According to Migraines For Dummies (Diane Stafford and Jennifer Shoquist, MD; 2003) there are dozens of types of migraines. Some types, such as silent migraines, have all of the other symptoms of migraine except for the big one – head pain. Migraines seem to be as unique as the people they torment. Do not self-diagnose your migraine type. Be sure to see a doctor or neurologist for a proper diagnosis.

Plan of Attack

The best way to determine what type of migraine you have is to first write down what an average attack is like for you. Where is the pain? Is it steady or throbbing? How long does it last? Do you get any other symptoms like dizziness, nausea, extreme sensitivity to light, problems talking, numbness or tingling of any part of your body or auras?

Make copies of this list and take it with you when you see a doctor. There is no one diagnostic test for any type of migraine. Your doctor may suggest that you get a brain scan to check for internal damage, especially if you ever experienced a head injury or a neurological condition like meningitis. This is an important step to help rule out other potentially dangerous conditions.

The National Headache Federation highly recommends that anyone with migraines keep a journal or diary of their attacks. You don’t need to write down a lot of details. The basic information should be what happened immediately before the attack began, how long the pain lasted, and what did you do to help combat the pain and if that was successful.

Women should write down what time of the month it is, because women get migraines three times as much as men. The theory is that a drop in the hormone estrogen right before menstruation and again during menopause may trigger a migraine.

Prevention Tactics

The point of writing all of this information down is that over time you will begin to see a pattern emerge. Perhaps you skipped a meal or didn’t sleep well or had to drive for an hour in glaring sunlight. All of these things can trigger a migraine. Although medical science does not know exactly why the brain begins the chemical signals that end up in a migraine, it does know that some events can set this mysterious process off. By learning what your unique triggers are, you can learn to avoid some migraine attacks.

Common triggers include red wine; foods such as lunchmeat, hot dogs, aged cheeses and anything with vinegar; lack of sleep; very strong smells like tobacco smoke, fresh paint or new shower curtains; a sudden drop in barometric pressure which usually happens before it rains or snows and glaring spots of light on computer or television screens. Another common trigger is caffeine. For some people, just one cup of coffee can trigger an attack while for others the lack of caffeine is the trigger. This is why some over the counter pain medications contain caffeine.

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