FAQ Episode 16: What is the cause of your migraines? Trigger factors vs. Root Cause factors

FAQs for Natural Migraine Relief

Hi! Jeff Baker here again, as your physician host for Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief for Women. Today I’d like to review the essential concept that every migraine has a different combination of root cause factors that are the underlying and cumulative fuel for the headache process.   Most migraineurs (the cutesy French-sounding term for those with migraines) have tried multiple drug and non-drug remedies for their migraines, with varying degrees of success.   The most common reason for an equivocal track record of headache relief is that without exception, each person’s migraine has a different combination of root causes that precipitate or perpetuate the vicious cycle of the headache process.

This is not new information, but it is not taught in medical schools. The health professions are united in admitting that we don’t fully understand the causes of migraines. Doctors mostly address migraines with prescription medications, which are typically expensive and often side effect prone, but do have some beneficial effects sometimes for some people. Their major failing? With rare exceptions, they do not address root cause factors for migraines.

Doctors and patients also discuss trigger factors, which can be helpful to identify and avoid, but are not the actual cause of migraines. Let me repeat that. Trigger factors are not the underlying cause of your migraine.

Too many people think that if they get rid of their migraine triggers then they have tackled their migraine’s cause. Have you noticed that every month a major magazine or blog will feature a story on “how to avoid your migraine trigger factors”? Keep in mind that trigger factors are just the tip of the root cause iceberg, rather than being key root factors themselves.

To visualize this, let’s consider what I call the 'full cup' theory of migraine expression. Think of the clinical symptoms of a problem, such as a migraine headache, as the overflow of an 8 oz cup. I like to use the analogy of pouring yet another ounce into an 8 oz cup that already has slightly more than seven ounces in it, and when we do this, the cup will overflow.

           Almost full!             Overflow = migraine             Lots of reserve!

Think of this overflow as being the clinical manifestation of a migraine headache and its associated symptoms. One might ask, which of the eight ounces in the cup caused it to overflow? The right answer is: all of them. One could consider that “last ounce” to be the ‘trigger’ that we think ‘caused’ the migraine. The other underlying ounces are the root causes that fill the cup to where a seemingly casual trigger event is “the last straw.” That ‘trigger’ could be a weather front, a certain food, glare from headlights, “that time of the month,” or a dozen others.

But, if the cup is almost full most of the time, it doesn’t take much more to overflow. Anything could push it over the edge, multiple times a month and for multiple different ‘reasons. However, if we could identify your specific root factors and reduce the volume in the cup to only 1, 2, or 3 ounces, we now have built in a reserve where it would then take a much larger volume of triggers, say 5,6, or 7 ounces in this example, to hit your headache threshold.

It would be inaccurate to say that any regimen will “cure” your migraines. But if we can reduce your specific root factors, so “your cup won’t overflow,” we can dramatically reduce the frequency and intensity of headache events. And if that is the case, the medication you currently take might be able to be reduced, along with its cost and side effects. In the process, any prescription you take might work better, while the frequency of your headaches could be significantly reduced.

So, the question is:  how many root cause factors can we remove from your cup? 

I hope that you had a chance to review the email series I sent to all new FAQ for Natural Migraine Relief newsletter subscribers discussing ten Migraine Key Root Cause factors, which outlined an expanded view of the potential factors underlying your migraines. You can sign up for this at no cost, along with the weekly FAQ emails at the Natural Migraine Relief newsletter sign up page.

To gain greater insight into the ‘whys’ and ‘what to dos’ for these migraine root cause factors, and the individualization of the non-drug therapy options specific to managing them, take a look at my online course “Natural Migraine Relief for Women” at www.naturalmigrainerelief.online 

Also, please consider sharing this episode of FAQ's for Natural Migraine Relief with a friend.