Don’t Let a Migraine Ruin Your Day – Here’s How to Stop It Before It Starts:

Migraines can make you feel like the world around you isn’t real, and your brain won’t let you focus on it anyway. If you suffer from migraines, you know how debilitating they can be when they come on strong. But there are things you can do to stop migraines before they start if you catch them early enough, so you can feel more in control of your health and avoid the pain altogether.

A number of factors may trigger migraines:

Stress, Medication, Foods, Changes in Sleep-Wake Pattern, Changes in the Environment, Drinks Alcohol and Food Additives can all contribute to changes in your migraine threshold. In addition, Hormonal Changes in Women, Sensory Stimuli or Sensory Overload might also trigger migraines. Some people report that meditating daily has helped them manage their migraines. Others find that practicing yoga helps prevent migraines by increasing blood flow and reducing stress and tension in muscles. Try different techniques and therapies where you can find one that works for you. Even though it will take time (and probably some trial and error), there is hope!

1. Track your headaches

Have you ever woken up with a pounding headache, but have no idea what caused it? Or have a mystery migraine that turns out to be related to something in your daily routine? Keeping a headache diary is one way for you and your doctor (or a neurologist) to figure out associations between migraine triggers, your lifestyle, and headache. If that sounds like an intimidating task, know that there are many online resources available that can help with building and tracking your diary. 

Here are a few: 

1. Migraine Buddy 
2. iMigraine 
3. eMigraine 
4. Migrainetalk 
5. Headache Diary 
6. Headache Diary 
7. Headache Diary 
8. Daily Headaches

2. Apply a Consistent Lifestyle

Unfortunately, migraine is a problem between you and your environment. Certain lifestyle habits can trigger a migraine, which means it’s up to you to take action. If you suffer from regular migraines, avoid doing anything that might trigger an attack. Most triggers are predictable—for example, change in routine or skipping meals. Keep these consistent by creating a schedule that works for you and sticking with it.

Establishing consistent lifestyle habits is how most people find relief from migraines. That’s because you can take charge of what’s known as triggers, which are things in your environment that set off an attack.

3. Use a multidisciplinary approach

Using a multidisciplinary approach is one way of doing this. This means you pay attention to your life. Everyone experiences different symptoms; an oncologist may recommend one thing, while an acupuncturist will suggest something else. By staying focused on your goal—your health—you can get several professionals to work together and find what works best for you. There are no hard-and-fast rules with migraine treatment, which is why it’s important to go with what works for you.

4. Eat whole, natural foods

The key to fighting migraines is to start consuming natural whole foods. Consuming whole foods will prevent migraines from happening and relieve migraine pain. Foods like chocolate, alcoholic beverages, cheese, and red wine can actually trigger migraines and should be avoided completely. Besides avoiding these types of foods to prevent migraines it’s important to eat organic food that has not been processed with chemicals or pesticides. These chemicals can have negative reactions in our bodies and cause even more problems with headaches.

5. Deal with stress

Learning how to manage your stress levels and migraine triggers is vital, as it can help alleviate or even eliminate migraines in some cases. Although an unavoidable cause of migraines in some people, stress has been shown to play a major role in many others and could potentially be reduced with new techniques and management methods.

6. Look into complementary medicine

Research has shown that acupuncture, herbal remedies, and moxibustion—burning herbs on targeted body points—can help treat migraines. Because acupuncture and herbal remedies have few side effects and are relatively inexpensive, they’re easy additions to any headache-prevention plan. And a growing body of research suggests that moxibustion may be a strong option for migraine sufferers.

7. Make use of Migraine Devices

If you suffer from frequent migraines, your doctor may prescribe a neuromodulation device to reduce the attacks. These devices emit electrical pulses through the forehead that influence pain pathways in the brain. Studies show they can be effective in reducing the frequency and severity of migraines. If a device isn’t right for you, there are other ways to combat migraine pain at home. 

8. Prevent migraines with natural diet supplements

Headaches and migraines are often attributed to stress and fatigue, but it’s actually common for food sensitivities to contribute to migraine headaches. A number of studies indicate that reducing dietary glutamate can be beneficial for migraine sufferers, as well as those with chronic headaches. Foods high in protein and natural dietary supplements like riboflavin (vitamin B2), magnesium, coenzyme Q10, and melatonin can reduce migraine frequency.

9. Make use of preventive therapies

Many migraine sufferers also experience sensitivity to weather changes and barometric pressure. These triggery factors may be controlled by preventive medicines such as beta blockers, dihydroergotamine and calcium channel blockers. These help stop migraines before they even begin. To learn more about these medicines or about other common types of preventive therapies, talk with your doctor today . He or she can discuss treatment options that could help you avoid uncomfortable symptoms altogether. You’re not alone in your fight against headaches . Contact your doctor today to learn more about what kinds of headache prevention are available for you.

10. Consult your physician

If you have symptoms of a migraine and have tried over-the-counter remedies with no success, talk to your primary care physician or neurologist. They will be able to determine if your symptoms warrant seeing an eye doctor, too. Many people who experience migraines are also sensitive to light and flickering lights can worsen headaches. This is called photosensitivity and glasses with specialized lenses that block UV or blue light may help ease symptoms during an attack.