Migraines can be extremely painful and seriously disrupt everyday life. Although no cure exists for migraines, preventive medicines may help lower both their frequency and intensity.
Dehydration can be one of the primary triggers of migraine, so make sure you drink enough water throughout the day. Exercise may also help, as may maintaining a regular sleep schedule and forgoing caffeine altogether.
Avoiding Triggers
There are a variety of ways you can try to prevent migraine attacks from starting, such as keeping a diary and identifying potential triggers. Others take headache-relieving medicines prior to an attack; however, too much use could result in medication overuse headache.
Common triggers include bright or flickering light, noise or odours, changes in atmospheric pressure (temperature), stress and certain foods such as chocolate, cheese and processed meats; additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG) and aspartame (AS), nitrates, fatty foods and alcohol such as red wine or beer; additional factors include hormones (especially when your period arrives for women), skipping meals and medications prescribed to them.
Some triggers may be avoided by getting sufficient rest, drinking lots of water, using methods to manage stress such as biofeedback and relaxation techniques, taking certain supplements such as riboflavin, magnesium, feverfew and butterbur (both available over-the-counter and as prescription medication).
Getting Enough Sleep
Migraine and sleep are closely connected, so getting adequate restful slumber is crucial in order to prevent attacks. Unfortunately, many sufferers of migraine struggle with sleeping due to either pain or medication side effects; then they become tired throughout the day and so the cycle repeats itself.
One way to prevent migraines is to ensure you sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, thus keeping both your mind and body on a consistent schedule, making it harder for an irregularity or fluctuation to trigger one.
Maintaining a food diary and eating regularly may also prove helpful in controlling migraine symptoms. If certain foods like aged cheese, chocolate and caffeine trigger migraine attacks for you, try to limit their consumption as much as possible.
Magnesium supplements taken before bed may also help those living with migraines, particularly if they sleep in a darkened room. Magnesium works to relax muscles – including those involved during an attack – by working as a muscle relaxant.
Keeping a Diary
Many migraine sufferers find keeping a headache journal helpful. A headache journal allows migraine sufferers to record the location, severity and duration of migraine pain as well as potential triggers. Doing this allows your physician to more easily determine whether you have episodic or chronic migraine as well as optimize treatment plans both preventive and acute.
Include the location and intensity of your pain, any aura symptoms (flashing lights or blurred vision), whether they impacted on your ability to work or function and whether any change occurred in how they affected you. It is also helpful to include what was consumed 6-8 hours before an attack occurred as well as any health symptoms such as nausea or runny nose that you might be experiencing.
There are smartphone applications designed specifically to track migraine pain and identify triggers more efficiently, but a simple notebook will also work fine. Set reminders to update it frequently, and choose a format that makes sense for you.
Medication
Migraine attacks can be prevented by avoiding triggers and taking medication as prescribed. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, eating healthily and getting enough restful sleep may also prove helpful in protecting against migraines. A headache diary can also provide your physician with insight into what might be triggering migraine attacks for you.
Preventive medications include blood pressure medications such as propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), nadolol (Corgard) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL). Calcium channel blockers like verapamil (Calan, Verelan) can help relieve migraine symptoms for some people while antidepressants like amitriptyline (Elavil) may prevent migraines altogether but may cause unwanted side effects like drowsiness and weight changes; antiseizure medications like valproic acid (Depakene Depakote) and topiramate (Qudexy XR Topamax) may also prove effective.
Migraine headaches vary for each individual and it may take some trial-and-error to discover which preventive treatments will best help manage them. Be patient as you work closely with your healthcare provider to discover ways to lessen frequency, severity and duration of migraine attacks.
