Migraines

As a migraine sufferer, I have been told by my doctor to look out for my triggers (the things that cause me to have a migraine for those who don't know). He gave me a list of things to avoid and to make sure I'm doing so that I don't have to suffer as often. He told me that things like wine and chocolate can be triggers, (I'm already allergic to chocolate now it can cause me to have crippling headaches too?! How is this fair?) to make sure I drink plenty of water and get enough sleep and to cut back on the caffeine. So I began trying to make sure I stay hydrated, this has proven difficult as I also have the short term memory of a gnat so I forget to drink anything let alone water. I tried to make sure I got enough sleep, as it turns out this is actually one of my triggers. I can almost guarantee that if I don't get enough sleep for about two to three days a migraine will follow, but this is also something I struggle with as I have a really hard time staying asleep. The last thing though has been the most difficult of all. CAFFEINE. I have had a caffeine addiction for longer than some young adults have been alive and seeing as I'm only 29, that's saying something. I have been drinking coffee every morning since I was about 8 years old, give or take a few years. That is close to 20 years of drinking a coffee every morning and that isn't including the sodas I used to drink daily and the extra cups of coffee I'd drink just because I wanted it. So I went about bringing down the amount of caffeine I consumed in a day. The first thing I did was cut out sodas and had to teach myself to drink water instead. I use to hate drinking water but now it's my go-to drink choice. Then I started decreasing how many cups of coffee I drank in a day. I'm down to a single cup a day, two if it's a weekend and I feel like treating myself. I still get migraines of course but they aren't as bad or as frequent as the initial one that sent me to my doctor in the first place (it lasted for a whole week!) So if you are also a migraine suffer, first and foremost I feel your pain, and second not knowing your triggers is like playing Rusian roulette.