Menopause Migraines

Migraine headaches are very complex and come with a wide variety of symptoms.  The most common feature is the painful headache, but other symptoms include disturbed vision, sensitivity to light, sound and smells, nausea and vomiting.  Migraines can be extremely painful, leaving you incapacitated for several hours.  Almost all migraine sufferers experience their first attack in their teens or early 20s and they tend to disappear completely around the age of 50.  It is very rare for some to experience the onset of migraines after the age of 40.  How does the “change of life” for women impact their migraines?

Changes In Menopause

At about 40 years of age and beyond, the body becomes less fertile and your ovaries slowly stop producing eggs.  The transitional time between your menstrual cycle and the onset of menopause is known as peri-menopause.  Menopause marks the time when your periods stop permanently.  This transition period could last as long as twenty years.  The average age range for menopause is 40 to 60 years.  Each woman experience differences when their body moves into menopause.  Menopause could make migraines less severe due to no more hormone fluctuation with your monthly cycle or you could experience them for the first time or maybe intensify current attacks during peri-menopause because of different hormonal changes.  There are a lot of different things happening in your body during this change, so it is important to stay on top of migraine discomfort and manage pain properly and consistently.

Does Menopause Impact Migraine Episodes?

Many women find that their migraine episodes are linked to their period.  During your cycle, the body produces less estrogen and the change in your hormone levels could trigger a migraine attack or increase their frequency.  In several studies, it has been found that menopause makes migraines worse for nearly half of those suffering, while 15% of sufferers notice even the slightest improvement in symptoms.  Some women have reported that their migraines continue to follow a monthly “cycle” even years have their menstrual cycle has ended.  Hormonal migraine triggers are believed to level out and no longer contribute to migraines as a trigger within five years of making the change.

Menopause can be an extremely hard time for women, especially those with migraines.  The irregularity of their periods can make it difficult to manage migraines and even harder to predict the onset of one.  Typically, symptoms most commonly associated with menopause, such as hot flashes or night sweats, will result in disruptive sleep patterns.  When necessary rest is not achieved, you are left fatigued and stress levels may rise, increasing the likelihood of a future attack.

Treatment Options

There are a wide variety of treatment options for women dealing with the changes of menopause.  Non-medical treatment options include biofeedback, relaxation techniques, dietary changes, stress reduction, acupuncture, massage therapy and consistent sleep schedules.  Medications commonly used to prevent migraines include:  magnesium, aspirin, triptans and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Hormone therapy is often utilized to help balance the hormone fluctuations that occur during menopause and may be beneficial in migraine relief, as well.  It is important to know that each woman is affected differently by hormone replacement therapy.  Some women report a significant decrease in migraines, while others showed a dramatic increase in both frequency and severity of symptoms.  The use of birth control pills during peri-menopause may help to provide relief for not only those pesky hot flashes and night sweats, but migraines and their accompanying symptoms too!  The ultimate goal with hormone therapy is to stabilize your estrogen levels and reduce the risk of migraines being triggered by cyclical hormone fluctuation.

One symptom suggestions that doctors recommend for all migraines sufferers is to keep a headache journal.  In your journal record when the headache occurred, accompanying symptoms, any medication or treatments that helped alleviate discomfort, and possible trigger.  With hormonal migraines, it would also be beneficial to note where you are at in your cycle and any hormone therapies you are using to note if changes in estrogen levels are the culprit behind the attack.  Because of all the changes occurring in the body during this time, do not make any medical changes without first consulting your physician to ensure that your body is healthy enough for the change and it will not cause any complications with other treatment options you are currently using.

Tags: migraine, migraine headache, migraine prevention, migraine treatment, pregnancy, women and migraines