Are migraines during my period normal?
May 29, 2008 - 9:33am
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I have horrible headaches around my period. Am I OK? Do most women get headaches like these? Or am I just one of a lucky few?
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Sorry to hear you're having so many issues with headaches around your period. You may want to watch these interviews with Dr. Carolyn Bernstein, Neurologist and Director of the Women’s Headache Center at Cambridge Health Alliance, and see if they help answer your questions.
WATCH THIS: Dr. Bernstein, What Kind of Doctor Do I See About Migraines?
WATCH THIS: Dr. Bernstein, Why are Migraines an Illness?
WATCH THIS: Dr. Bernstein, Can Migraines Affect Your Vision?
WATCH THIS: Headache Doctor Bernstein Explains Why Women Should Track Their Migraines
Do you take anything to help with the pain?
Unfortunately, I suffer from migraines everyday. I have done alot of digging and found that many of the foods I ate were triggers. I knew of the "typical" triggers but had no idea so many other foods could be the cause. I have shrank my diet down to carrots, apples and grilled chicken with the occasional snack on wheat thins and have been able to go a few days at a time without a migraine.
I also found that migraines, in rare occasions, can cause stroke or aneurysms, subsequently, death. This shocked me; that was when I decided I needed to try to control the migraines with food & exercise.
www.migraines.org
I definitely get migraines that last for 2-3 days just before and the first few days of my cycle. I recently spoke to my doctor about taking an estrogen replacement (Estroven) to see if it would help. I cannot take the pill due to the other side effects they cause, ie. stroke. We will be trying the Estroven during my next cycle.
I tried to link to the videos in your post, but they didn't work. I'll search them on this site to see if I can find them.
Deb
I am one of the "lucky few" as well! :-) I never thought about inquiring about it, as I figured it is just one of those unfortunate consequences of being female...so I am so glad you asked!
I can almost guarantee a headache and mood changes with irritability right before, or on day one, of my period. If I take ibuprofen (just the regular dose in the morning), avoid salty foods and avoid TV and the computer screen that day, I can help my chances of preventing a migraine and "just" have a headache.
Have you found anything that helps you? How bad is your migraine (are you sensitive to light, etc)? Do you have other symptoms, too?
I think I will track my migraine, as the above resource suggests (Dr. Bernstein)...sounds like good advice!
I don't think I've ever had a true migraine, but I've always had really bad headaches that start the day before my period starts and last for 1-2 days. Sometimes I feel like I can't think or focus on anything because of the headaches. I've read that they're associated with the drop in estrogen at that point in a cycle.
Anyway, I went on a birth control pill (Yaz) a few months ago, and since then have not had a single period-related headache. I'm really amazed, because although I expected the pill to help me with mood swings, heavy bleeding, and other symptoms I was having, I didn't realize it would help relieve the headaches. I wonder if the pill would help with migraines as well.
Kristin Davis
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com
I also have headaches during my menstrual cycle that can develop into migraines if I dont catch them at onset. I have found that if I take over the counter migraine pain relief at the onset of a low grade headache then I can sometimes control them. It is a good idea to journal your symptoms to find out the triggers and to know the signs of the onset of a migraine. I have found that if I dont pay attention to the low grade headache then it will begin to bother my vision which is my first sign that I have let it go too far. Check this link out for more help.
http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/migraine.cfm
Hope it helps.