My husband suffers from migraines. Luckily he’s been pretty good lately. The last one he had was about a week ago.
I just found out that June is National Migraine Awareness Month. When I asked my husband if he was aware of that, he replied “I’m well aware of my migraines” (ha ha).
Migraines are horrible. I see what they do to my husband. They can be debilitating at times. Sometimes they get so bad his boss sends him home from work because he knows that my husband won’t be able to function properly.
My husband is one of the 36 million people who suffer from migraines in the United States. Many people associate migraines with women but the truth is that one out of every four sufferers is male. My poor husband happens to be one of them.
Migraine sufferers range in age, most typically 18 – 35. My husband didn’t start developing migraines until he was around 40. One of my best friends growing up started to develop hers around 16. So it does vary.
My husband usually feels pain on the left side of his face. Many times the pain seems to be around his eye. He has seen eye doctor’s and eye specialists. His eyes are fine. They even did MRIs on his head. What he experiences is truly a migraine and not eye related. Most migraine sufferers feel the pain on one side of their head.
My husband knows a migraine is coming when he feels intense pounding and throbbing, like most sufferers do. For him that soon turns into an unbearable pain. Some people even feel nauseous when they are dealing with a migraine.
When his migraines his he’s sensitive to everything – lights, sounds smells – you name it.
There are many things that can trigger a migraine. The triggers are not the same for all people. For some there might be one or two main triggers. For others several triggers, or a combination of triggers, can trigger a migraine.
Last year I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Keri Peterson, an Internist. She is also a migraine sufferer. She told us that she can eat shrimp with no problem, and drink wine with no problem. However when she shrimp and drinks wine at the same time it usually triggers a migraine.
Here are a few other common triggers for migraines. I find the first trigger especially important to take into consideration, especially with it being the summer season.
Hydration – Dehydration can lead to migraines. Drinking plenty of water can help prevent this, and also helps rid your body of chemicals and toxins. When you are enjoying all the great activities and events during the hot summer months make sure to keep your body well hydrated.
Diet – Certain chemicals in food and beverages can cause migraines. Eating more fresh and fewer processed foods can also help rid your body of toxins or chemicals that could be causing your headaches.
Weather Changes – Changes in weather or barometric pressure can trigger migraines.
Menstrual Cycle – Women with a history of migraines often report headaches immediately before or during their periods, when they have a drop in estrogen.
These are just some of the more common triggers. Anything has the potential to trigger a migraine. My husband has found that processed meats (like deli cold cuts) and scents are two of his major triggers, along with stress.
A recent survey conducted by Novartis Consumer Health Inc., the company that makes Excedrin® Migraine, found that most female sufferers (93%) wish they knew more about what triggers their migraines, yet only 11% of women who do suffer actually track their triggers regularly.
For about a year now my husband has been using the My Migraine Triggers iPhone app. The app was developed by makers of Excedrin®.
The free app is super easy to use. It asks you a series of questions about your migraine and what you ate, drank or did leading up to the event. You can even customize the app and add in your own known trigger sources.
In addition to keeping tabs on what triggers your migraines the application also provides users with more information and resources for migraines.
My husband uses the application. He knew that certain scents triggered migraines (we’re still working on specifically WHAT scents). Some candles or room sprays I use don’t bother him at all. Other times they do. There are only a few candles and oils that I’ve used that have bothered him, but so far they have been from different companies/brands and different scents. But not all of them bother him. So I am trying to help him figure out which ones do so we can avoid them.
It was with the help of this app that we discovered that hot dogs triggered his migraines, as well as certain types of meats (cold cuts) I picked up at the deli for his lunch. For example, he can eat honey roasted turkey deli meat, but not salami or pepperoni. He also can’t eat bologna. I’m thinking the more processed the food, the more potential it has to trigger his migraines.
Not only is the information from the app useful for the user (you), but it’s also helpful for your doctor. The information it provides can be shared with your doctor. Your doctor can use this information to help you come up with a “game plan” to lessen, or avoid, migraines.
Of course when a migraine hits you need to take action immediately to reduce your pain and discomfort. For my husband that means taking some Excedrin® Migraine and going to sleep for a very long time. When he has a migraine he can sleep so soundly that a bomb could go off in the parking lot and he would probably not hear it. He’s out cold. When he wakes up he feels a million times better.
Excedrin® Migraine is the #1 neurologist recommended over-the-counter brand for migraine relief. It was the first non-prescription medicine approved by the FDA to treat all the symptoms of a migraine. I know it’s popular with people I know personally, including my husband, who suffer from migraines.
The Excedrin My Migraine Triggers application is free and you can find it on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-migraine-triggers/id560516772) or you can do a search in Apple apps for it.
For more information about migraines visit MigraineResource.com. You can also check out Excedrin’s Facebook page and follow Excedrin on Twitter (@Excedrin).
Do you or someone you know suffer from migraines? Do you know what triggers them? Do you keep track of your migraines and triggers? Have you used the My Migraine Triggers app?
Kimberly
*I am a paid Excedrin ® Migraine blog ambassador, however all the opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Denise Taylor-Dennis says
I get a migraine from bell peppers, even just smelling them too much can cause a migraine. So I stay clear of them.
Betsy Barnes says
Mine are triggered by a change in the barometric change and lack of sleep combined. I used to get them a lot when I was younger, now not as many 🙂
April Yedinak says
Mine are triggered by exhaustion and certain floral scents- particularly lilac and hyacinth. If I let myself get too tired I am certain to have a migraine, so I have learned to pop a couple sleeping pills to make sure I get sleep if I have had insomnia for a couple of days. I learned about the scents when I worked with a girl who loved to pile on the perfume and I would get so sick with such terrible headaches and even feel like I was going to faint. Then, someone brought hyacinths into my house a few years later and I got the same terrible headache within a half hour. So sad, because I love their smell.