There are two people close to me in my life who have suffered terribly with migraines during their perimenopausal years.
My sister has always had migraines, but since she has entered perimenopause, they seem hormonally linked to her (now irregular) periods. These are the kinds of headaches that sometimes respond to her medication and other times do not. They can last a day or two, and leave her feeling hungover when they're gone. She has three small children, so cocooning in a dark, quiet room isn't really an option for her.
And my best friend never had migraines until perimenopause, but once she started, they have come furiously and (very often) close together. It's not uncommon for her to have several horrible migraine headaches in a month. She has been working with her doctor (and with various specialists) for more than two years now, but still feels like it's a rare 10 days that go by without a migraine. She keeps a migraine journal, watches what she eats, works out, has medicine and has tried various forms of natural remedies (acupuncture, for instance), but has not found the key to keeping them at bay.
Discovery Health offers this:
"Migraine headaches have an unusual relationship to the menopausal transition. Some women who have suffered with migraines their whole life find they no longer have them when they reach this phase, while other women who have never had migraines begin to have them during perimenopause."
And the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke adds this:
"The relationship between female hormones and migraine is still unclear. Women may have "menstrual migraine" - headaches around the time of their menstrual period - which may disappear during pregnancy. Other women develop migraine for the first time when they are pregnant. Some are first affected after menopause. The effect of oral contraceptives on headaches is perplexing. Scientists report that some women with migraine who take birth control pills experience more frequent and severe attacks. However, a small percentage of women have fewer and less severe migraine headaches when they take birth control pills. And normal women who do not suffer from headaches may develop migraines as a side effect when they use oral contraceptives. Investigators around the world are studying hormonal changes in women with migraine in the hope of identifying the specific ways these naturally occurring chemicals cause headaches."
So I guess we wait. If you have dealt with perimenopausal migraines, how do you cope?
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I think if you've been experiencing perimenopause for 5 years, you would be very unlikely the get pregnant. And if you were able, the possibility that the egg would be deficient would be very high. Genetic abnormalities in children of women over 35 increase substationally anyway. My husband and I went to a fertility doctor when I was 36 and my eggs were so non-responsive that he only tried to stimulate them twice before calling a halt. He explained that even though my hormone levels didn't show absolute menopause, it was likely "the factory had shut down".
HRT made my migraines worse, but apparently they can affect everyone differently. My doctor suggested taking 5-HPT just once a day has and it has increased my mood some (serotonin booster). I've been on it 2 weeks and actually had about 12 hours between migraines. Not sure if it's from the 5-HPT, but if low serotonin levels the cause of my constant migraines, I'll be ecstatic. If not, at least I feel a little better. :>)
March 19, 2010 - 11:01pmThis Comment
I have had migraines since my 20's. I take imitrex 100mg at the onset. Not enough sleep, certain foods, BBQ flavored anything,stress, high altitudes(I am a sea Level Gal) and my cycle would be triggers. My doctor bless her heart also suffers from migraines. She is on a regime of medication that is taken daily so migraines stay away. Mine are not that frequent, but it is good to know that there is a relief cure.
March 18, 2010 - 1:23pmJust to note, movies in 3D, oh yes, Avatar was a migraine producer. When I mentioned it to my doc, she was surprised I didn't think that would be the result. Go figure!
This Comment
I wish someone would be able to find something to help. I have always had menstral migraines, and with perimenopause they became uncontrollable. I now have had continuous migraines for 10 months and no end in sight. The severity varies from a 3 or 4 to 8. The most severe come around the time my menses, which can be 2 months apart, or 10 days apart, but barely last more than 18 hours. I have been through tons of testing, narcotics and non-narcotics. Muscle relaxants work the best but are hard to take and function. I'm now trying Low-Dose Naltrexone combined with Midrin, Zanaflex and Phenagren and Diet Mountain Dew. I just want my life back.
March 15, 2010 - 12:30amThis Comment
I can certainly relate to what you are saying. I have experienced severe and very frequent migraines the last 5-6 years (average 15 days/month). I am 50 years old. We tried everything, but what has helped the most is bioidentical estrogen cream used three times daily. I don't eliminate all the headaches, but at least I have part of my life back! I still have 3-5 migraine days per month, and my periods come every two weeks now, but very light, so I hope I'm nearing the end - I'm living for menopause and the end of my migraines! I wish you the best - hang in there!
April 25, 2010 - 3:25pmThis Comment
At 47 I started having terrible moods, irritability/hostility. A doctor specializing in menopausal treatments put me on continuous bioidentical progesterone cream. Initially the progesterone elevated my mood and gave me a new energetic feeling (something the thyroxine I was on never did). I also started putting on weight..quickly (very upsetting since I worked hard before I turned 40 to take off 30 pounds and had kept it all off until the progesterone), My doctor told me that it could not be the progesterone - it is a diuretic - I should be losing weight. I also started getting spotting between periods and was told this would stop in time. Instead my period became quite irregular often being a 21 day cycle, but also some that lasted 21 days or would restart within a week of completing the last period. Finally, within 6 months I started to get suicidal thoughts before my period that were very disturbing to say the least - I did not share this with the specialist as I was afraid I would be hospitalized - in the very place that I work! Eventually I did find websites which indicated that others have gone through what I have when put on progesterone (including bioidenticals). I stopped the progesterone - the suicidal ideation has diminished greatly (the weight did not come off). Problem: now I'm often getting migraine headaches just before my period (which I can not predict as my periods are irregular). Did stopping the progesterone bring this on or is this another of the delightful manifestations that occur during this wonderful phase of life?!
February 19, 2010 - 5:15pmThis Comment
I am dealing with insomnia, formification, and swells of tension when trying to sleep. Benydryl, sleep aids, do not work and I am frustrated! Any suggestions on natural remedies?
October 22, 2009 - 5:14amThis Comment
Hi, Beauty209, and welcome to EmpowHer! Thank you for your question.
I assume that by linking your question to this thread you are thinking it's linked to your perimenopause? Is that right? Have you had other symptoms, like irregular periods, hot flashes or night sweats? Moodiness or weight gain?
Or are these your only issues at the moment?
For others who are reading, formification is the sort-of "pins and needles" feeling that you get on your skin sometimes; some say it feels like insects crawling on your skin. Is this all over your body, Beauty? Or just on your legs?
If it's just on your legs, please ask your doctor whether you might have Restless Legs Syndrome. Insomnia can also be a symptom of this (in addition to perimenopause). Here are the RLS organization's description of the symptoms:
"Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological condition that is characterized by the irresistible urge to move the legs. While the name may sound funny, it is a very real disorder. In order for you to be officially diagnosed with RLS, you must meet the criteria described in the four bullets below:
You have a strong urge to move your legs which you may not be able to resist. The need to move is often accompanied by uncomfortable sensations. Some words used to describe these sensations include: creeping, itching, pulling, creepy-crawly, tugging, or gnawing.
"Your RLS symptoms start or become worse when you are resting. The longer you are resting, the greater the chance the symptoms will occur and the more severe they are likely to be.
"Your RLS symptoms get better when you move your legs. The relief can be complete or only partial but generally starts very soon after starting an activity. Relief persists as long as the motor activity continues.
""Your RLS symptoms are worse in the evening especially when you are lying down. Activities that bother you at night do not bother you during the day.
"RLS can also cause difficulty in falling or staying asleep which can be one of the chief complaints of the syndrome. A substantial number of people who have RLS also have periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS). These are jerks that occur every 20 to 30 seconds on and off throughout the night. This can cause partial awakenings that disrupt sleep. Sleep deprivation can seriously impact your work, relationships, and health."
http://www.rls.org/Page.aspx?pid=477
Is this similar to what you are describing, Julie?
Here's the Mayo Clinic's page on this, and there are blue links down the left side that link to symptoms, causes, tests and diagnosis, and treatment:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/restless-legs-syndrome/DS00191
Please let us know if this sounds relevant to you, or if I'm barking up the entirely wrong tree (in which case I'll go in another direction!)
October 23, 2009 - 9:37amThis Comment
To answer your question regarding sleeping trouble and natural remedies, my neurologist recommended melatonin 5mg. It works well for sleeping and has helped my headaches too. Good luck to all!
May 25, 2010 - 6:34pmThis Comment
I am 57 and have had migraines associated with my period in my late 30s and through my 40s. I have been in perimenopause for about seven years, and recently, my period has just about stopped. Last week, I had diahhrea and my migraine was announced by a visual wave (similar to heat rising off a hot road), and then color "Aztec" designs in primary colors. Within ten minutes of the onset, the migraine came hard; I also passed several clots and had light staining. I am going to my doctor, has anyone else exprienced this frightening color-light show?
September 28, 2009 - 10:34amThis Comment
Hi, Anon, and welcome to EmpowHer! Thank you so much for your question.
It sounds as though you experienced a Migraine Aura. Some people get these before their migraine headaches; in fact, my friend knows when she gets one of these that she will have a migraine soon and needs to take her medicine right away. Generally they last between 5-60 minutes.
Here's an explanation of a migraine aura from about.com:
"The aura is the most familiar of the phases. Aura follows the prodrome and usually lasts less than an hour. The symptoms and effects of the aura vary widely. Some can be quite terrifying, especially when experienced for the first time. Some of the visual distortions can be exotic and bizarre. It's interesting to note that migraine aura symptoms are thought to have influenced some famous pieces of art and literary works. One of the better know is Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. While most people probably think of aura as being strictly visual, auras can have a wide range of symptoms, including:
•visual symptoms: flashing lights, wavy lines, spots, partial loss of sight, blurry vision
•olfactory hallucinations (smelling odors that aren't there)
•tingling or numbness of the face or extremities on the side where the headache develops.
•difficult finding words and/or speaking
•confusion
•vertigo
•partial paralysis
•auditory hallucinations
•decrease in or loss of hearing
•reduced sensation
•hypersensitivity to feel and touch."
And the Mayo Clinic has an animation that goes through the stages of a migraine, including the aura:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-aura/MM00659
There's actually an organization called the Migraine Aura Foundation that's based in Germany. An interesting page on their site is where people have created videos to try to simulate their auras:
http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/e27891/index_en.html
I'm sure sorry you had such a tough time. Glad you're seeing a doctor; will you come back and update us?
September 29, 2009 - 9:29amThis Comment