To be so annoyed with bloody paternalistic NHS

I’m 47, I had a coil inserted in August - for contraception

Not wanting to hijack the thread but similar circumstances in regards to our own bodies.
I begged and begged for years to be sterilised but was continually refused as I hadn't had any kids and I might change my mind !! Told no one would do it till I was over 40.
I ended up having the combined pill for years then the depo for the next few years until finally they said they wouldn't prescribe anything only the mini pill. In the end after another round of arguments they agreed reluctantly to the sterilisation at 40.
Why cant we as adults make dissisions about our own bodies.

No, I am saying that the NHS has to protect itself against costs that are unnecessary, since it is tax payer funded. And OP's doctor is correct. OP is not protected against getting pregnant, her DH just has a vasectomy. GP can't take the chance she will accidentally become pregnant. And every woman is treated in the same way because we are individuals and will make different decisions and change our mind over matters we thought were settled. So the rule is that fertile women do not take this medicine because of its effects on babies in utero. OP is asking for special treatment because she is a sensible woman with full bodily autonomy with a DH who'se had a vasectomy and her GP should trust her (and his reputation) because she says so. Not on.
No, of course I don't think women should suffer with migraines when men don't have to, but women's physiology is different from men's - we have a completely different endocrine system etc - and medicines that work on men do not work on women or have consequences to women's bodies that they don't to men (and the medical profession is just about waking up to these facts now) so it's pointless to say women are not being treated the same way as men - we are not men and we cannot be treated as if we were (men don't get pregnant, for one).

Are you saying that a woman with migraines should be left to suffer in a way that a man wouldn’t, to save the NHS some possible costs? And that the NHS should take decisions on her behalf to avoid problems in her marriage?

No, you are missing the NHS's point and so is OP. If a woman can get pregnant (and OP is entirely relying on DH to prevent pregnancy) she might. That she can't carry a pregnancy to term is irrelevant since a baby born at 22 weeks can (now) live (and if she miscarries earlier than that there is the trauma and the danger to her own life to take into consideration). And that child would be affected by the medicines OP wants, which will end being a cost to the NHS (i.e. all of us here who live in the UK) as well as a possible burden/at least a life-changing event for OP and DH which might destroy their marriage. And OP could sue saying she was not warned properly of the consequences of the medicine she wants if she should become pregnant.
It's nothing to do with being a grown woman who can make choices for her own body and can be relied on to do what she says she will. We do not have bodily autonomy in that entire way - accidents happen, vasectomies (could) fail, OP might have an affair and use contraception but it might fail (rare but possible) etc. The NHS (i.e. the rest of us who pay the bills) cannot take this risk, and the rules are the rules: fertile women cannot take this medicine for all the above reasons.
FWIW my migraines disappeared with the menopause.

If it is topirimate then it’s new guidelines,due to the potential risks of damage to a foetus,I know you said your husband has had the snip.
Drs are also contacting women who are taking this for other conditions foo for them to be aware of the risks and probably to stop them getting sued.

if you’re having so many migraines I’d ask for a referral to a neurologist for migraine treatment,there are lots of options.i have Botox but also take a tablet daily called atogepant.

the neurologist will probably recommend you stop taking so many over the counter medications as these can cause severe rebound headaches,

I had this last year. I had to have tried and failed 3 preventative medications before they referred me to neurology and the migraine nurse. From there I was able to start anti CGRP therapy which has been completely life changing for me. I went from migraines nearly every day to one migraine a month. We are in the south east. I dont know if services differ in different areas of the country. I would get a second opinion if you can. Child bearing age should not impact the care and treatment you receive.

This is ridiculous, it was quite a longtime ago now but when they put me on roaccutane for my skin at 18 they did a pregnancy test and made me sign a form to acknowledge any pregnancy would have to be terminated due to my treatment and possible birth defects. I assume they aren’t allowed to do this anymore? I was on the contraceptive pill at the time though so maybe this was the difference?

Get Botox in your head, fantastic for migraines

I'd go back and see a female GP. You've listed all the ways you cannot get /don't want to get pregnant and they are still denying you the medication you need to function.

I’m 48 and still take the pill. It can depend on your GP. I have PCOS and it’s the only successful way I have found to manage my symptoms. Younger GPs wanted me off it but I see an older GP who looks at me and says I’m not overweight, don’t smoke etc so some of the risk factors are minimised. Eventually she wants to wean me onto HRT and then wean the dose of that down.

I tried the mini pill as there’s no age limit on that but the progesterone only meds exacerbated my PCOS symptoms.

Edited to add that I was told that migraines would be a reason to stop the pill though. I was getting oestrogen withdrawal headaches during the pill breaks but they said if they were migraines I would have to stop. They aren’t migraines from what I’ve heard of migraines, just really bad headaches.

OP I don’t know if you’re still checking this thread but I wanted to chip in with my experience. I’m prescribed something called Candesartan for my migraine (and Sumatriptan for when it doesn’t quite work!). I was 35 when it was prescribed by my GP on recommendation from a neurologist. For years I had put up with GPs insisting I take the pill for my migraine despite me telling them it made my migraine worse and made me think about ending my own life. I mean, come on! Fucking pill.

Anyway I digress. The neurologist told me he always advises against ‘hormonal preparations’ as ‘9 out of ten times it makes things worse’. I asked, can you tell GPs that, because they’re obsessed.

This drug can cause birth defects. I played ball and went to the sexual health clinic at the insistence of my GP, to talk about getting the coil. I talked things through with the doctor there who saw sense and said that she wasn’t happy to fit me with a coil and I had a very sensible approach to contraception. So I got the Candesartan and it has been life changing. I think sometimes it’s a matter of standing your ground but more to do with the Dr you get, unfortunately. I should say all the docs I saw bar the neuro were women! It’s infuriating. The line I used was ‘I’ve had zero accidental pregnancies in the last 35 years, why would I suddenly start having them now.’

This is very long way of saying, try to fight on and ask to another doctor. I wish you the very best of luck 💪

My migraines stopped completely when I had my hysterectomy. They were hormone related.

I completely agree 👍 For me the coil is more to help with period pains. Xx

I don’t think that’s true. I was on the pill up until I went on HRT and I was 50 then.

No because she can't carry a pregnancy.
Even if she could, the risks to a human not yet existing shouldn't be placed above the health of a person who already exists.

But the risk is not to the patient, but to a hypothetical, future foetus that cannot be carried to term anyway. So the serious risk is to a being that cannot exist.

This doesn't make much sense. Female hormones make fibroids grow.

Double post

YANBU I totally understand and it's infuriating and frustrating.

I recently had a phone appointment with a male pharmacist to renew my HRT prescription. Despite the mansplaining, it was clear that he had no idea how combined HRT patches actually worked and he asked me several times whether I still wanted to be using it. Well of course I bloody do otherwise why bother with the consultation 🙄.
The outcome was that I had to be referred back to the surgery and they would contact me to arrange an appointment. So, no prescription yet and surgery appointments like hens teeth, what a waste of everyone's time 🙄.

Men can get women pregnant and their sperm can be impacted by medication, so why is it different?

Unfortunately I would just get sterilised.

Is it topirimate? You don’t have to be on contraception to get topirimate, based on my experience. I think last time I was asked I might have said my migraines were effective contraception. You can’t take certain oral contraceptives with it if you’re planning to rely on them for contraception as it can impair the efficacy so you have to use something else.
Maybe just try another doctor?

Nothing to not get. Men can't get pregnant, men and women are different. End of story.

There have been issues, and still can be, for women that are real. This isn't one of them. Using the real ones to try and legitimise nonsense should rightly be ridiculed.

Not read the full thread but I was put onto oral contraception in my early 40s and was offered all the hormonal contraceptive options after my newborn’s birth 8 weeks ago. Who on earth told you that you couldn’t have the pill?