Migraine Triggers

Migraine triggers and other migraine headache symptoms can come from many sources. So often we are looking for just one thing that causes headaches when in reality it is a combination of many factors. Are you absolutely sure you know what are your migraine triggers?

I know that I have said this on other pages of this site, but if you have not read this yet, the most frequent cause of headaches in general is stress.

Quite frankly, until you are able to recognize and accept this, you might not have much success in getting these headaches under control. The effects of lifestyle on headaches cannot be underestimated.

Depression and anxiety can greatly affect your headache profile and are recognized by headache experts as a migraine trigger.

Now wait!! Before you dismiss the idea, up to 85% of all chronic pain sufferers have depression and/or anxiety to some degree.

It's almost like the chicken and the egg..which came first? Pain and depression impact each other..the more pain, the more depressed you feel and then that makes the pain worse. If you have a headache, doesn't crying or being upset make it worse? This is the anxiety fueling the headache.

Along the same vein, if you have headaches or migraines on a regular basis, are missing school, work and family outings, you are bound to feel a bit depressed.

Additional Migraine Triggers

After stress, the most common thing that provokes a migraine are hormonal headaches for women and for men it is barometric pressure changes followed by food triggers. Women get barometric pressure headaches also, but not as frequently as menstrual or hormonal headaches.

Another common trigger is food items. There is some thought in the headache community that this may be related to improper management of food sensitivities. (The previous link will lead you to a page where you can download a free ebook on food sensitivities.)

Here are some common food triggers:

red wine
alcohol in general
onions
nitrites in meats (bacon, lunch meat)
msg, aspartame
aged cheese such as blue cheese
excess caffeine (more than 2-3 cups per day)

Finally, one common trigger is too much or too little sleep. It is VERY important to maintain regular sleep for about 6 months when trying to get headaches under control. This means going to bed and getting up about the same time every day (even weekends!).

There is more information on this site about additional migraine triggers.