Migraines can be debilitating, yet simple treatments and healthy habits may provide relief. A migraine diary may help identify triggers while regular aerobic exercise reduces tension – though start out slow to avoid further headaches from vigorous activity.
Adult females/women experience migraine attacks three times more frequently than males/boys, often as the result of hormonal fluctuations associated with menstruation, pregnancy or hormone replacement therapy treatments that aggravate them further.
Avoiding triggers
Many people suffering from migraine have found that avoiding certain things can significantly lower the frequency and intensity of their headaches. Common triggers may include skipping meals, being hungry or thirsty, stress, changing sleep patterns, weather changes and certain foods like chocolate or aged cheeses.
Keep a headache diary to track your triggers and premonitory symptoms which may signal that migraine attacks may soon follow.
However, it is essential to recognize that avoiding triggers may lead to an avoidance lifestyle and ultimately decrease quality of life for patients. Instead, the better approach would be implementing a learn-to-cope strategy by managing exposure through various techniques such as stress reduction techniques, relaxation practices and following a regular sleep schedule with limited screens or distractions at night; exercising, eating well and managing healthy weight can all assist.
Medications
Migraines cannot be cured, but medications may help lessen how often and intense your headaches are. Your doctor can prescribe painkillers or preventive medicine to address symptoms as they arise; in addition to helping identify triggers.
An accurate diagnosis is most successful when reached quickly, using a patient-centric approach and validated diagnostic aids (such as the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 criteria). An in-depth medical history should allow systematic application of these tools, while neuroimaging can also be utilized when necessary.
Preventive medicines used to reduce migraine frequency include pizotifen, gabapentin, calcium-channel blockers and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; all available through your GP and readily accessible on the NHS. Other preventive drugs available on prescription include eptinezumab (Vyepti), erenumab-aooe (Aimovig), fremanezumab (Ajovy) and galcanezumab (Emgality); all available only after at least three other preventive medicines have failed – along with newer medication such as rimegepant (Qulipta).
Relaxation techniques
Relaxation techniques have also proven successful at decreasing migraine frequency and severity, including paced breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation (in which different muscle groups are tensed then relaxed) and mental imagery/meditation techniques. All three work to decrease stress by activating the body’s natural resting response system.
Regular practice of these techniques helps retrain the brain’s reaction to stress, increasing tolerance while decreasing dependence on pharmaceutical medications.
Steps taken to reduce stress, such as regular exercise and getting enough restful sleep, can help avoid silent migraines. Other ways of managing it may include avoiding foods known to trigger migraines, discussing it with friends or family members and seeking professional assistance if necessary. All these techniques are easy and can help sooth any storm associated with silent migraines before they develop, but be mindful that for maximum effectiveness these must be carried out daily for best results.
Sleep
Sleep issues are well-known to be one of the main triggers of migraines and can exacerbate symptoms during an attack. Good sleep hygiene practices like keeping to a regular schedule, using comfortable beds and pillows and limiting screen time before bed can all help to decrease migraine attacks.
Mindfulness practice, or mindful meditation, is an effective way of relieving stress and anxiety that may also trigger migraines. Simply by focusing on one thing – such as breathing – daily practice can reduce these emotions that contribute to migraine attacks. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) may also provide assistance by changing thoughts or behaviors that increase migraine risk.
Migraine is a serious neurological disorder that can significantly diminish your quality of life, so it is crucial that you establish a treatment plan and visit your physician on a regular basis for follow ups. Keep a diary of when and how often migraine attacks happen to help identify what might be triggering them.
