What is a reason for having a lot of migraines?

Answer 1

== There is no one reason for having frequent migraines. There are many, many different things in the world that will trigger migraines. It all depends what your unique system reacts to.

If you are having more than two migraines a month, you qualify for trying medication which may help reduce the frequency and severity of your migraine. To find one which works is a trial and error process, as there are many medications and there is no one medication that works in all cases.

In some people, the longer their migraines go uncontrolled the more frequent they become, as the system becomes sensitized to being in that state. It becomes a vicious cycle that is hard to break, so the sooner you have them under control, the better. Below are some common migraine triggers to be aware of:

# Diet/Allergy: Many foods can trigger migraines. We hear about this all the time. Wines, aged cheeses, and chocolate being the most popular culprits. What is not often talked about is the role poor nutrition can play in causing migraines. Magnesium deficiency and a lack of the B vitamins are the most prominent. Maintaining a consistent eating pattern is also important, because dips in blood sugar or dips in your serotonin levels caused by lack of food can trigger a migraine.

# Environmental allergies: such as to mold.

# Smoking. Besides acting as an allergen and tripping you up that way, migraines may be caused in part by excess dopamine. Nicotine increases dopamine.

# Odors: Some migraineurs exhibit a sensitivity to perfumes or certain odors.

# Sunlight. Fluorescent light. Glare from computer screens. Sometimes it is the light itself, sometimes it is flickering - such as the almost imperceptible flicker of fluorescent lights, or a ceiling fan than is spinning over a light source.

# Stress, both directly and indirectly. Directly, because the physical changes brought on by stress (or by relaxations after long periods of stress) can cause migraines. Indirectly, because stress as a whole lowers your threshold for any other migraine trigger you might have. For example, perhaps you can normally stand 5 hours under fluorescent lights. Being stressed might lower that threshold down to 3 hours.

# Weather (barometric changes, cold, humidity, etc.. Different weather patterns affect people differently.)

# Extreme temperature shifts: such as staying in air conditioning all day and then walking outside into humid, summer weather. Or taking an incredibly hot shower and then running to catch the bus on a freezing day. You want to give your body time to adjust.

# Dehydration

# Patent Foramen Ovale - PFO is a congenital birth defect in which there is a small hole in the heart. Having surgery to correct this anomaly can help cut down on the frequency of your migraines.

# Lack of sleep OR too much sleep. (Maintaining a normal sleep schedule is key. This means not sleeping in until all hours on the weekends. You get up at the same time every day, you go to bed at the same time.)

# Hormonal changes (puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause)

# Migraines from exertion. These can be brought on from exercise, or sometimes brought on by sex.

# Injury: Some people have migraines develop only after injuries, like a concussion, or neck trauma.

# Pseudotumor cerebri - where too much cerebrospinal fluid in the body is pressing on the brain. Sufferers are asked to maintain a healthy weight, and are often put on diuretics to help them urinate excess fluid from the body.

# Chiari Malformation - a condition where there is an abornormality in how the skull and brain has formed, causing too much cerebral spinal fluid to build up around the brain. Surgery is the preferred treatment. === === === === === === seizures