How To Prevent Migraines: Advice From Chronic Migraine Sufferers

As anyone who’s ever experienced a migraine will tell you, a migraine is not just a headache. It’s not even a severe headache. In fact, if you ask a migraine sufferer to describe what an attack is like, they’ll tell you it’s not like your common headache at all.

“With a headache and a migraine of the same intensity, the headache can be ignored because you can push it to the back of your mind,” explained one chronic migraine sufferer in an interview for The Journal of Headache and Pain. “With a migraine, it paints itself over the front of your senses, and jumps up and down screaming.”

Such is the experience for the 29.5 million Americans — three-fourths of whom are women — who personally suffer from migraines.

Unlike the common headache, migraines are the result of an underlying neurological disorder. And while headache is often a symptom of migraines, it’s certainly not the only one — many migraine sufferers cite symptoms such as nausea; increased sensitivity to light, sound, or smells; dizziness; and extreme fatigue as being even more severe as head pain.

How To Find Migraine Relief

So, how do migraine sufferers find relief from this debilitating disease? According to the Mayo Clinic, treatment options for migraines fall into two broad categories: pain-relieving medications (drugs taken during migraine episodes to stop symptoms) and preventive medications (drugs taken regularly to reduce the severity or frequency of migraine episodes).

You’ve definitely heard of over-the-counter pain relievers like Advil and Excedrin, and you may have heard of anti-seizure drugs like Topamax to reduce migraine symptoms and frequency. If you’re a migraine sufferer yourself, or you have a loved one who experiences migraines, you may have even heard of Botox injections to treat migraines.

But do any of these drugs really work? If so, how effective are they, and how long can they keep migraines at bay?

Do a quick search on PubMed and you’ll find hundreds of studies touting the benefits of different treatments. For example, one research review of Botox for the prevention of migraines concluded that “in chronic migraine, botulinum toxin type A may reduce the number of migraine days per month by 2 days compared with placebo treatment.” And anti-seizure drugs? A comprehensive review of Topamax (topiramate) found the medication had “significant efficacy in migraine prevention with considerable reductions in the frequency of migraine headaches.”

Of course, these drugs have demonstrated effectiveness in the scientific literature — that (plus a promising safety profile) is how they were granted FDA approval in the first place. But while such data is useful for the advancement of medicine, they ignore something equally important in understanding the disease: the subjective patient experience.

As it turns out, oral medications and prophylactic injections aren’t the only way to mitigate migraines — and for many migraine sufferers, they’re not even the most favorable option. Here at Monet, while we typically turn to credentialed experts to cover health and medical topics, this time we decided to do something a little different. In an effort to recognize and honor the patient’s perspective, we turned to migraine sufferers themselves to compile their most effective remedies to tackle migraines head-on. 

Whether you know what it’s like to manage your own migraines, or you want to help a friend be free from hers, chances are, you’ll find a few tips that may be worth a try. From exercises to ice packs, herbal teas to improved sleep, here are the solutions that our interview subjects, who self-identified as migraine sufferers, swear by:

How To Prevent Migraines

Identify & Avoid Migraine Triggers

Just like flare-ups of other diseases, migraines can occur in response to environmental triggers such as certain foods, bright lights, and weather conditions.

According to Lynn Julian, a chronic migraine sufferer and patient advocate, avoiding triggers is key to managing the attacks. “Keep a migraine diary, noting what you ate and did before each episode, to identify your triggers and help prevent them,” Julian advises. For her, migraine triggers include wine, fermented foods, foods with vinegar, fluorescent lights, stress, and dehydration. 

While some environmental factors are more likely to trigger migraines than others, specific triggers can vary from person to person. “I did research and discovered wine, chocolate, caffeine, MSG, and even bananas could cause migraines.

Other triggers were dehydration, stress, and missing a meal,” notes Khristee Rich, a holistic health writer and researcher who has experienced chronic migraines. “Also, for me, migraines were often based on the barometric pressure, such as with a bad snowstorm or heavy downpour. To avoid migraines, I stay away from triggers, if possible,” she says.

Get A Good Night’s Sleep

As any migraine sufferer knows, poor sleep habits can exacerbate migraine attacks, while good sleep hygiene is a protective factor against them.

“It is recommended to get at least five to six hours of sleep per day, even though we all have hectic daily schedules, to reduce the chances of getting a migraine in the long run,” explains Cindy Agyemang, a graduate student who experiences chronic migraines. “That is because, in my experience, a lack of sleep can be a contributing factor to developing a migraine.”

Drink Plenty Of Fluids

For many people who experience migraines, one preventive measure is to stay hydrated by front-loading fluids. “Make sure to drink plenty of water or herbal tea, as dehydration can cause migraines or make them worse,” Julian advises fellow sufferers. 

In addition to plain water and tea, some people focus on fluids that contain electrolytes, as maintaining electrolyte homeostasis can help prevent migraine attacks. “I drink coconut water; this is naturally hydrating,” explains Rich. “It contains sodium and potassium.”

Escape From Electronics And Lights

While you can’t always control your surroundings, you may have to remove yourself from stimulation once you feel a migraine attack coming on. “If you already have a migraine, find a dark, quiet room in which to rest,” recommends Julian. “Computer screens, phone screens, or books might strain your eyes and make your migraine worse.”

Apply Ice Or Cold Compresses

If you find yourself in the throes of a migraine, applying cold therapy may provide much-needed relief. “I place an ice pack at the top of the neck, base of the head, to calm the blood flowing into the brain and reduce inflammation,” Julian explains.

“I have the purple headache cap with ice packs stitched into it, and I keep this in my freezer,” notes Joy Huber, a chronic migraine sufferer and podcast host. “I can pull it on like a stocking cap, and it seems to help constrict the blood vessels and bring me back to functional from throbbing.”

Move Your Body

As many people who experience migraines can attest, exercise not only contributes to a healthy lifestyle but reduces migraine-triggering stress. “It is good practice to develop a positive attitude of exercising at least twice a week to ensure that we do not develop stress and anxiety, which can lead to migraine if left untreated,” Agyemang says.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise, though many migraine sufferers note that gentle movement (such as yoga) is best. “I started exercising at a slow pace, because high-intensity exercise triggers my migraine,” notes Sharon Van Donkelaar, a CMO who has experienced migraines for years.

Light physical therapy exercises, too, can alleviate pain once a migraine has already started. “I roll on a tennis ball, and that sometimes gets something in my shoulder blades that connects and radiates from my hairline at the back of my neck, up my head, to around my temples,” Huber describes.

Manage Your Mental Health

For Van Donkelaar, it wasn’t until she committed to her mental health that her migraine story took a positive turn. “I used to have terrible migraines that started when I was a teen, and I spent several years trying to get rid of them,” she recalls. “Over-the-counter drugs stopped working after a few years; they simply couldn’t ease the pain anymore.” 

“After moving to a different country, I found new medical assistance that took a multidisciplinary approach to my migraine problem,” Van Donkelaar explains. “My new treatment started out with therapy, as I had struggled with other problems surrounding my mental health. After I started taking antidepressants, migraines became a little less painful. But therapy was the first thing that helped, not only because of the antidepressants, but because I was able to realize the bad habits I was carrying.” 

Ultimately, Van Donkelaar used the tools she learned in therapy to optimize her behaviors for a healthy lifestyle, and it was at this point that her migraines began to melt away. Not only did she incorporate exercise, but she revamped her diet to include more plant-based foods. “Cutting down caffeine and over-processed food also helped me suffer less from migraines,” she says.

“As for now, I’m still keeping up with the lifestyle and the therapy,” Van Donkelaar explains. “The migraines will never go away, but as for right now, I can spend more than two weeks without having a migraine — and that has changed my life immensely.”

Supplement With Medication

While most medical overviews of migraines stress available medications, our subjects often scoffed at drugs being front and center. 

“For many years, I received chronic migraines and took Excedrin or aspirin, but it didn’t always help,” notes Rich. “Plus, they happened frequently and I didn’t like the idea of being dependent on medication. I knew there had to be a root cause and natural treatment,” she says. 

Still, most sufferers don’t discount drugs entirely. For many, popping a pill can supplement natural remedies when a migraine takes hold. 

“The first symptom is the best time to stop the full effect of the migraine from hitting, and so, I usually take Excedrin as soon as I can,” explains Hilary Kozak, a chronic migraine sufferer. “Although it doesn’t stop the migraine, catching the first symptom early really does lessen the intensity of the migraine for me.”

Still, Kozak and others prefer to focus on preventive measures as front-line strategies for their condition, with medications as the last resort when an attack becomes unavoidable. For Kozak, that means making sure she eats enough food and drinks enough water, and she doesn’t exercise on an empty stomach. “Preventative actions have definitely minimized the number of migraines I get,” Kozak says.

The bottom line? That age-old adage rings true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially when it comes to a pounding migraine.

Do you experience migraines? What are your tips for at-home treatments? Share your wisdom in the comments!

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