Bad migraines!?!??!?!?!!?

The top two triggers are food and allergies. For the allergies, clean your house very well. Even shampoo the carpet. Dust very well around electronics since they're dust magnets. Change out all of your air filters for high quality ones designed to catch pollen, mold, dust and dander. Wash all of your clothes and bedding with a perfume free detergent. (I use Tide Free). Never use dryer sheets. If you have a feather or down pillow, get rid of it. If you have indoor pets, put them outside or at least keep them out of your room. Keep a steady supply of benadryl or claritan in your system to prevent the allergies from getting as bad as they would otherwise. If you become congested, take sudafed to ease the pressure in your sinuses. An allergy headache can slip into a migraine very quickly.

Since there are so many food triggers, the best thing to do is to keep track of what you eat, when, and how much. Also keep track of when you get migraines, how bad they are and how long they last. You'll need a lot of details so that you can make a connection between diet and migraines. It may not be the only factor, but it will definitely contribute to the problem.

The most common ones are MSG, chocolate (especially dark), and vitamin C. Those three are pretty much universal. After that, there are things like artificial sugar, most preservatives, aged cheeses, processed meats, nuts, peanuts, anything fermented (like sauerkraut, pickles, and certain types of bread), alcohol, garlic, onions, certain vegetables (snow peas, most beans, avocados, etc), dairy, modified food starch, corn syrup, corn starch, dextrose, eggs, anything reduced or with reduced fat, rice, and anything enriched or vitamin enriched. Any type of fruit contains vitamin C, as do tomatoes and full vitamins. Grapes are the absolute worst. Caffeine varies. For some people it's an instant migraine trigger. For others, caffeine can actually help to fix a migraine. And there are people that don't respond to it either way.

Just because you don't see "MSG" on the label doesn't mean it's not there. The only sure ways are if the label states "no MSG" or if you're buying fresh meat and produce. Other names for MSG in the labels.... monosodium glutamate, glutamic acid, glutamate, monopotassium glutamate, calcium glutamate, natrium glutamate, yeast extract, anything "hydrolyzed", calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, yeast, yeast nutrient, autolyzed yeast, gelatin, textured protein, soy protein, whey protein, vetsin, ajinomoto... and my personal favorite among the hidden bull$---... NATURAL FLAVORS.

If all else fails with diet, eat only fresh produce and meat. Add in only one thing at a time so that you can pinpoint the problem foods. Make sure you're not dehydrated since that can cause problems all by itself. You need more than two bottles of water a day. Vitamins are okay as long as you don't touch vitamin C. One of those will cause a week long migraine.

Try different prescription medications for migraines. I use Midrin. It does nothing for my father or best friend. My father uses Amerge, which does nothing for my friend but makes my migraines ten times worse. My friend takes Imitrex, which makes my father dizzy and makes me high as a kite. You'll have to experiment with tons of things to find one that works for you. If caught early enough, Excedrin can stop a migraine for some people. There are two tricks I use that you should try that require absolutely no medicine. If caught early, these can stop a migraine from forming. The first is an energy drink. The sudden influx of caffeine and B vitamins works very well for some people. Drink it slowly the first few times you try this, because some people will get worse with caffeine. The second trick is a sugar spike. If you eat something that's basically pure sugar, your body doesn't have to do anything to get the energy. Any type of candy (other than chocolate) should work.

Oh yes I get them often - not twice a day but all day and all night and sometimes into the next day. I tend to wonder if your having migraines, as they don't come about twice a day! But none the less they are no fun to have either. I do use Advil for Migraines and it does work - now I get them and they are gone thanks to the Advil. I also try to have a strong cup of coffee, and a very very hot shower with the water falling just on the top of my back, right at the base of my neck. My parents get Migraines and they were told to do this and it works for them. I know that where I live we get Chinooks (where the temperature can change from very cold to very warm in a few hours) and that effects me. Cheese, chocolate, wine, beer are powerful headache causers. Stress, lack of sleep, computer work, poor light, strong smells and stronger glasses also can cause headaches. I would write down what time of the day it starts, when it stops, what you take to get rid of the pain. Also make note of what you eat before you had a headache or what you were doing, you may see a pattern start to emerge. Then you can cut out doing or eating what it was and see if that effect's your migraines! But really an apt to see your doctor (and eye doctor) would be highly suggested too - there may be other factors that they can look in to or rule out as well. Good luck