migraines - causes

does anyone know what causes migraines, only ive been getting them regularly recently and i heard that it can be allergies, any variations on this?! thanks in advance for the help! -x-

Reply 1

darryl

Stress, too much time in front of PC...?

Reply 2

kokopops

lessthanthree

There are so many triggers it's unbelievable. It's generally a combination of triggers that are specific to each person:

Physical
Exhaustion, eye strain, head/neck injury, toothache, sinus pain, hunger, poor sleep, arousal, hormones.

Environment
A bad smell, smoke, noise, bad lighting, screens, heat,

Psychological
Sadness, upset, anxiety, stress, ..[relief!], shock, depression, overexcitement

Foods

Alcohol, Artificial sweeteners, cheese, caffiene, chocolate, citrus, some meats.

Any sound familiar?

yeh a little ... some like cheese and meat ... also the noise and bad lighting one ...
i dunno tho, ive had them for soo long, i think i might go to the doctors 2moro to see if they can find the cause!

Reply 3

Luize

Dont' expect the doctor to find the cause.
There is research being done into why they occur.

I've had them since I can remember. Lucky me also gets aura so I can get pretty lights or practical blindness before hand.
I've had to find out my triggers myself, I know I get ill when stressed, and around my period. They are the more common ones.
To find out the other ones I've just had to keep a diary or when I get them, what I take and if it works. I kept a diary of what I had eaten and found correlations. Chocolate. Caffine. High Fat foods. Cheese.
It's hard to keep a diary for the environment triggers but you tend to just notice them. Bright lights effect me, and strong smells like tarmac, carbon trigger me.

There are quite a few websites on Migraines. MAA (I think thats the initials) are good. Googling Migrain gets quite a few good sites.

Reply 4

frost105

My docyor just told me to keep a diary of when i get them and all the things I did leading up to the start of it-from eating to going out to my moods. That way you can see if there is any common theme.

Reply 5

kokopops

thank u all guys! i went to the doctors today and he gave me some medicine to stop the frequency of them ... !!

Reply 6

james101

Luize

I used to get them a few years back for a couple of years now and then but they suddenly stopped, i think it was down to stress maybe or the weather, who knows, im just glad they stopped. I use to get the light thing where my eyes would fix on the light and follow it and i would lose some of my site, i also had memory loss, it was bad because i couldnt even remember my telephone number, i think the worst one i had was the 1st one where i was sick and couldnt remember anything i had done within the space of getting the migraine and getting up the next day. Migraines are horrible and i am glad i dont suffer from them anymore.

Reply 7

Robber's ghost

I get regular headaches at least twice a week. My doctor isn't sure if they're migranes or sinus related or something else. He's referring me to a specialist.

Or at least he was six months ago.

Apparently the NHS is kind of slow on things like this.

Reply 8

Luize

James, Migraines can come and go. Mine went for a couple years and then came back again. In some people they won't come back again and in others they will. Though if there were high levels of stress then it's likely that was the trigger for it at that time.

Robber's ghost, does taking over the counter pain killers help?
The waiting lists for things are terrible with the NHS, but thats unfortunatly the case, perhaps next time you see your doctor you can bring it up and see if you are on a waiting list or anything?

Reply 9

lou p lou

i used to get really bad migraines so i got put on medication for about 6/9 months about 5 years ago and they've never really come back (i do get them very occasionally but it's like a cpuple of times a year

i find quavers can trigger mine...

lou xxx

Reply 10

MorbidAngel

kokopops

does anyone know what causes migraines,

this colour text

Reply 11

Robber's ghost

I've tried a lot of painkillers and none of them worked. And some of them made it much, much worse.

I guess it is about time to go and see my doctor again. Thing is I have to queue for something like three hours each time, so I've been putting it off.

Reply 12

Robber's ghost

They do, but everytime I phone to try and make one they tell me to come in at the weekend during 'open consultations' (which is where you have to queue). Apparently appointments are only for special cases.

Reply 13

oblivious

it used to be bright lights when i got them

Reply 14

Sooz

I always get them when I'm dehydrated.

Reply 15

bondjamesbond

stress, a tumor in your head, a hang over

Reply 16

Luize

bondjamesbond

stress, a tumor in your head, a hang over

You have to be kidding. A hangover isn't a migrain if thats what you meant.
It's the dehydration that causes a hangover that can also cause migraines.

Reply 17

saz_1989

From what causes mine:

Stress
Too much computer/tv
Alcohol
Dehydration
Caffeine
Too much chocolate
Tiredness
Bright lights
Flashing lights
Tension

Best way of getting rid of them is a paracetamol, an ibuprofen (together they work twice as fast and it's not an overdose), a hot drink and a neck massage!

Reply 18

Mata

Everyone in my family gets migraines... all from allergies. But once you start getting them, a lot of things seem to set them off. Its just best, in general, to avoid excessive heat, strobe lighting, beef (!),dehydration, headbanging, excessive amounts of anything, really. Sucks,eh.

I'm allergic to anything with caffein in it, so's my mum, as well as cheese and citrus fruits. My grandmother and aunt also have allergy-caused migraines (hope for the future, my grandmother's have faded with age). So ask around your family and extended family, chances are someone else might have some answers. Also, try cutting out cheese from your diet for a week, if the migraines don't lessen, do the same with caffeine, citrus, etc. Could be that they're the cause. If I'm caught unawares I have motillium with me to combat the nausea, and always take the paracetamol/ibuprofen combo that Lozza mentioned, because nobody ever carries migroleve for some reason. Nothing really works on a bad, bad migraine, but you can make it manageable.

Keep badgering your doctor. If it does turn out to be an allergy, antihystameins (sp) are the works. I take them every day and can eat as much chocolate as I want. Unfortunately, they don't protect against strobe lighting, heat, etc. You can also get these American pills... I forget the name but they're absolutely tiny, white and cost £1 per pill. But they will numb everything in your body. Yippee.

My mother claims she can 'feel' a migraine coming on... sort of a pressure headache and a vague thrumming of some sort. She takes ibuprofen or migroleve and lies in a darkened room, which apparently wards it off. Meh, could work. Good luck.

Reply 19

Luize

Mata

My mother claims she can 'feel' a migraine coming on... sort of a pressure headache and a vague thrumming of some sort. She takes ibuprofen or migroleve and lies in a darkened room, which apparently wards it off. Meh, could work. Good luck.

I can feel a migraine attack. It is really frustrating when it's in the middle of a day where I can't go home or I have loads of work etc.
You can get an aura before the headache part of the migraine. Your vision can go funny, flashing lights, zigzag shaped light, spots etc. My vision usually gets very blurred, everything flickers side to side and then it goes totally white for a few seconds at a time.
I used to be able to take painkillers at this point and not worry about it at all, but they don't really work that well anymore.
Laying in a dark room does wonders though. It has to be a cool room, there is nothing worse then heat and light.