2 day menstrual headaches.. HOW to get rid of them or avoid

[tumtum123]

ok so for the past 10/15 years or so, i,ve been getting headaches on one side right behind my eye. REALLY painfull and will last 2 days each time. It either starts a few days before my period or on the day. No amount of painkillers (paracetamol) seems to help

Anyone had the same and managed to deal with them? I know they will go away when i get them, but now i think there MUST be a way of not getting them in the first place!

[Seabright]

Wish I knew; have had 3 day headaches/migranes for years. Hoping someone has the answer

[Kittykat7]

I have the same. A nasty headache behind my eye that's not a migraine as I don't get nausea. Taking Magnesium is supposed to help. I'm having acupunture too so I'm hoping it will help.

[Lushlush]

Try the Jason Vale veggie juice for it - it has spinach and green apple and ginger in it works wonders. It is in his books under migraine.

[greengagemutantgingermyrtle]

Watching... I get ridiculous headaches and nausea when I'm on < sickface

[Hollycopter]

Do you mind me asking if you're on the pill? I was on microgynen (sp?) and had aural migraines before my period every month. They stopped when I stopped taking it.

[Squeakyheart]

Apparently pain behind one eye without nausea is still a migraine and is related to hormonal changes if linked to your cycle. If you are on the pill speak to your GP as there is an increased risk of stroke and they could also look at some medications used as prevention for migraines if you can roughly predict when you will have them.

[NewLeafExpat]

agree with others re: pill. I thought it was just a fact of life, I would take ibuprofen at night and hope that it would be gone in the morning. if not it would last three days or so of throbbing, head clutching pain.

I would back to back three packs of pills to avoid the withdrawal headache on the pill free week.

since stopping the pill in January (after ten years!) I think I may have had ONE headache/migrane of the old magnitude if that.

id suggest u reassess your contraception if you're on the pill.

[Stewedcoot]

Funnily enough it's the opposite with me. Had horrible headaches previously but low dose pill has stopped them completely(and a whole host of other unpleasant symptoms)!

[greengagemutantgingermyrtle]

I don't take any hormonal contraception, and was told I shouldn't go on certain types of the pill as I get menstrual migraines. I think they said the mini pill was ok?

[Cataline]

I also get these and they're usually manageable but this month's arrival had me completely out of it in bed for two days. Also started with my eyes - visual disturbances and developed into full migraine- spreading into my neck and shoulder. Would love to know how to stop them. They arrive the day before my period - without fail. I'd never had migraines linked to periods before- it's only since stopping all contraception about a year ago that they started.

[Yddraigoldragon]

I get hormonal migraines, doc gave me naramig which works very well if I can take them as soon as I realise there is a problem. Normal painkillers do not touch my migraines, get thee to the docs and see what can be done.

[trolleycoin]

Heat wraps or a flannel soaked in really hot water then wrung out. One on the forehead and one on the back of the neck. Then I go back to sleep. Eases it by about 60-70% for me.

[PrincessOfChina]

I'm prescribed Sumatriptans for menstrual migraine. I'm not sure what makes you say they're not migraines as they don't have nausea - they don't need to.

I can typically lose up to 2 days a month if I don't catch them in time. However, I'm pregnant at the moment and haven't had a single migraine.

[Billingsgatedoxy]

My doctor recently gave me some tablets for this called imigran. They work by constricting blood vessels in the brain to stop the migraine. They are amazingly effective, and he prescribed them for hormonal migraines.

[girliefriend]

I get a really severe headache as my period comes in and goes out

I find co codomol sometimes takes the edge off along with ibrufen but I do need to go back to my dr, I heard that taking a low dose of amitriptylin is meant to help?

The headaches were better on the pill but I generally felt worse iyswim.

[eatyourveg]

I had imigran - (the sumatriptan in it seems to be the magic ingredient) as an epi-pen for my migraines when the dc were younger - worked within a couple of minutes it was amazing - just couldn't manage 3 under 5s otherwise - ask your GP

Now I do a version of trolleycoins's suggestion and have a hot water on the base of my skull and a sleep. Not as effective but does ease it. Roll on the menopause!

[ScrambledSmegs]

I get these. Only time they ever stopped was when I was pregnant, and when we were ttc DC2.

The reason they stopped when ttc DC2 is that I was taking a very high dose of B vitamins daily, I think 1000mg B12 to be precise. It was to regulate my hormones apparently. I don't take it now as I was under doctors orders then, and I don't really like the idea of taking that high a dose long term.

However I do take a lower dose B vitamin complex regularly, which seems to lessen the intensity of the headaches if not their frequency. Taking iron supplements throughout my period also helps (Spatone or Floradix, gentle on the stomach).

[tumtum123]

hello all and thanks for the replies. Haven't been able to reply up until now.
No i,m not on the pill and have never been.
Lushlush i like the spinach idea as i would much prefer natural remedies. but as it gets quite bad i would try other pain killers.
i did try raw spinache with banana (yum!), but i guess thats not quite the same
People mentioning pregnancy, i think maybe i DIDN'T get them during pregnancy but can't quite remember.
I,ve never been to the doctors for them though so might have to try if nothing else works
I don't really feel nauseous, just starts as a numbing pain then turns into a full blown throbbing headache on one side
sympathies to you all who have them too

[lougle]

It's migraine. I get them just before period time and mid-cycle and sometimes in between. I take nortryptiline daily and gabapentin three times per day, with rizatriptan for migraines.

I'm hoping that one day I'll be free of them. Pregnancy halts it but I've got 3 children already.

[tumtum123]

Hello
update from last month.

having tried since last month and DETERMINED to get rid of them, i have statred my period yesterday and NO MIGRAINE!!

So i looked into the veggie juice recommended by lushlush that got me researching allsorts of things
I have a faint dull feeling where the headache would normally erupt with a vengeance, but no killer pain. am amazed it works!!

I didn't really do the proper green juice diet, but tried to have some sort of veggie juice everyday and mostly on an empty stomach. The days i dont have juice ready, i have green tea first thing. Dont really like the taste of green tea but just want to get something CLEAN in my body first thing.

Am hoping to continue and really do hope this may help any of you out there who suffer from these headaches

thanx for reading!