Living With Migraine Headaches
You may have fewer migraines—and less pain when you do get
them—by trying to:
- Find and avoid triggers for your
headaches.
- Keep a headache diary
(What is a document?) to find out what triggers your
migraines. - Take medicine as your doctor advises to prevent and stop migraines.
- Take your medicine right away when you think that you are getting a migraine.
- Reduce stress with relaxation and
positive-thinking methods.
- Get help from your doctor and a counselor if you think that your migraines may be linked to
depression or
anxiety. Treating these health problems may reduce how
often you get migraines.
Headaches: Managing Headaches.
Find and avoid migraine triggers
You can reduce how many migraines you have by finding out what
triggers your migraines and avoiding those things.
Triggers may include food, alcohol, hot weather, and changes to your
routine.
- Migraines: Finding and Avoiding Triggers.
Keep a headache diary
Keep a
headache diary(What is a document?) to find your triggers. You write down when you have a headache
and how bad it is, along with details such as what you ate and what you did
before the headache started. This information can help you find and avoid the
things that bring on your headaches.
Take your medicines as directed
The best way to stop a migraine is to take your
medicine at the first sign of a headache. You might think you can stop the
migraine by lying down and being quiet or doing relaxation exercises. But if a
migraine has started, it's probably too late for those other methods to
work.
- Keep your medicine with you at all times so that you're ready when a headache
starts.
- Don't take the medicine too often. Talk to your doctor if you're taking your medicine
more than 2 days a week, or if you get more than 3 headaches a month. Too
much medicine—over-the-counter or prescription—can lead to more
headaches. These are called rebound headaches.
You may be able to have fewer headaches by
taking prescription medicine to prevent migraines. But taking this medicine
doesn't mean that you'll never get a migraine.