Let-down migraines and the Let-down trigger

Some migraines arrive not during a stressful stretch, but just after it ends: the first day of a holiday, the weekend after a hard week, the evening after a big deadline. These are often called let-down migraines: the body relaxes, stress hormones drop sharply, and for a migraine-prone brain that sudden drop can be enough to set off an attack.

MigraineMe has a trigger called Let-down for exactly this. This article explains where it lives in the app and how to use it.

The important thing to know

Let-down is a manual trigger. There is no single number the app can watch for it, so it does not fire automatically. You log it yourself when you notice you are coming down from a stressful stretch. Once logged, it counts towards your risk gauge and your patterns like any other trigger.

Where the trigger lives

1. Open MigraineMe.
2. Tap the gear icon in the top-left of the screen.
3. Tap Manage Items.
4. Tap Triggers.
5. Look under the Cognitive category. The row called Let-down is there.

Because it is a manual trigger, the row has no "Fires above/below" threshold. You can star it as a favourite so it shows up first when you log, and set its severity weight (HIGH, MILD, LOW) like any other trigger.

How to log a let-down

If you notice you are coming down from a stressful week and you would like MigraineMe to know:

On your phone:

1. Open MigraineMe.
2. On the home screen, find the Quick Log strip below the risk gauge.
3. Tap the Trigger button.
4. Pick Let-down from your favourites (star it first so it appears there), or use the Trigger card on the Log tab and pick it from the full list.

On your watch:

1. Open the watch app and tap the Trigger button (the lightning bolt).
2. Tap Let-down. The watch only shows your favourite triggers, so star it in Manage Items first.

You can also add Let-down when logging a migraine. It appears in the Triggers step of the migraine wizard.

How your stress data helps you spot it

If you wear a watch, the app's stress tracking makes the pattern easier to see. Garmin watches send a stress score through the day, and other wearables contribute heart rate variability and resting heart rate. Open the Monitor tab and look at your stress history: a run of high-stress days followed by a sharp drop is the classic let-down shape. When you see that shape and feel the familiar warning signs, log Let-down. Over time your Insights will show whether it is one of your real patterns.

To make sure stress data is flowing:

1. Make sure your watch is syncing to your phone every day.
2. Check that Stress data is showing on your Monitor tab.
3. If you have a Garmin watch, make sure the Garmin connection is set up (gear icon → Connections → Garmin → Connect).

A gentle reminder

Let-down migraines are common and real, but not everyone gets them. If your attacks tend to arrive on the first quiet day after pressure, this trigger is worth starring and logging consistently for a few weeks. The pattern, if it is there, will show itself.