Migraines can be brought on by many things, including certain foods (like fermented or pickled products, aged cheese or cured meats), bright lights or smells; changes in weather, stress or menstrual periods being just a few examples.
There are various medications available to help control migraines. Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen may provide some relief while prescription triptans or ergot alkaloids may offer greater effectiveness.
Avoiding triggers
Migraine sufferers know that one effective way to manage headaches is avoiding triggers. Studies have shown that foods, including cheese and chocolate, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and processed meats such as hot dogs and pepperoni may trigger migraine attacks.
Keep a migraine diary to help identify patterns and make avoiding triggers easier.
Changes to routine, stress levels fluctuating or changes to hormone levels can also trigger migraines; for example, many women find their migraine attacks tend to occur shortly before or during their menstrual cycle.
People suffering from migraine can find that regular exercise can reduce their headache frequency. When starting any new exercise regime, however, it is essential to make gradual steps. A multivitamin and herbal supplements like riboflavin (vitamin B2), magnesium, feverfew and butterbur may also provide significant relief; others have found relief through acupuncture or relaxation techniques like biofeedback or yoga.
Getting enough sleep
Research indicates that migraine sufferers often struggle to sleep enough, which can trigger and worsen migraine symptoms. Studies also demonstrate how sleep loss and headaches share certain brain regions, so it makes sense that they work in concert.
To improve your sleep, create a regular bedtime and wake-up time and try to stick with them as much as possible (even on weekends). Avoid caffeine which can interfere with falling asleep quickly; create a comfortable, dark, and quiet sleeping space; and avoid caffeine which may keep you up at night.
Strive for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night and if you’re having difficulty, visit your GP who can offer solutions. They’ll assess your lifestyle, diet and stress levels before suggesting any necessary treatments. Keeping a journal of symptoms may also prove useful; record when, how severe and whether or not they were disabling. Mark it with green dot for no pain experienced; yellow for moderate and red if disabling.
Managing stress
Stress and anxiety can trigger migraines, making managing their symptoms harder for those who suffer chronic migraine. But steps can be taken to alleviate stress levels; your GP may also suggest other therapies like yoga, mindfulness, biofeedback or acupuncture to manage symptoms more effectively.
Regular exercise, healthy eating habits, adequate restful sleep and reducing caffeine consumption all help manage stress effectively. Making these practices part of your everyday life will have lasting benefits.
Keep a headache diary to track how lifestyle changes impact your migraines, such as no pain at the end of each day and yellow for moderate, yellow for moderate-to-severe, red for severe; and so forth. Doing this will allow you to discover patterns in your symptoms, helping you adjust your routine more appropriately meet your needs; additionally if you work at a desk job you could also consider altering it to reduce how long you spend staring at screens!
Medication
Migraine medications have proven successful for thousands of people over time; therefore, your physician can assist in finding one that works specifically for you.
Triptans are drugs designed to relieve headache pain and nausea by blocking certain nerve signals. They also work to decrease inflammation. Triptans come in the form of injection, including sumatriptan (Imitrex), almotriptan (Amerge), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), and naratriptan (Amerge).
There is limited evidence that other medications, including beta blockers, antiepileptics, or antidepressants may help to alleviate migraine symptoms; natural remedies like feverfew, magnesium and riboflavin could also prove useful in relieving migraine symptoms.
A new class of medications called CGRP monoclonal antibodies that target the CGRP receptor have shown promise for treating migraines. Taken monthly or three monthly, such injections include Eptinezumab (Vyepti), Fremanezumab (Ajovy), Erenumab (Aimovig), and Galcanezumab (Emgality). Speak to your physician about whether these medications might help – sometimes multiple doses and combinations need to be tried before finding what works for them for you!
