Please list your "triggers"...

I am hoping if we all take a minute to post our "triggers" it might help others figure out some they have missed and we can also see patterns...

I currently take topamax for occular migraines but have had several now with the actual pain and from what I can tell being out in the sun and I don't know if anyone else has this one? or if I'm just nuts? but if I spend the day in the sun, running errands etc, around 5pm I come down with one.  I have also had a couple after I've eaten chocolate (an entire hershey bar). I'm now terrified of anything chocolate.                   

My main trigger is smells!  Energy drinks are THE worse.  If someone around me has a red bull or monster drink I can smell it from a mile away and I'm in trouble from there.  Once I have a headache smells bother me the most too, sometimes I think my ice pack even smells!

tree nuts, flashing lights and foods containing lots of nitraites---hot dogs and such, a little is ok, alot is BAD

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God will Give me nothing i cannot handle--i just wish he didn't trust me so much

Sucralose / Splenda is a migraine trigger -- every time, even just a little bit.

My triggers have been hard for me to identify, but there are a few that I've noticed, similar to the ones already listed here.
stress (I get tension in my neck and shoulders and it just continues to my head.)
crying a lot (or sometimes just a little bit)
too little sleep
not being active enough
smells (I also think my icepack smells after my migraine has started!)
TMJ- a new diagnosis. I'm getting a mouth guard fitted within the next couple of weeks.
any type of alcohol in the slightest bit
menstrual issues- PMDD
sinus congestion/pressure

Other than those, I don't know what triggers them. I guess I'll keep figuring things out as I go along! It just seems like most of mine are unavoidable. Maybe someday I'll live an active, stress-free life with no bad smells and never cry. And my other issues will correct themselves. I can live without alcohol, no problem.

I havent posted here in a while...but over the past few months my headaches have gotten more frequent so i thought i would come back and search for more advice. Anyways, here is a list of some of my triggers

Stress, alcohol, too much sun, chocolate, chinese food, hot dogs, too much caffeine, strong smells, artificial sweetners, pizza, ....ahh i could go on forever with a list of things that give me a headache but those are the ones i am most aware of. I have an appointment with my neurologist tomorrow so hopefully we can try some new meds.

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Chronic Daily Headaches/Migraines

Meds-Keppra 1000mg/day, Calcium with Magnesium 1000mg/day, Vitamin B2 200mg/day, Imitrex, Relpax, Maxalt

Jenbug,
Let us know how it goes!

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Sara-Migraine/Headache Forum Moderator

I suffered with migranes for years, until a Dr. finally figured out for me the cause was milk related products. I have cows milk allergy and anything diary produces a migrane that night or the next day. Cheese related products are the worse trigger for me.

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Weather, Menstraul, Stress, Allergies, Caffine, Too little sleep, chemicals, grass mowed, weed killer, smoke, being ill, the kids (hey I think they give us ALL a migraine at times haha), when my bloodsugar drops or if I get too high (diabetic), bananas, chocolate, pollen, dairy i think that is it

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well i saw my nuerologist about 2 weeks ago....he put me on a muscle relaxer called Tizanidine..to take every day and night. it works GREAT ..i havent woke up with a headache since i started taking it. ....i still get headaches...but i dont wake up with them....which was my main problem...so that is good. I did go get an IV of meds today though cause ive had a headache for 2 days straight and my meds werent working. The muscle relaxer helps me sleep alot better and relieves alot of the tension in my neck. He also gave me a sample of Frova..which seemed to work pretty well, and also recommended that when have to take a maxalt or frova..to take Naproxen with it. havnet tried that yet. anyways, just thought i would share this...any amt of relief is good.. :)

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Chronic Daily Headaches/Migraines

Meds-Keppra 1000mg/day, Calcium with Magnesium 1000mg/day, Vitamin B2 200mg/day, Imitrex, Relpax, Maxalt

I don't have to think twice on this one......my fiance's pitbull "Honey".

There is nothing sweet about this "Honey"...!! When my "migraine senses" are in full throttle I can't even be on the same floor of the house with her....the smell of her just "waifs" in the air. Another part about it that just floors me is that my fiance tells me "he can't smell her at all".

AHHHHHHHHH.........and don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE dog lover.......but when it comes to this dog.....let's just say her and I don't do much snuggling!!
YIKES....she stinks.

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Krista

strong smells (especially florals, perfumes, cigarette smoke)

Last year in May 2008 I suffered a 'severe concussion' and since then have been having horrible migraines when my sleep patterns change. I work in the ER of a very busy hospital and with that said, work 3 shifts. Nights being the worst. It completely throws me off and then the migraine kicks in for the next 2 days. Since then I have been battling with my work over whether or not I should be working nights at all. My family doctor says NO but my work is insisting I see a specialist. That's fine and I have an appointment made but it's not until the end of September. At this point I'm just worried I'm going to lose my job. More un-needed stress.

Hi everyone, new to this forum (I usually post in Fibromyalgia). My triggers have always been perfume, chemicals, jet fuel, tunnels (flashing lights combined with air pressure), weather and barometric changes, tomato sauce, tobacco (I had to quit smoking because even one cigarette was doing it), alcohol, wine, nitrates/MSG, and bright sunlight. I used to take Topamax, and now use Maxalt.

Hi littleneck!!!
I have never heard anyone else, other than myself of course, who lists TOMATO SAUCE as one of their triggers!!! Very interesting (and its good to know Im not crazy-at least in this aspect)

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Sara-Migraine/Headache Forum Moderator

CAFFIENE!! that's the worst for me. little sleep, which is almost always. and the weather.

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do you ever feel alone in a crowded room?

I am immediately hit with a pre-migraine headache when i am in sunlight---even indoors. Also, simply moving around, like trying to mop a floor or clean the tub, will trigger one. Some of it may be hormonal, and definitely there is a connection with my neck/shoulder muscles. I've been using a 20-lb. weight to do shoulder rolls, and have started yoga as well, hoping it will help. Have cut down on the chocolate, but just began having coffee each morning cuz it helps relieve the headaches I wake up with, or which are immediately triggered by sunlight. I also cannot handle loud noises of any kind---even the pitch of a person's voice can cause pain.


headcase3

This is a good question.  I find that my main triggers are:

H,

My migraines occured every six months, and the sole trigger would always be the same:

-right after a conflict resolution

Whether with co-workers,l friends or family, I would set the phone down, or come home, feeling really good about having finally gotten things 'off my chest' and bam, that night would be come a migraine lasting 3-9 hrs, with a 9/10 pain, no moving possible, and would only resolve when a home-doctor would give me a novalgin shot.

The triggers others on this forum talked about, seem to aggravate the migraine, but not the direct cause. The only other thing I can think about, not drinking enough water during the day.

Hope this helps.

Stress, beer, wine, wine coolers, too much chocolate (milk chocolate isn't as much of a problem as dark), basalmic vinegar, changes in my sleep pattern, weather, aged cheeses, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, differing caffeine intake (ultimately stopped drinking anything with caffeine), processed meats with nitrates/nitrites, really bright lights, strong odors (today it was bleach), and a whole host of other things. Often its not one common thing but a combination of many factors so its impossible to always know what causes my migraines and other headaches.

Mine would be stress and the light flashes from camera's...gets me every time

   I think mostly stress ( NOW ) but wont rule out weather,bright lights such as sun glare, sleep and probaly some types of food like hot dogs which i am now having to eat. I like alot of different types/kinds of food and wont give any of it up. Thanks everyone  JOE

Bananas, caffeine, some wines/some beers, smoked foods, weather, hormones, stress, sleep (too much/too little), chewing gum (apparently I'm a violent gum chewer LOL ), crying, certain sofas/chairs (where they hit my neck and force me to be in a certain posture), high sodium foods, pizza-some, but not all, and many OTC meds will cause me to re-bound with a migraine.  I'm sure there are more for me, I just can't remember them at the moment. lol