I've suffered migraine for over 20 years, and learned lots of stuff along the way.
Although certain foods act as triggers, for me it's mainly smells. Certain heavy and/or musky colognes can cause a flashing, instant pounding. It's really horrible.
The main cause of my migraine is a slow degeneration of the discs in my cervical spine (neck), combined with bone spurs at the base of my neck. I have kept all the films of MRIs done over several years, and the progression is quite clear.
One neurologist in Boston (who was kind of a crank) insisted that a removable neck brace would help, but I found it nearly impossible to wear often enough to see any difference. He also prescribed
Imitrex, which eventually became ineffective.
I was also told that Yoga would help, but in the three years that I practiced it, nothing much changed as far as the migraines were concerned.
A series of minor injuries moving furniture (I was working at a furniture store at the time, merchandising) led to an increase in frequency and severity of the migraines, as well as TMJ, which is another trigger.
I was once sent to an ER by ambulance when a combination panic attack/migraine caused me to flatten out stiff as a board, unable to move. The attending doc performed a lumbar puncture to make sure that I didn't have Meningitis (I didn't).
Eventually I was on a combination of Neurontin, Fentanol and Valium in large doses. I was no longer in pain, but was so sedated that I lit myself on fire twice trying to light a cigarette. I was on that combo, in ever-increasing doses, for over two years, until I decided that I needed to be coherent again and stepped down and off all of those (with a doctor's careful monitoring).
So I'm essentially back to where I started. I watch my diet, am very careful how i lift things, get plenty of sleep. An occasional purloined Benzo (Valium or Xanax) can help.
But mostly I take a lot of Ibuprofen: between four and eight tabs daily. I have found that it is the only thing that consistently helps minimize the headaches and Migraines. But all that Ibuprofen (which I started taking in the late 80s) is corrosive to one's digestive system. The little flap that closes my esophagus from my stomach is worn away, which gives me permanent acid reflux.
Yeah...life can be a bitch sometimes.