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The first step in
managing your migraine is to find your trigger factors. Different
people are susceptible to different triggers. However, some of the
most common triggers include:
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Anxiety. |
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Change of routine, e.g. holidays, late rising,
especially at weekends or on holiday. |
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Irregular meals or prolonged lack of food,
fasting or dieting. |
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Worry. |
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Emotion. |
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Depression. |
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Stress. |
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Travel . |
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Certain foods, especially fried foods,
chocolate, citrus fruits, pastry, cheese. |
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Menstruation and the premenstrual period and
menopause. |
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Excitement. |
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Physical or mental fatigue . |
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Alcohol, especially red wine . |
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Shift-work or change of job. |
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Continued use of oral contraceptives. |
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High blood pressure. |
One of the most
effective methods of finding your individual trigger factors is to
keep a proper methodical record of your daily life over a period of
months.
Keeping a diary
can help you feel much more in control, which, in itself, can
contribute to the reduction of the frequency, duration and severity
of attack. It can also heighten your awareness of warning signs that
your body may be giving you, such as a change of mood, excessive
yawning, weight increase. Learning to recognise these warning signs
may help you to take early action, to abort or lessen an attack. The
diary can also be a help to your GP, or a Clinic. |
