migraines in pregnancy

[AllBoxedUp]

Hello. I am 15 weeks pregnant and have been having migraines all the way through. I do normally get them around my period and they are manageable with painkillers/hiding in bed for a while.
I had a midwife appointment today and mentioned it to her and she looked a bit concerned and said if they continued I should see the GP in case it was something more serious. I don't know if she said this because she thought it was unusual to have them or if there was something specific she was thinking of. Does anyone has any ideas? I thought they were relatively common. Thank you.

[Sammi1986]

I think she means if they've not been investigated before. I had all sorts of tests in the past and was put on daily meds. They stopped when found out I was pregnant so migraines have returned. MW said if you've suffered in the past, you are more likely to have them while up the duff, and to just make sure I drink plenty. She said it's too early for pre eclampsia (I'm 18 weeks) and my blood pressure is fine so she's not worried.

[AllBoxedUp]

Thanks for the reply. That does make sense. My blood pressure is fine too so hopefully all is well. I didn't have them with DS (in fact I remember being really happy not to have one for so long) so I had been wondering if it meant it's a girl this time.

[Sammi1986]

Could be! Or it could be hit n miss. Apparently in some lucky ladies pregnancy can break the cycle and they never have another (like my mum). Currently lying awake with a pounding head... :/

[Rowboat]

Hi OP. This pregnancy I've been plagued by migraines and like you I was completely free in my first pregnancy. I went to the GP and he put it down to exhaustion, "one of those things", (by which I mean what you say above - sometimes if you're already prone, pregnancy can make it worse) or possibly a magnesium deficiency. He signed me off work for a rest and suggested I get magnesium supplements. I did and they worked wonders. Im still taking them. i ran out at one point and went without for a couple of days and I started getting headachey again. It might be a coincidence but it might be worth a go.

[bellablot]

I empathise OP, this is debilitating, I'm 19 weeks now and dread the thought of another one, I hope I've passed the worst of it now. It's definitely usually hormones that trigger my migraines, I had to stop taking the progestgen only pull because if them and then the mirena coil too, in pregnancy especially early stages progesterone is what sustains your pregnancy so I assume this is what triggers them. Midwife told me if painkillers weren't good enough then go to docs and they will prescribe something stronger, she didn't seem worried.

Hope they pass for you soon.

[Spaghettinetti]

Hia,

I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering. I suffer from classic migraine with aura and have had one (so far) in this pregnancy (I'm almost 17 weeks). I told my midwife and she documented it, but didn't seem too worried. I thought that you could take sumatriptan in pregnancy, but she seemed to think the only thing I could take was paracetamol.

Whilst she didn't seem too worried, she did put a note on my file and said that if I started getting blurry vision and lots of headaches to get in touch...basically so they could check for pre-eclampsia. The thing is, I have terrible white coat syndrome so my BP is often quite high at checks!

[AllBoxedUp]

Thanks again for the replies. They are manageable at the moment but I would rather not have them. I might look into magnesium supplements though - worth a try.

[AllBoxedUp]

I am definitely more tired this time round with a 3 year old DS who still wakes some nights so not too surprising I guess.

[Marylou62]

No way do I want to scare you girls, but I want to mention something that I was completely unaware off and that I wish someone had told me. I also suffer from migraines and had quite a few during my 3 pregnancies. some bad, some not so. But with DD...at 10 days overdue I had a 'hemiplegic' migraine...meaning that I was paralysed down one side with an awful, burning pins n needles and couldn't speak.. very scary as I and drs thought it was a stroke. I always tell any pregnant, migraine suffering friends so that if it does happen to them...It didn't last long, I made full recovery...just wish I'd known as really thought me n baby were going to die...