There is so much I wish I knew about minimizing migraine when my frequency of attacks was ramping up a few years ago.\u00a0I would have avoided \u201cchronifying\u201d and felt like myself rather than someone going through the motions in life for so long.<\/p>\n
I assume you have episodic migraine that is worsening and you are here trying to figure out what to do to minimize the attacks.\u00a0It\u2019s gotten so bad that you can\u2019t be the person that you once were and it\u2019s sucking the life out of you so many days of the month.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t know what\u2019s worse \u2013 canceling commitments and looking like a flake or pushing through and pretending you are ok when you can barely think straight.\u00a0In the back of your mind you think, \u201cCould this get worse?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe you don\u2019t want to go to see your doctor or specialist again and you want to know what can be done right now to get better.\u00a0Or you have been to see your doctor and feel reluctant to fill the prescribed daily migraine medication. This is not medical advice. The tips below can help you get better, along side the help you get from your doctor, and start minimizing your migraine attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
**\u00a0While Migraine Strong writes about the latest in migraine treatments, this is not medical advice. We are patient educators and all information you read should be discussed with your doctor.<\/em><\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t already done so, please read my blog about episodic migraine and medications<\/a>. Understanding the role of migraine meds as well as others you may take is very important.\u00a0 Implementing the steps from that one blog may help you tremendously.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Personal Plan to Roll-Back Attacks detailed in the blog may take a few weeks for you to implement if you take those prescribed and over-the-counter medications.\u00a0The effort will be worth it. Medications can provide wonderful relief when properly taken. I wish I knew that the the medications that were helping me live my life and ditch my increasing migraine attacks ultimately hurt me<\/em><\/strong>. The good news is that now that my migraine attack frequency has diminished, they help me again.<\/p>\n Migraine Strong recently interviewed a migraine expert<\/a> about keeping migraine attack frequency from moving from episodic to chronic. Her tips for helping to get chronic migraine back to episodic migraine will help many who are trying to find the right combination of medications and other interventions.<\/p>\n Next, take a good look at what you think your triggers are.\u00a0<\/p>\n What makes triggers so tricky is that they tend to be cumulative.\u00a0That is, they stack on top of each other.\u00a0 A stressful day may not trigger you, but a stressful day after a lousy night of sleep, on a stormy day that you capped off with a glass of red wine may do you in! This eye-opening blog<\/a> from Eileen Zollinger discusses this concept in more detail and may help you understand your personal trigger threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n The internet will provide you with conflicting lists of the most common migraine triggers and they will rank them differently.\u00a0Stress is usually at the top followed by poor sleep. Weather, hormones, diet, hydration, scents, lighting, alcohol and caffeine are also common triggers. How each rank with an individual will vary.\u00a0<\/p>\n How do you figure out your personal triggers?\u00a0My favorite way is to use a popular tracker called Migraine Buddy.\u00a0It\u2019s a popular smartphone app as it\u2019s easy to use and is frequently updated to help the user figure out what\u2019s helping and what\u2019s hurting. I wish I knew about Migraine Buddy when things were so bad.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n ** IMPORTANT<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 If you are in a phase where it seems like \u201ceverything is a trigger,\u201d it\u2019s likely the time to up your migraine preventive<\/a> game with help from your doctor\u2019s prescription pad or a neuromodulation device<\/a>. Most people only have a few triggers. If your migraine brain is over-responding \u201cto everything,\u201d it\u2019s not likely that you can \u201clifestyle your way to wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n Caffeine<\/em> \u2013<\/strong> I know, I know- Many of you are wincing right now. Questions about coffee and migraine come up all the time, but significant caffeine sources are in other, less obvious places.\u00a0This blog called Caffeine and Migraine- Trigger or Treatment<\/a><\/em> and it is a must-read. I have 2 strong recommendations for you:\u00a0<\/p>\n Caffeine is an important part of some over-the-counter (OTC) and prescribed medications and is part of why the medication works so well.\u00a0The OTC medication that you take for joint pain may get its boost from caffeine. Check out those labels, too.<\/p>\n Why is caffeine a potential problem? One reason it might be a problem for you is that your body may be used to a steady amount and when it varies, it can trigger an attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n The migraine brain tends to over-respond to things that a non-migraine brain doesn\u2019t notice. It\u2019s also possible that you have a specific sensitivity to caffeine and will be triggered by high amounts of it.<\/p>\n Perhaps the worst way caffeine can hurt us is by disrupting our sleep.\u00a0Many people unknowingly consume caffeine late in the day and it disrupts healthy sleep.\u00a0Since stress and poor sleep are the most common migraine triggers, we spend a lot of time discussing caffeine and encourage people to limit it. Many headache specialists discourage caffeine use except when used regularly and no more than 200 mg\/day.<\/p>\n As a registered dietitian, my first instinct is to look to food as a potential solution to a problem.\u00a0I believe that many people with frequent and chronic migraine can find some relief by identifying food triggers or shifting to a diet that causes less inflammation.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may already know some of your food triggers. Maybe you notice the consistent searing head pain you get after eating or drinking the certain foods or drink.\u00a0 Perhaps you made the connection between your visits to Costco when you get the big canister of chocolate covered almonds and a huge wedge of aged cheese and have an uptick in attacks.\u00a0For many people, the best way of identifying food triggers is by an avoidance diet or a migraine-oriented elimination diet.<\/p>\n An avoidance diet is much easier to do than a full elimination diet as it restricts fewer foods.\u00a0With an avoidance diet, you pick a small group of foods that are known to be common migraine triggers and avoid them for a several weeks.\u00a0Then you see if your attack frequency has improved.\u00a0With an elimination diet you shift to eating only foods that are commonly considered \u201csafe\u201d or \u201chead-friendly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Below is a list of foods that are widely considered common migraine triggers:<\/p>\n Someone trying an avoidance diet might choose to stay away from avocado, banana and yogurt for enough time to see if they notice a minimizing effect on their migraine attacks.\u00a0Obviously, the time frame would have to cover enough weeks to notice a difference.\u00a0If there is no obvious difference, use a different group of foods.<\/p>\n This process often helps people identify a couple of their triggers as often people already have some suspicions.\u00a0However, trying different combinations may never yield results as you may never choose the right combination. Usually, people who say \u201cI have no food triggers\u201d have used an avoidance diet so they cannot be sure.<\/p>\n For an elimination diet, the person eliminates the list of foods considered common triggers and eats only foods that are considered commonly \u201csafe\u201d or \u201chead-friendly.\u201d At first glance, you might say, \u201cWhat\u2019s left?\u00a0A bowl of ice??\u201d\u00a0 The list is long, but there is a much longer list of foods that are wholesome, healthy and delicious, too.\u00a0 Here is a link to help you relax and breathe easier with practical help to get you started on a popular migraine oriented elimination diet<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is no hard and fast rule about who should try an avoidance diet and who should try an elimination diet. I think if your attack pattern is usually 0-2 per week, you may have success by tracking your suspected foods in a smartphone app like Migraine Buddy (or similar) and doing an avoidance diet.\u00a0 If your attack frequency is higher than that, you may get better and faster results by tracking your suspected triggers in an app and doing a migraine-oriented elimination diet like Heal Your Headache (HYH) or the Charleston Diet.\u00a0 In this blog,<\/a> Jennifer Bragdon shares her experience with HYH.<\/p>\n What we put in our mouths is totally under our control.\u00a0 It\u2019s really great when we can figure out some food triggers and have success minimizing some migraine attacks.\u00a0 Not everyone has food triggers but I believe many of us do and trying to figure them out is worthwhile. I wish I had known that the delicious, nutritious, wholesome foods that I thought were good for me were constantly triggering my attacks.<\/em><\/strong> Eating \u201chealthy\u201d may not help your head if those healthy foods are your triggers.<\/p>\n On the other hand, some people take it too far when trying to find food triggers. Those with a history of disordered eating should not try an avoidance diet or elimination diet. Always check with your doctor to determine if a restrictive diet is safe for you.<\/p>\n Staying well-hydrated is another factor that is completely within your control.\u00a0You may be like me.\u00a0I don\u2019t like drinking, in general.\u00a0Unless I\u2019m warm, I do not like water.<\/p>\n It\u2019s probably not likely that merely having a low-fluid day would trigger a migraine for you, but being dehydrated on top of other factors is \u201cfilling your Bucket\u201d<\/a> and may bring about a full migraine attack.\u00a0 If you know you tend to not drink enough fluids, challenge yourself to figure out ways you can overcome this.<\/p>\n If you ask neurologists and those that specialize in migraine what lifestyle issue they wish their patients should prioritize most to continue minimizing migraine attacks, most will put sleep and reducing stress at the top of the list. Sleep is when our nervous system resets itself.\u00a0It\u2019s when the brain \u201ctakes out the trash\u201d so the next day we can start fresh.<\/p>\n Quality sleep is so very important.\u00a0It\u2019s also entwined with stress.\u00a0A person with high stress may not sleep well.\u00a0A person with poor sleep may not cope as well with everyday issues and feel more stressed.\u00a0It\u2019s a viscous circle.\u00a0I had a young child when my head was at it\u2019s worst, but had I known how much of a role sleep was, I would have asked for help and done things differently.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Quality sleep must be a priority to help prevent migraine attacks.\u00a0 Jenn wrote an excellent blog<\/a> about sleep to help you more.<\/p>\n There are supplements<\/a> that have good studies supporting their use in migraine.\u00a0Some of the more thorough general neurologists and headache specialists advise their patients to take specific supplements to get attacks under better control.\u00a0This list below is a handy reference on what is recommended.\u00a0 I wish I had known how much the right type of magnesium would have helped me as I had tried and failed with the wrong type.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n These are actions you can take immediately to help yourself:<\/p>\n Keep in mind that migraine is a neurological disorder.\u00a0The migraine brain is different than a typical brain.\u00a0It over-responds to normal stimulation.\u00a0You are not the cause of migraine.\u00a0You can do all of the above interventions and still have many attacks.\u00a0Some of us need one or more medications to get attacks in good control.\u00a0This should not dissuade you from trying to figure out how you can prevent attacks and help medications to be more effective.<\/em><\/p>\n This blog has been updated and refreshed from it\u2019s original publication date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThings I know now but wish I knew then\u2026<\/h2>\n
Medications \u2013 A love\/hate relationship<\/h3>\n
Triggers are Tricky.<\/h3>\n
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The MOST Controllable Triggers \u2013 Caffeine, Foods and Beverages<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Caffeine In Medications<\/h4>\n
Recommendations for you-<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Foods And Beverages<\/h4>\n
Avoidance Vs. Elimination Diets<\/h5>\n
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Avoidance Diet<\/h5>\n
Elimination Diet<\/h5>\n
Hydration<\/h3>\n
Sleep<\/h3>\n
Supplements<\/h3>\n
![\"Recommended](\"https:\/\/www.migrainestrong.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/84F67642-673C-48ED-B3F8-EADA1EA5A13F-300x300.jpeg\")
What you can do right away<\/h2>\n
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