If migraines are an issue for you, try to identify the foods that trigger them and keep a journal to identify potential triggers.
A GP may prescribe over-the-counter or prescription migraine medicines, suggest lifestyle modifications and stress-relief techniques, or suggest alternative therapies such as acupuncture as ways to combat migraine.
Avoiding Triggers
Keep a diary of your headache symptoms and circumstances to help identify possible triggers, which could include stress (whether directly during an event or directly afterwards), food with caffeine, foods containing nitrates or certain odors; changes to daily routine, exercise or dehydration as possible causes.
Bright lighting and flashing lights, particularly flashing ones, may cause a panic attack. Strong smells may also trigger attacks as can certain noises or changes in barometric pressure; for those highly sensitive to smells wearing a scarf or using earplugs may help mitigate such reactions.
Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Although migraines don’t have a cure, your healthcare provider can help reduce both their frequency and severity. Talk to both your primary care doctor and neurologist or headache specialist about options for managing symptoms including medications (both OTC and prescription), lifestyle modifications, and stress-relief techniques to find relief from migraines.
Migraine sufferers tend to become very fatigued during an attack, becoming extremely sensitive to light and noise; so getting an ample night’s rest is crucial for their wellbeing. If possible, try sleeping at roughly the same time each night and avoid long day naps that might interfere with nighttime rest. Also remember to drink enough water each day (15.5 cups for men and 11.5 for women); using heat therapy on muscle tension and neck pain may be beneficial, while some find a scalp massage helps ease migraine discomfort.
Keeping a Diary
A migraine journal (also referred to as a headache diary, head-ache log or migraine tracker) can be an invaluable aid in helping both you and your physician understand the characteristics and triggers for migraine attacks. Recording headache symptoms like location and intensity of pain as well as possible triggers and treatments used can assist your physician in providing customized preventive and curative solutions tailored specifically for you.
Migraine diaries can be easy to keep, no matter if you use preprinted forms, regular notebooks/calendars/apps, or digital options like GammaCore’s non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation device. The key is updating it frequently enough that you can see trends and patterns over time; to do this effectively you may want to schedule a specific time each day or week to update your diary; many find updating their journal just before bed works well for them. Or consider opting for digital options like GammaCore’s non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation device gammaCore provides real time updates directly to doctors like your physician gammaCore can send updates directly.
Taking Medications
At UT Southwestern Headache Specialists, they help patients find medications and other treatments to alleviate migraine symptoms and prevent future episodes. A CT scan may help identify possible brain tumors, infections, strokes or any other medical problems which might cause migraines.
Pain-relieving medicines: When taken at the first sign of migraine symptoms, pain-relieving medicines are taken immediately to stop pain, nausea and light and sound sensitivity. There are various tablets, nasal spray and injection (under the skin) options available to manage them; typically 30-60 minutes later most of these work efficiently while some may take longer; triptans such as sumatriptan (Imitrex), naratriptan (Amerge) and frovatriptan (Frova) can provide particularly effective relief;
Migraine-preventive medicines: Migraine prevention medicines should be taken regularly, often daily, to reduce either the frequency or severity of migraine attacks. Common options include beta blockers like propranolol (Inderal LA and InnoPran XL), metoprolol (Lopressor and Toprol XL) and calcium channel blockers like verapamil (Verelan) or amlodipine (Norvasc), as well as topiramate and valproate antiseizure drugs used as preventives; additionally CGRP monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibodies may provide relief; while Botox may provide relief if other preventive medicines do not do.
