Migraine StatsSurvey Book

Symptoms|Treatments|Causes|Related Conditions

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Frequently reported causes	% of members
Stress	89% (374)
Not enough sleep	78% (352)
Change in barometric pressure	77% (332)
Skipping a meal or getting very hungry	76% (93)

Less common causes	% of members
inhaling smoke and other strong odours	71% (340)
Dehydration	69% (332)
Too sunny with no sunglasses	68% (335)
flourescent lights	66% (335)
Anxiety	69% (244)
Perfume	67% (269)
Strong emotions	65% (277)
Neck/back pain	65% (240)
Staring at a computer/screen too long	60% (340)
Strobe Lights	61% (270)
Tight muscles in cranial base	61% (243)
menstrual	60% (255)
Heat	57% (341)
low pressure systems	58% (304)
food triggers	56% (349)
Loud Music and/or TV	58% (274)
flashing lights	66% (119)
Genetic	56% (258)
Low blood sugar	53% (333)
Cigarettes (1st or 2nd hand smoke)	54% (246)
Too much alcohol	51% (336)
MSG	50% (335)
incense	52% (260)
Hormone Imbalance	49% (329)
Stuffy atmosphere	48% (327)
Vehicle Exhaust/Pollution	50% (236)
humidity/rain	49% (231)
Progesterone drop at end of cycle	46% (325)
Exposure to MSG in chinese dishes	47% (275)
Combination of tirggers..had period and chocolate on a humid day	47% (256)
Exercise	43% (332)
Too much sleep	43% (328)
1 alcoholic beverage	42% (343)
Exposure to nitrites in processed meats, i.e. bacon, bologna, pepperoni	43% (274)
No idea	55% (77)
Stress release	43% (254)
bad pillows and mattresses	39% (320)
being out in the wind or weather un protected for a period of time	39% (253)
Bending head down or looking down	39% (236)
Low estrogen	37% (311)
Not enough exercise	37% (310)
High altitude / flying	39% (210)
Exposure to aspartame in gum, soft drinks, low calorie sweeteners	35% (267)
Wine of any type, not just red wine	39% (117)
Large groups of people	33% (254)
Shopping	30% (319)
Windy weather	29% (231)
Too much estrogen	28% (258)
Splenda/Sucralose	28% (255)
Wood smoke or forest fires	28% (239)
Exposure to chemicals in new clothes	28% (230)
eating chocolate	29% (152)
Carrying a heavy knapsack or baby sling on my shoulders	25% (306)
Strobe effect: driving by trees early morning or late afternoon when there are shadows on the road, driving with the windshield wipers on in daylight)	40% (35)
petroleum products-ex. gasoline	28% (157)
Caffeine	25% (258)
Heavy lifting	25% (239)
strong cleaning detergents	33% (49)
smell of bleach and Pinesol	28% (76)
jetlag	40% (20)

Rare causes	% of members
Watching a movie	21% (316)
Low Blood Pressure	20% (307)
high blood Pressure	20% (293)
at salon tilting head back when they wash your hair	24% (75)
driving	23% (81)
Coffe	18% (272)
sugar or sweets	18% (249)
Smell of food cooking, esp crock pot cooking overnight	18% (176)
autolyzed or hydrolyzed food additives	17% (155)
citrus	15% (274)
disodium food additives: disodium guanylate, disodium insonate, etc.	16% (155)
Onions	14% (269)
malted barley flour; malt flavor; malt extract, etc.	15% (162)
watching TV or reading a book while in the "lawnchair" position	17% (86)
Dairy	12% (264)
yeast extract - autolyzed or regular	13% (159)
Diagnosed Genetic Disorder	11% (261)
sleep apnea	14% (69)
boredom	10% (283)
PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome)	9% (229)
goat cheese	11% (55)
Corn (eating cornbread, corn chips, hominy, or corn grits)	12% (33)
endometriosis	9% (96)
having an orgasm (I'm serious)	11% (37)
Museums	6% (309)
Squeeze a deep pimple on forehead	4% (231)
stevia	4% (157)
RSD	3% (186)
brain surgeries	3% (117)
antiphospholipid syndrome	2% (255)
CADASIL (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Sub-cortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (Gene 19 NOTCH 3) Genetic mutation	1% (140)
sitting too long without moving/stretching	% (0)