Secrets to Deal with Hormone Migraine

How do you recognize hormone migraine? An excruciating headache every time the menses are just around the corner is a telltale sign.

Migraine caused by hormone is a problem that is the bane of many women. It strikes with vicious regularity leaving you almost reeling.

An agonizing pain on one side of the head, giddiness, touchy about glaring lights and blaring sounds and a general feeling of wanting to snap the heads off everyone you meet.

Sound so painfully familiar! That is the hormone migraine for you.

Hormone migraine is caused by a drop in the estrogen (the female sex hormone) level that occurs during the menses. Hence the name, “hormone migraine” or “menstrual migraine”. The fall in estrogen causes blood vessels in the brain to contract and this generates the headache.

Just to delve into the nature of hormonal migraine. A migraine is a specific disorder of which headache is a symptom. So it is actually much more critical than your normal headache wrought by a hangover or burning the midnight oil.

Secondly, it differs from other migraine attacks in the sense that it is triggered primarily by a fall in the estrogen level. Thus, 70% women have these splitting headaches just before, during and occasionally just after their periods.

In fact, hormonal migraine is generally of two types: Menstrual Migraine, which occurs about 1-2 days before the onset and seldom 1-2 days after the end of the menses and Premenstrual Migraine, which begins 3-7 days before the menses and stops after the flow begins.

Many women find relief with oral contraceptives, which work on the female hormonal level. But an equally large number of women have had adverse effects. Thus, the effectiveness of contraceptives in this regard is a bit dubious.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) are the drugs of choice against hormonal migraines. Some widely used drugs are fenoprofen calcium (Nalfon), ketoprofen (Orudis), nabumetone (Relafen), ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (Naprosyn).

Other effective drugs are ergotamine (such as Bellergal-S) or methylergonovine maleate (like Methergine), Anticonvulsants like valporate, calcium channel blockers like veraperamil and beta-blockers such as propranolol.

You can have these drugs from 2-3 days prior to the menses and continue through the flow. These are short-term courses and hence negate any side effects.

In severe cases or when you are on an oral contraceptive, one NSAID starting from the 19th day of the cycle up till the second day of the succeeding cycle will do the trick.

Triptan can be had a day or two before the headaches are expected. Diuretics and a salt-restricted diet during the menses are also prescribed as treatments, while the drug Lupron is the last resort.

For severe premenstrual migraines, a topical application of progesterone combined with Vitamin E or vegetable oils is recommended.

The onslaught of hormone migraine may be difficult to prevent for it would entail tampering with your hormonal levels. But thankfully, there are drugs that equip you to deal with the problem directly and score over hormone migraine.

Posted by Jan Heering
Headache – Migraine Treatment Expert and Author
Founder and President of the Morpheus Institute and
www.headache-migraine-release.com

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