One of the most common causes of a migraine is stress.

Migraine is the name given to a type of headache caused by changes in the diameter of blood vessels in the brain.

One common cause of a migraine is stress. Attacks may be precipitated at the time of stress or as in the relatively common "Saturday migraine".  This type of migraine occurs at the weekend when the working week has finished and when the stressful environment has been left behind.

Most migraine sufferers find that sleeping or lying in a darkened room is the best thing to do when having a migraine attack. Other migrainers find that eating something helps while others only start to feel better once they have been sick.

Some migraine sufferers depend on painkillers and anti-sickness preparations to help control symptoms. Other migrainers take medication which is aimed at preventing attacks. In some cases these methods of dealing with migraines becomes habit-forming causing headaches to occur with greater frequency if the drug is not taken.

There are many varieties, but a migraine headache is classically one-sided, associated with the dislike of light, accompanied by nausea or vomiting and varying visual disturbance. In some rare cases, some patients may experience temporary paralysis or loss of consciousness. Generally these symptoms last for hours or days.

The blood vessel diameter changes appear to be caused by a brain chemical messenger called 5-HT or "Serotonin". Most treatment therapies are aimed at blocking the effects of this compound.

There are various triggers of attacks and identifying these migraine triggers can be very useful in prevention. Attacks are often the result of a combination of provoking factors such as chemical exposures, foods, and stress. It is the total load of such influences that seems to be important, and reducing the contributions from each of these provoking factors will lessen the total burden on the body; this in turn lessens the likelihood of an attack. (See The Load Phenomenon.)

Another common trigger for migraine is allergy. Often migraine is triggered by foodstuffs such as chocolate, cheese, red wine, oranges and coffee. However, any food to which a migraine sufferer is allergic/sensitive/intolerant may set off an attack. Many people with migraine know that chemical exposure can provoke attacks. Often the smell of perfume while walking through a department store or whiff of cigarette smoke in a restaurant can instantaneously cause an attack.

How Breakspear Hospital can help migraine sufferers

Identifying and treating sensitivities is the key to controlling this distressing condition. At Breakspear Hospital we believe prevention of attacks is preferable to suppressing symptoms or treating attacks when they arise. We offer a comprehensive low-dose immunotherapy programme, which is also called provocation/neutralisation, when dealing with allergies as well as supplying dietary recommendations. (For further information read our Allergy and Environmental Illness section).  We aim to discover the root cause of your migraines and prevent attacks, obviating the need for drugs.

Our expert doctors will advise on identification of trigger substances, such as foods, using elimination diet, food challenges and skin testing. We offer advice about a rotary diversified diet to enable regular monitoring of reactions, and to assist in the treatment of food allergies (see Rotation Diet). We can assess nutritional status through laboratory investigations and our doctors will advise on food supplements such as vitamins and minerals as appropriate.

For a price list, see Patient Information.

If you have any specific questions regarding prices, estimates and treatment programmes, please contact either one of our Patient Liaison Officers,Carly Day or Emma Roberts, by phone 01442 261 333 ext. 310, or email: cday@breakspearmedical.com or eroberts@breakspearmedical.com