What can I do when I get a weather migraine?

I’ve searched for the answer to that question for the last 13 years.

After hormones, the weather is my biggest, most uncontrollable trigger. I live in Northeast Ohio where it’s a roller coaster. Rain, falling barometric pressure, and large temperature changes mean a migraine for me more often than not.

I had limited options for the first 3 years after my diagnosis because of pregnancy or nursing. From mid-2016 to 2018 they treated me with step therapy, and it was horrible. Nothing worked and I continued to have migraine attacks daily.

It wasn’t until the CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) inhibitor shots came out that I got any relief at all, and I still struggled with weather attacks. When I started taking Botox for migraine in 2021, the onslaught started to lessen.

I took Botox with Ajovy and Qulipta. Now I take it with Vyepti. It’s only because of my current preventative regimen that this method almost always works. When you hit upon the best preventatives for you, treatment becomes more manageable.

Monitor the Weather

The first step is to monitor the weather. Track your patterns. Not everyone has the same weather triggers. For me, a migraine usually occurs with falling barometric pressure below 30 inches, rain, high winds, and temperature changes.

I use The Weather Channel Premium app. It’s $29.99 a year and is the most accurate and reliable weather app I’ve found. Of course, sometimes it’s inaccurate, but I’ve found over the years that my head is never wrong, no matter what The Weather Channel says.

Migraine Analysis

Each day in my migraine journal, I record the barometric pressure at 10 AM and 10 PM, and whether it’s rising, falling, or steady. I look at the daily forecast for rain, chance of rain percentages, and temperature changes of 10 or more degrees. With this information, I try to “predict” which days I’m most likely to have a migraine attack.

Of course, I’m never 100% correct. But if there’s an 80-100% chance of rain (especially combined with a temperature drop), then there’s an excellent probability I need to plan light and take my medication the day before. I try not to schedule meetings or appointments for those times. It’s a sad reality, but if I can help it, it beats cancelling every time.

After the daily forecast, I check the hourly to see what time the rain might begin. This helps me know when to take my acute medications and approximately how long the attack is going to last. I decide if I’m going to treat with the entire process or try to push through.

Some of you may be asking if all this is really necessary. I’m here to tell you, ignoring it doesn’t help and does, in fact, make things worse.

Gain Back Time

Before Botox and Vyepti, the weather attacks started 24-48 hours in advance and didn’t stop until the rain/front had passed through. With Botox and Vyepti, it begins 12-24 hours ahead of time, and now the migraine will usually break once the rain starts.

If I have a lot of notice, I can break the migraine with the protocol I’ve refined over the years before the rain starts and add usable hours back to my life.

For instance, if I get a migraine at 10 AM and it’s due to rain at 6 AM the next day, I enact the process to stop the attack well before 6 AM. If the migraine breaks at 3 PM, I took 15 hours off the attack phase. I can use some of those hours to recover. The next day, when it rains, I’ll be migraine-free.

I’m sharing this with the hope that something here will help you. This is not medical advice (full disclosure).

Quirky Ways I Know I Have a Migraine

I try to take my migraine medication as soon as I realize I have symptoms. I’ve only had 2 visual auras since 2017 when I pierced my left daith, so I have to rely on other signs. Here are some of the weirder ones.

• I can’t wear sunglasses on my head.
• Noises are extra loud and bothersome.
• I put my eye mask on and it’s still too bright.
• Everything seems big and insurmountable.
• I can’t wear my bifocals.

According to my firstborn, my voice also changes.

My Weather Migraine Method

Please keep in mind I’m a self-employed, homeschooling mom blessed with a lot of flexibilty. It took me 13 years to get to this point. There are days when this isn’t possible, and I have to push through and wait for bedtime. I need to be able to sleep at least 3 hours for it to work.

• I take a Ubrelvy, 2 Aleve, and a Reglan for nausea.
• If I don’t improve after an hour or I get to a point where I can’t function, I’ll take 2 Benadryl and lay down in my room with my blackout blinds, eye mask, and an ice pack.
• I sleep 3-5 hours and usually I wake up without a migraine. Then the postdrome, or migraine hangover, phase begins. If the rain is not until the next day, I’ve cut many hours off the migraine attack.

Stop. Benadryl?

Yes, Benadryl. One of the first times I went to the ER for a migraine, a nurse told me about it. Benadryl is often one of the medicines in the ER migraine cocktail. She said next time I should try 2 Benadryl and lay down and go to sleep.

Do you know how many hospital trips this has saved our family??

It works for me. I have it down to a science.

A Precaution

You may know this trick and have heard of studies that link Benadryl to dementia. It’s for this reason I try not to take it too often. Again, only if the attack is severe and if the situation that day allows it.

It’s a risk/benefit analysis, and always talk to your doctor. It doesn’t work for everyone. I’m also of the mind that I need to break the migraine and get back to my life and not worry about what “may” happen in the future. Another factor is the damage and extra recovery time needed every time you push through.

I take medication for my hormones (perhaps a post for another time). I can avoid food triggers and have a lot of control over my sleep. Stress reduction is helpful. I cannot control the weather. This is the best way I’ve found in 13 years to deal with it. It minimizes the time away from my family, homeschool, and work.

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