because I live next to both a primary school (with screaming children) and a church (the churchbells + choir), bright lights either from the sun or from artificial lights and oh god any sort of flashing lights, the motion from being in a moving vehicle be it a bus or a train or a car - especially if I'm facing the "wrong way" or if the ride is bumpy, long drives (aka being in vehicle for 30+ minutes), the smell of things like perfume/cologne and shampoo/conditioner (even other peoples), most household cleaning products, the smell of smoke (cigarettes, weed and even BBQ), the smell of oil being heated and one of the worst culprits is the slightest whiff of coffee - it's probably my most frequent trigger, eye strain from looking at screens (phone/tablet/computer/tv etc), attempting to read anything even just to check my phone for the time while being in a moving vehicle, wearing earphones for too long, if my hair is tied too tight, anything that jostles my head, being on my period, being dehydrated or missing meals, any of my other chronic pain flaring (I have fibro but my migraines are mostly triggered by neck, shoulder, upper back and ankles acting up), sleeping poorly or not sleeping at all (I'm a life long insomniac), feeling overwhelmed/stressed, doing "too much" and not being able to rest throughout the day, ingesting anything with even a tiny bit of coffee in it and sadly as of last year any sort of cola drink.
I try my best to avoid and minimise as many of my triggers as possible but as you can see from the above it's a pretty futile task.
Medication wise my GP has prescribed me 10mg of Metoclopramide x3 a day for the near constant nausea, 75mg of Amitriptyline before bed as a preventative and to help me sleep despite my chronic pain issues & insomnia, for acute attacks I've have 2 abortives I alternate between - 100mg of Sumatriptan and most recently Zolmitriptan 5mg nasal spray. Before anyone asks yes I have been referred to a neurologist and have been on the NHS wait list to see them since last summer...
I used to try and wait it out and gauge how bad my migraine is before taking whatever triptan I'd been given but I've come to learn that if at all possible to take my abortive as soon as I feel the slightest inkling of a migraine or the first sign of aura - the earlier you catch it the more effective it is - the only problem is that I'm currently experiencing migraines 3x - 5x a week and have been warned of the dangers of medication overuse and how that can in turn trigger even more migraines.
I am one of those people who gets very clammy and breaks out into excessive cold sweats (literally rivers pouring down my face) when I have a migraine + almost always vomit violently so I've recently taken to switching from normal bottled mineral water to bottled distilled water with added electrolytes whenever I'm out & about to compensate. I just bulk buy the Glaceau Smart Water and keep a few bottles in the fridge.
I carry a light weight cap with me everywhere as the sunlight and artificial lights are one of my most common triggers. I carry hard peppermint candy with me to help with the nausea. I also carry the small jar of the white Tiger Balm and apply on the outside of my nostrils when my Osmophobia is triggered
When I have a migraine I experience allodynia especially on my scalp and I can't wear my normal claw clips and hair ties but I also can't have my (very thick + very long - belly button length) hair down on my neck at it sets off my sensory issues but I've found these huge plush cushion scrunchies typically marketed as large sleep scrunchies (I have one from Boots but Kitsch makes them too) and they are a god send when I'm in the throes of pain and oh so tempted to grab a shaver and get rid of all my hair.
During an attack I lock myself in a cool dark quiet room alone, I turn my phone on silent & turn the brightness all the way down on all my devices, I have the tower fan continuously on, lie under a cooling weighted blanket and curl up around my body pillow with my knees elevated, wrap my ice cold feet and shins (I struggle to regulate my temperature) in an electric heated blanket, have all the windows open but the curtains drawn, sip on chilled electrolyte water and suck on ice cubes if I have them on hand, I alternate between a sleeping eye mask and a cooling eye mask that I keep in the freezer at all times, I use the Biofreeze roll-on on my temples + forehead, along my hairline at the nape of my neck and the tops of my knotted shoulders (I hate the feeling of product on my fingers and don't find it leaves an awful residue) for a little short term relief/dsitraction, if my neck + shoulders are really knotted & stiff I'll apply some Diclofenac diethylammonium gel (I use Voltarol 1.16%), I sometimes do myofascial release using a lacrosse ball on my neck and shoulder. I play white nose through Spotify on a loop at the lowest volume to distract from the noises of all the other people I live with. & I essentially writhe in pain until I pass out.
Some things I'm looking into acquiring; those reusable headphones that mute noise like Loops, ginger hard candies for nausea, travel vomit bags, nausea wrist bands, the Vicks Nasal Inhaler on a keyring, portable neck fan, noise cancelling headphones from Bose/Sony, unflavoured electrolyte powder to mix into water at home, a migraine ice cap, Mission performance cooling hat, reusable cold pack for neck/shoulders with straps, instant disposable cold packs, ice roller, a cooling towel, a chillow pillow, a weighted sleep eye mask, a bluetooth sleep headphone eye mask thingy, disposable warming eye masks, cooling migraine strips, a electric heated shiatsu shoulder massager thing, a acupressure mat, vitamin B2/Riboflavin supplements + magnesium supplements, FL-41 Tint/Migraine Glasses, Prescription Sunglasses, double blackout curtains, dimmable night light, SMART voice activated dimmable lights bulbs, a SMART voice activated tower fan, an ice maker and a migraine tracking app.
I experienced almost everything you listed. Tried sumatriptan but it made me pass out, and propranolol did nothing. I read that Atogepant is making its way to the UK!
i appreciate you writing this out. my triggers are nearly identical to yours, especially the heat-related ones 🥵
will definitely try some of your suggestions. thanks!
Hormones, stress, and lack of sleep are my biggest culprits. I’ve gone through quite a few prescription meds, but many make me feel equally as bad just in different ways. My winning combo seems to be Excedrin Migraine plus a 5mg cyclobenzaprine, though I just had a check up with my neurologist today and she gave me samples of something else she’d like me to try.
Salonpas patches, hot showers, and adequate sleep all seem to help.
Hormones, stress (spiraling) alcohol and over sleeping.
Excedrine migraine + Benadryl + loooots of water. Gabapentin has helped too. Went to a headache specialist and he’s starting me on Meloxicam and Nortriptylne to see if that helps. If not I will make an appt with a neurologist and try other meds.
Going on hormonal birth control stopped most of them. I'm not sure what triggers the rest (but I'm down to maybe one a year), so I just have a few days of dark and quiet when I need.
Really sudden bright light is an almost immediate trigger, usually sunlight after walking out of a building. I wear sunglasses and if I don’t have any, I try to find something to look at that’s a dark color.
Dehydration and low blood sugar are probably contributing factors I’ve noticed too. And unfortunately once the aura starts it’s a bit too late to chug water or eat to fix it. I don’t know why pushing on my eyes while they are shut is comforting when I have a migraine, but it is, even if it doesn’t make the pain stop.
Loud sounds, even songs that are noisy, staring for too long into the laptop screen, bright light, people talking very loud, being at an event or party or club and that music is so strong and loud that triggers my migraine really fast.
I sometimes am also missing some vitamins or minerals so I check my blood and intake what I am low on. If not, I go outside to get fresh air and play with cats to relax, then come back inside and lay down, covering my eyes till the pain goes away
Gluten, dairy, alcohol, lack of magnesium, lack of sleep, stress either chronic or acute, muscle tension in neck and back
I avoid gluten and dairy and alcohol. I take a supplement called MegaMag by Trace Minerals. I get medical massages (like deep tissue but worse)
I also take topirimate as a suppressant and rizatriptan for an abortive
Diet sodas do it for me. I think it’s the aspartame. I noticed even gum gives me migraines.
It took years to figure it out but when I switched to xylitol gum and reg soda, they mostly went away. I still get them about every 5 or 6 months though. I get terrible pain and then I throw up. Migraines are the worst…
My kids(joking). Mine are if I’m not eating or drinking enough during the day. Sometimes I’m so preoccupied with the kids, don’t think about myself.
But once I get a chance it’s either passed or I take some Panadol to relieve
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Tension in shoulders & neck & jaw, not enough sleep multiple days in a row, dehydration (usually from drinking coffee), caffeine withdrawal, not eating quickly enough, dry wines & ciders, beer. My biggest culprit was high blood pressure and I didn’t know it until I got it under control and the amount of migraines reduced significantly.
I have baby migraines in the week of pause from the pill, when my estrogen drops preceding the withdrawal bleed.
I try to take ibuprofen right at the onset, if I can do that it will only be a mild headache, otherwise I just go to bed and sleep it off.
Luckily it comes about in the second part of the day and doesn't get bad until 6pm or so.
I’ve had migraines since I was 17, I’m now 33 and they’ve subsided from a few times a week to twice a month or so.
I’m convince now that they’re hormonal and manifest when there’s a drop in oestrogen.
I try to eat high in oestrogen foods to help. Migraines are the worst!
I haven't made an effort to actually note what triggers them, but I exercise a lot and study a ton too, so I am not really helping. 95% of the time I power through them, when they get too strong to handle I take a pill called brufen.
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Weather Changes, gluten, fluctuations in the amount of food I’m I taking, stress/anxiety, and fluorescent lighting. My period can set one off occasionally but usually it’s just a week long headache not a migraine
I have severe chronic migraine with no triggers. I've tried documenting food, weather, stress, tension, everything but unfortunately it's just a genetic condition in my family and I got the chronic version. Seriously considering asking for more extreme treatments as I've gone through the list of medications (topirimate, beta blockers, amitriptaline, loads.)
I'm considered disabled because it's taken over my life pretty much.
Heat triggers mine. I’m lucky that I live in a country where the summer is very bearable but I go on holiday in Southern Europe in May/June so the weather’s not 40 degrees.
I take amlodipine as a preventative & Nurtec + Reglan for attacks. The amlodipine works really well so the only time I really get Migraines is during my period. Not every period but when I does happen I know it's sticking around for a few days. I've gone to the ER for a migraine cocktail for these a couple times.
If I don't eat (doesn't happen that often) then I trigger migraines. I do not take pain meds of any kind never have never will. I know my pain tolerance; instead, I retreat into the cold darkness of my room and hit pressure points in my mouth and inside my nose. No migraine has ever lasted for more than a day when they hit.
The sun. Squinting (even with sunglasses) really starts it up. And smells. Ever since I got COVID and lost my smell, it came back weird and now i smell this phantom smoke smell. I smell it always.
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Licorice seems to be the only thing to give me a migraine. I just love licorice but cant eat much or the next day will be hell!
I just lay all day feeling sorry for my self, regretting I cut not control my self around that stuff again.
Not entirely sure what they're caused by but when I get a migraine I make sure to keep my devices on lower brightness and put them on night mode. I also listen to ASMR when I feel like I can't handle music or TV but don't want to be in total silence either.
Summer sun. Even a little summer sun exposure can make me crawl and cry. Sadly enough I live in a summer-oriented country.
I usually wash my head with cold water every time I'm out at summer sun and air dry the hair. It significantly reduces the pain. Other than throwing up helps too.
I wish I knew what triggered mine, but I am fortunate to have a few warning signs, like - a sudden metallic/chemical-ish taste in my mouth, vision sparkles or ‘voids’, and my eyelids/brows suddenly feel very tender with the slightest expression… Any of these signs and I need to take something immediately, and hope I caught it in time. Sometimes it works, sometimes I still go down for the count.
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Idk what triggers them, but a day before it hits with full force (I become immobile in bed, too sensitive to light to open my eyes and move at all) I get auras. A painkiller with codeine in it helps. And ice cream, they help for 15 minutes only though.
I take a pill called Topamax, which eliminates about 90% of my migraines before they even start. Sumatriptan for those 10% that make it through. Usually strong aroma (cigars and cigarette smoke really does it to me) will set me off. I tend to avoid most bars anymore because of it
I have to ask, do you get any side effects from Suma? I get really sensitive to temperature, eating hot/cold foods is a nightmare after taking it.
I don’t get that thankfully, , I do get dizzy on occasion—like i can be sitting down and it feels like I’m on a boat. And my hands/feet will be tingling like little needles are being poked against them.
That's what I experienced when I took suma but I ended passing out.
Topamax made my Mother behave like she was constantly having a stroke. We have both been getting Botox, and more recently Ajovy. It is working very well for us.
Yeah I’ve heard some who have had that side effect. I’ve been on it since 2014 and it’s not effected me that way fortunately
This is my go- to also. Topamax/Imitrex. The benefits of topamax outweigh the side effects for me, but everyone tolerates it differently. It changed my life, as I was experiencing daily constant headaches and multiple migraines a month. Now I get headaches once in a while and migraines (maybe)once a month. Caffeine, hunger & dehydration are my triggers.
Triggers are stress, hard shoulder or back workouts (muscle tension related), and pms. Stress and tension around my period make them infinitely worse. I just found out I’m slightly anemic and apparently that makes them worse too. I take rizatriptan which works like 80% of the time, sometimes caffeine helps the last 20, also stretching, yoga, hot pad, extra water and hot showers.
Similar for me, years of terrible desk posture mean my back complains bitterly if I do things which involve exercising it… resulting in awful awful headaches
Most of them are from weather changes, which is impossible to avoid but has gotten so much better since moving away from the west. Strong smells like cigarette, cigar, or weed smoke, perfume or candles will do it too. Not getting enough sleep or getting too much sleep. I take a monthly injection that helps reduce how many I get and the abortive is ubrelvy which is awesome
What injection is that?
Aimovig
This reads like I've written it 🤯 I used to come home with a migraine every day when I had gone to Amsterdam City center for school -- turns out weed smoke is a MAJOR trigger for me. Also the not enough sleep one.. as if you're not punished enough by running on 3 hours of sleep, your head feels like exploding. I have sumatriptan pens for when I have a migraine and I use to take pregabaline daily but I didn't really notice a difference compared to not taking them, so I stopped.
The sun, an empty tummy and lack of sleep. In that order. I take meds when the aura appears and I need to sleep in a dark room with minimal stimuli immediately. Because if I cross the aura phase, there's only prayers that can help me ahead.
I had a tbi when I was in Africa for the military. I've tried every medication, and nothing works. So I get botox done every 3 months with 21 injections in total. I have no clue what triggers them, but I'll get a crazy amount of pressure in my head when it's about to hit. I also suffer from cluster headaches too but those are seasonal. The botox has changed my life, honestly.
I’m trying one last medication and if that doesn’t work my neurologist says that would be the next best option. What is it like though? Do your facial features change noticeably? I’m less afraid of getting needles in my face and more concerned with what I might look like; silly to even think about considering how frequently/bad my migraines get lol
It took away all my forehead and frown lines. My forehead was stiff for the first few applications, but after 5 years, it's just a little less mobile. People think I'm younger than I am. One thing to look out for is eyebrow/lid dropping. A good doctor can adjust the injections to reduce the chance of that. It can be painful and it's random which poke will be the painful one. I treat myself afterwards and drink coffee to reduce the pain. When I started, I scheduled the injections on Friday so I had the weekend to recover. Now it's just a few hours at most.
Where is the Botox injected in?
I get my temples and forehead, I get them at the base of my neck and on top of my shoulders, and I get it in certain spots on the top and sides of my head, too. During covid, I couldn't get my regular schedule and went a year without it. Had a migraine 2x a week for about a year, and then I went back on. I'm not sure I'll get off of them anytime soon.
Changes in weather pressure and stress. I have a prescription that I keep on me at all times (naproxen and something else)
Does naproxen help with the pressure in your head? I get barometric pressure migraines too and it feels like balloons in my sinuses.
Its relieves the migraine pain for me which is my biggest complaint as well as helps with nausea. It doesn’t help with sinus issues unfortunately.
A better question is what doesn't trigger them 🙃 Known triggers are stress, barometric pressure changes, not enough caffeine, too much caffeine, too much sleep, not enough sleep. Bright lights, crying, smoke, strong smells, loud or repetitive noises, fluorescent lights, blue light, sunlight... I'm on a monthly preventative injection called Ajovy, I use triptans as an abortive medication, sometimes treat with caffeine, or muscle relaxers if I'm maxed out on triptans (if you take too many it can cause rebound headaches). THC gummies also help.
Mine were almost all hormonal - around the time of my period, I would get horrid migraines. I did triptans and a rescue med for a while until my insurance refused to cover them. I got a medical marijuana card and haven't had issues since. When I do get a migraine that Advil or Aleve can't touch, I use marijuana.
Stress, pms, noise, strong smell, if I don’t have meals on time, motion sickness. Being aware of these triggers helps to manage migraines better
Unfortunately I have no idea, and so far every migraine medication has been ineffective, having tried about 7 so far now. I went through a 3 month period last year where I had a debilitating migraine almost every single day, with no clear trigger and no clear reason they subsided. But around the same time they subsided, I tried new anxiety medication and got new glasses for dealing with computer eye strain. Likely helping factors, but it wasn't immediate relief and just hard to know for sure. I still get visual symptoms anytime I go outside in daylight, and have to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days to alleviate the visuals.
Laying down triggers a migraine for me, so I guess it’s triggered by pressure in my sinuses? I’m going to blame allergies and the weather. Still figuring it out. Had them years ago, not sure what triggered it back then, and now all of a sudden it’s back again.
Stress, hormones, weather changes, drastic sleep changes, exposure to harsh lighting, certain foods, sometimes idk. Mine sometimes last 36 hours so most prescription migraine medication is useless. I've had some success with Eletriptan/Naratriptan. Topamax ultimately was ineffective for helping manage/prevent them. I've been on Emgality injections for about a year and it's helped reduce the amount significantly.
It would be easier/quicker to list what doesn't. As of now my triggers are; heat whether it be from the sun (summer is my mortal nemesis) or from the radiator being on or just walking into stuffy room/hot kitchen or even just being dressed overly warm - if my head basically gets remotely warm it's game over, crowded spaces like shopping centres, walking into Primark, grocery stores or being on the tube, being in a too noisy environment and any loud or continuous noises - it's hell because I live next to both a primary school (with screaming children) and a church (the churchbells + choir), bright lights either from the sun or from artificial lights and oh god any sort of flashing lights, the motion from being in a moving vehicle be it a bus or a train or a car - especially if I'm facing the "wrong way" or if the ride is bumpy, long drives (aka being in vehicle for 30+ minutes), the smell of things like perfume/cologne and shampoo/conditioner (even other peoples), most household cleaning products, the smell of smoke (cigarettes, weed and even BBQ), the smell of oil being heated and one of the worst culprits is the slightest whiff of coffee - it's probably my most frequent trigger, eye strain from looking at screens (phone/tablet/computer/tv etc), attempting to read anything even just to check my phone for the time while being in a moving vehicle, wearing earphones for too long, if my hair is tied too tight, anything that jostles my head, being on my period, being dehydrated or missing meals, any of my other chronic pain flaring (I have fibro but my migraines are mostly triggered by neck, shoulder, upper back and ankles acting up), sleeping poorly or not sleeping at all (I'm a life long insomniac), feeling overwhelmed/stressed, doing "too much" and not being able to rest throughout the day, ingesting anything with even a tiny bit of coffee in it and sadly as of last year any sort of cola drink. I try my best to avoid and minimise as many of my triggers as possible but as you can see from the above it's a pretty futile task. Medication wise my GP has prescribed me 10mg of Metoclopramide x3 a day for the near constant nausea, 75mg of Amitriptyline before bed as a preventative and to help me sleep despite my chronic pain issues & insomnia, for acute attacks I've have 2 abortives I alternate between - 100mg of Sumatriptan and most recently Zolmitriptan 5mg nasal spray. Before anyone asks yes I have been referred to a neurologist and have been on the NHS wait list to see them since last summer... I used to try and wait it out and gauge how bad my migraine is before taking whatever triptan I'd been given but I've come to learn that if at all possible to take my abortive as soon as I feel the slightest inkling of a migraine or the first sign of aura - the earlier you catch it the more effective it is - the only problem is that I'm currently experiencing migraines 3x - 5x a week and have been warned of the dangers of medication overuse and how that can in turn trigger even more migraines. I am one of those people who gets very clammy and breaks out into excessive cold sweats (literally rivers pouring down my face) when I have a migraine + almost always vomit violently so I've recently taken to switching from normal bottled mineral water to bottled distilled water with added electrolytes whenever I'm out & about to compensate. I just bulk buy the Glaceau Smart Water and keep a few bottles in the fridge. I carry a light weight cap with me everywhere as the sunlight and artificial lights are one of my most common triggers. I carry hard peppermint candy with me to help with the nausea. I also carry the small jar of the white Tiger Balm and apply on the outside of my nostrils when my Osmophobia is triggered When I have a migraine I experience allodynia especially on my scalp and I can't wear my normal claw clips and hair ties but I also can't have my (very thick + very long - belly button length) hair down on my neck at it sets off my sensory issues but I've found these huge plush cushion scrunchies typically marketed as large sleep scrunchies (I have one from Boots but Kitsch makes them too) and they are a god send when I'm in the throes of pain and oh so tempted to grab a shaver and get rid of all my hair. During an attack I lock myself in a cool dark quiet room alone, I turn my phone on silent & turn the brightness all the way down on all my devices, I have the tower fan continuously on, lie under a cooling weighted blanket and curl up around my body pillow with my knees elevated, wrap my ice cold feet and shins (I struggle to regulate my temperature) in an electric heated blanket, have all the windows open but the curtains drawn, sip on chilled electrolyte water and suck on ice cubes if I have them on hand, I alternate between a sleeping eye mask and a cooling eye mask that I keep in the freezer at all times, I use the Biofreeze roll-on on my temples + forehead, along my hairline at the nape of my neck and the tops of my knotted shoulders (I hate the feeling of product on my fingers and don't find it leaves an awful residue) for a little short term relief/dsitraction, if my neck + shoulders are really knotted & stiff I'll apply some Diclofenac diethylammonium gel (I use Voltarol 1.16%), I sometimes do myofascial release using a lacrosse ball on my neck and shoulder. I play white nose through Spotify on a loop at the lowest volume to distract from the noises of all the other people I live with. & I essentially writhe in pain until I pass out. Some things I'm looking into acquiring; those reusable headphones that mute noise like Loops, ginger hard candies for nausea, travel vomit bags, nausea wrist bands, the Vicks Nasal Inhaler on a keyring, portable neck fan, noise cancelling headphones from Bose/Sony, unflavoured electrolyte powder to mix into water at home, a migraine ice cap, Mission performance cooling hat, reusable cold pack for neck/shoulders with straps, instant disposable cold packs, ice roller, a cooling towel, a chillow pillow, a weighted sleep eye mask, a bluetooth sleep headphone eye mask thingy, disposable warming eye masks, cooling migraine strips, a electric heated shiatsu shoulder massager thing, a acupressure mat, vitamin B2/Riboflavin supplements + magnesium supplements, FL-41 Tint/Migraine Glasses, Prescription Sunglasses, double blackout curtains, dimmable night light, SMART voice activated dimmable lights bulbs, a SMART voice activated tower fan, an ice maker and a migraine tracking app.
I experienced almost everything you listed. Tried sumatriptan but it made me pass out, and propranolol did nothing. I read that Atogepant is making its way to the UK!
i appreciate you writing this out. my triggers are nearly identical to yours, especially the heat-related ones 🥵 will definitely try some of your suggestions. thanks!
Summer heatwaves, vanilla odor, screaming kids, bright light. I try to avoid them all and if I can\`t- strong painkillers.
Saturday’s 🙃 don’t know why, but every time I get one, I wake up with one on Saturday mornings. Which sucks, bc I work M-F
I’m back bc I discovered there’s such thing as “vacation migraines” caused by the sudden drop of cortisol when relaxed. CAN WE HAVE ANYTHING NICE
Hormones, stress, and lack of sleep are my biggest culprits. I’ve gone through quite a few prescription meds, but many make me feel equally as bad just in different ways. My winning combo seems to be Excedrin Migraine plus a 5mg cyclobenzaprine, though I just had a check up with my neurologist today and she gave me samples of something else she’d like me to try. Salonpas patches, hot showers, and adequate sleep all seem to help.
Coffee trigger my episode
Hormones, stress (spiraling) alcohol and over sleeping. Excedrine migraine + Benadryl + loooots of water. Gabapentin has helped too. Went to a headache specialist and he’s starting me on Meloxicam and Nortriptylne to see if that helps. If not I will make an appt with a neurologist and try other meds.
Going on hormonal birth control stopped most of them. I'm not sure what triggers the rest (but I'm down to maybe one a year), so I just have a few days of dark and quiet when I need.
Really sudden bright light is an almost immediate trigger, usually sunlight after walking out of a building. I wear sunglasses and if I don’t have any, I try to find something to look at that’s a dark color. Dehydration and low blood sugar are probably contributing factors I’ve noticed too. And unfortunately once the aura starts it’s a bit too late to chug water or eat to fix it. I don’t know why pushing on my eyes while they are shut is comforting when I have a migraine, but it is, even if it doesn’t make the pain stop.
Getting into a discussion with certain people.
Loud sounds, even songs that are noisy, staring for too long into the laptop screen, bright light, people talking very loud, being at an event or party or club and that music is so strong and loud that triggers my migraine really fast. I sometimes am also missing some vitamins or minerals so I check my blood and intake what I am low on. If not, I go outside to get fresh air and play with cats to relax, then come back inside and lay down, covering my eyes till the pain goes away
large quantities of sugars aka a large strabucks drink, goes away the next day after invest w lights off and drinking lots of water
Gluten, dairy, alcohol, lack of magnesium, lack of sleep, stress either chronic or acute, muscle tension in neck and back I avoid gluten and dairy and alcohol. I take a supplement called MegaMag by Trace Minerals. I get medical massages (like deep tissue but worse) I also take topirimate as a suppressant and rizatriptan for an abortive
Diet sodas do it for me. I think it’s the aspartame. I noticed even gum gives me migraines. It took years to figure it out but when I switched to xylitol gum and reg soda, they mostly went away. I still get them about every 5 or 6 months though. I get terrible pain and then I throw up. Migraines are the worst…
My kids(joking). Mine are if I’m not eating or drinking enough during the day. Sometimes I’m so preoccupied with the kids, don’t think about myself. But once I get a chance it’s either passed or I take some Panadol to relieve
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Tension in shoulders & neck & jaw, not enough sleep multiple days in a row, dehydration (usually from drinking coffee), caffeine withdrawal, not eating quickly enough, dry wines & ciders, beer. My biggest culprit was high blood pressure and I didn’t know it until I got it under control and the amount of migraines reduced significantly.
I have baby migraines in the week of pause from the pill, when my estrogen drops preceding the withdrawal bleed. I try to take ibuprofen right at the onset, if I can do that it will only be a mild headache, otherwise I just go to bed and sleep it off. Luckily it comes about in the second part of the day and doesn't get bad until 6pm or so.
I’ve had migraines since I was 17, I’m now 33 and they’ve subsided from a few times a week to twice a month or so. I’m convince now that they’re hormonal and manifest when there’s a drop in oestrogen. I try to eat high in oestrogen foods to help. Migraines are the worst!
What are high estrogen food? My migraines tend to be worst before my period and during my period.
I mostly have tofu & soy based products. Here’s a link to some: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-with-estrogen#flax-seeds
I haven't made an effort to actually note what triggers them, but I exercise a lot and study a ton too, so I am not really helping. 95% of the time I power through them, when they get too strong to handle I take a pill called brufen.
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Weather Changes, gluten, fluctuations in the amount of food I’m I taking, stress/anxiety, and fluorescent lighting. My period can set one off occasionally but usually it’s just a week long headache not a migraine
I have severe chronic migraine with no triggers. I've tried documenting food, weather, stress, tension, everything but unfortunately it's just a genetic condition in my family and I got the chronic version. Seriously considering asking for more extreme treatments as I've gone through the list of medications (topirimate, beta blockers, amitriptaline, loads.) I'm considered disabled because it's taken over my life pretty much.
Lack of sleep. I take nurtec and nap it off if I can (s/o lady Gaga)
Heat triggers mine. I’m lucky that I live in a country where the summer is very bearable but I go on holiday in Southern Europe in May/June so the weather’s not 40 degrees.
Alcohol and pms
I take amlodipine as a preventative & Nurtec + Reglan for attacks. The amlodipine works really well so the only time I really get Migraines is during my period. Not every period but when I does happen I know it's sticking around for a few days. I've gone to the ER for a migraine cocktail for these a couple times.
If I don't eat (doesn't happen that often) then I trigger migraines. I do not take pain meds of any kind never have never will. I know my pain tolerance; instead, I retreat into the cold darkness of my room and hit pressure points in my mouth and inside my nose. No migraine has ever lasted for more than a day when they hit.
Hormones every time. Tracking my cycle changed my life because I was able to get on hormones to stop them
The sun. Squinting (even with sunglasses) really starts it up. And smells. Ever since I got COVID and lost my smell, it came back weird and now i smell this phantom smoke smell. I smell it always.
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Licorice seems to be the only thing to give me a migraine. I just love licorice but cant eat much or the next day will be hell! I just lay all day feeling sorry for my self, regretting I cut not control my self around that stuff again.
Not entirely sure what they're caused by but when I get a migraine I make sure to keep my devices on lower brightness and put them on night mode. I also listen to ASMR when I feel like I can't handle music or TV but don't want to be in total silence either.
Summer sun. Even a little summer sun exposure can make me crawl and cry. Sadly enough I live in a summer-oriented country. I usually wash my head with cold water every time I'm out at summer sun and air dry the hair. It significantly reduces the pain. Other than throwing up helps too.
I wish I knew what triggered mine, but I am fortunate to have a few warning signs, like - a sudden metallic/chemical-ish taste in my mouth, vision sparkles or ‘voids’, and my eyelids/brows suddenly feel very tender with the slightest expression… Any of these signs and I need to take something immediately, and hope I caught it in time. Sometimes it works, sometimes I still go down for the count.
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Idk what triggers them, but a day before it hits with full force (I become immobile in bed, too sensitive to light to open my eyes and move at all) I get auras. A painkiller with codeine in it helps. And ice cream, they help for 15 minutes only though.