Although the underlying cause of migraines remains somewhat mysterious, many migraine patients learn to identify their triggers---the factors that cause individual migraine attacks. Some people are susceptible to a number of triggers, while others may find that giving up red wine or chocolate significantly decreases the frequency of their migraine attacks. Talk to your doctor about prescription medications for either preventing or treating migraines, and whether natural remedies like butterbur or feverfew might be worth exploring.
Hormone Fluctuations
Women and teen girls are more than three times more likely to get migraines than men and teen boys, according to MayoClinic.com. For women who are prone to migraines, anything that changes their hormone levels could potentially trigger a migraine. Typical hormone-related migraine causes include menstruation, pregnancy, and the onset of adolescence or menopause. On the other hand, some women who previously suffered from migraines may find relief from a change in their hormonal balance. Your doctor may want to change or halt your birth control prescription or hormone replacement therapy, if you take it. On the other hand, the unpredictable relationship between hormones and migraines for women may make it likely that beginning a hormone-based medication may help decrease the duration and frequency of migraine attacks.
Foods
Because food is a classic migraine trigger, doctors suggest keeping a detailed food diary noting everything you eat as well as when you suffered a migraine. If your migraines are food-triggered, a pattern is likely to emerge quickly. Common food or drink triggers include red wine, beer, caffeine, processed foods containing aspartame, chocolate, aged cheese and foods containing monosodium glutamate. Once you pinpoint frequent migraine culprits, eliminate the foods from your diet to determine whether the migraines lessen.
Irregular Sleep Patterns
Missing sleep regularly, or changing your sleep patterns abruptly during the weekend, may trigger a migraine. While catching up on your sleep always seems like a good idea, for people prone to migraines sleeping too much can be as bad an idea as sleeping too little. Just as a food journal may help point to connections between diet and migraines, a sleep journal might point to similar patterns. Adjusting your schedule so that you go to bed and wake up at the same times each day, and get about eight hours of sleep, is a sensible first step to fewer attacks.
Emotional Stress
While it's difficult not to react to the trials of life, if you notice stress frequently triggers severe headaches, take steps to find some relief. MayoClinic.com suggests massage, yoga, muscle-relaxation techniques, meditation or just partaking in quiet, stress-free activities each day. For those who have difficulty relaxing, the biofeedback technique may prove helpful, especially for people who get auras or other warning signs before the migraines strike.
Physical Stress
Some people are negatively affected by their physical environment. Changes in weather, chemical fumes, cigarette smoke, driving with the glare of the sun on the windshield, bright indoor lights, loud sounds, strong smells---any of these can be a nightmare to someone prone to migraines. Beyond changing your home environment to minimize migraine triggers, environmental causes can prove the most difficult to change. Preventive migraine medication may help as well as the relaxation tips mentioned previously.
