Hormonal migraines

[Heffalelephant]

I'm a bit at the end of my tether and wondered if anyone had found anything to eliminate hormonal migraines. I get a few around the time I ovulate and another four or five around the time of my period. I only used to get about 3 a year before I had a baby! Now it can be 10 a month sometimes!

I'm not able to go on the combined pill due to sometimes getting migraine with aura (mostly mine are without aura though).

Has anyone had success with anything other than the combined pill? I want to bring a few suggestions to the table at my next appointment. The next suggestion on the list for me to try was Pregabalin (usually an epilepsy drug, I think) but it seems to be pretty serious stuff with a high chance of side effects, also can't take it if I happen to get pregnant again/bf. Keen to find other options if possible!

I had the same thing. Rarely had a migraine before pregnancy, then after birth got several around my period/ovulation. Randomly, I started taking calcium tablets which included a small amount of vitamin d, because a blood test showed my calcium levels were low. It cut my migraines by 50%. I also recently started taking an additional vit d supplement (because a mn thread said it made people have more energy). I didn’t get more energy, but I haven’t yet had a migraine in the past three weeks. It may just be a co-incidence, but googling suggests vit d can help with migraines.

Hmm, thanks! I have been taking vitamin D actually, high strength ones too, so I'm not sure they'll help in my case though maybe I need to take them for longer. I've had to stop for the next couple of weeks anyway as I'm having a blood test (unrelated to the migraines) and I'm not supposed to be taking any supplements. I'll resume after the results. I've read about feverfew supplements today, I'm wondering if that's worth a shot too but I don't know if that's for general migraines or specifically good for hormonal migraines.

Mine have been helped by having the depo contraceptive injection and I also take 4000g riboflavin (vit b) daily. They’ve lessen from all the time to maybe two a month currently?

*lessened

Would oestrogen patches or gel be an option?

I have hormonal migraines. I'm just about keeping them at bay by being on the mini pill (no hormonal fluctuations like you get with the combined pill) and taking 20mg of amitriptyline daily. No real side effects of the amitriptyline, other than I sleep better

I have hormonal migraines. Trying the mini pill gave me worse migraines but I understand it works for some.
I’ve had topiramste , which worked pretty well but mega side effects. I’m now on amatryptaline which lessens the effects , plus Botox between my eyes to stop the face creases!

I have terrible migraines that are definitely hormonal related - at their worst they're daily. The combined pill did completely transform things but they've gradually come back and have got pretty bad again. I've tried pretty much every preventative with nothing really working except topiramate which has horrible side effects. The mini pill and mirena coil make mine worse.

I've just started with a testosterone gel which I think is helping but it's still too early to really be sure. I've had to reduce the dose to a very small amount (pea size blob) as with the higher dose it was actually giving me a headache but a different sort from my migraine ones if that makes sense - more a typical headache I think than a full migraine so manageable but not very nice. I did have to try a few GPs to get one who was happy to prescribe it but the risk of side effects is very small and we agreed it was worth a try.

Thanks Nyon. Not wanting to get the depo injection at the moment but will bear it in mind for future. I'd read about B2 as well and couldn't decide which thing to try next so will keep that one on my list!

@3boysandabump, trouble is I've had mixed opinions on this but I want to suggest it again. My GP said no for the same reason I can't have combined pills (stroke risk for people who get aura) but I'm fairly sure a neurologist mentioned it to me as an option before. Have you tried it?

Thanks rallytog1 and KenDoddsDadsDog. I haven't got on with the implant or any mini pills so far though I know I haven't tried them all. I've been on Amitriptyline already.

pingster I've never heard of testosterone gel being used! Where did you first get the suggestion? Would you mind updating me with your progress at some point?

I should say, I'm not saying I want to try the oestrogen regardless of stroke risk, just that I can't find anything online to say there is one, except for when it's in the combined pill. So I'm not sure if my GP is being over-cautious because they aren't actually sure themselves. If anyone knows about this, please let me know!

I am just like you and it's awful. Mid month and pre period .

I take sodium valproate but not sure it's working and can't tolerate higher doses. I also use triptan meds but they make me feel even more sick.

I have tried what feels like everything. Many meds. Reflexology included.

Reluctantly I'd say that my best month was when was on a really low calorie diet, I had just one day of migraine hell vs 4-5 days but then that could have been a one off.

Definitely avoid alcohol as that seems to trigger and it's much worse when it happens pre period.

Sorry I've not been much help but I get it !

Thanks. Just trying to keep this going in case there are any more replies.

Mini-pill worked for me on the hormonal element - no more once a month migraines and added bonus of no more periods, I had horrendous period pains.

It didn't eliminate the migraines however and I'm on topiramate which works really well for me.

I also did a lot of work on eliminating and identifying triggers - so I always go to bed at a regular time, eat at regular hours, changed to healthier diet, installed blue light apps on all screens, keep v hydrated with a water bottle on me at all times and think all of this made a big difference.

My neurologist suggested there is evidence for riboflavin - you have to take enough to turn your wee orange - and not evidence for magnesium and feverfew but that I could try them anyway so I did.

Like exitstageright I have found there is a big link to hunger with migraine and responses from the vagus nerve - changing to a low sugar, low carb diet really helped as wasn't leaping from one stimulus to the next and everything was just much calmer.

Does nobody just take painkillers? Or are you saying they don’t work?

I get hormonal and non-hormonal migraines 2 or 3 times a month. I take two paracetamol and two ibuprofen as soon as I feel them start, try and have a sleep (or at least close my eyes in a cool room) and normally I can fend them off before they really start.

A high dose of evening primrose oil worked for me when I was getting daily migraines in the week before my period. GP advised I could take up to three times the dose recommended on the bottle. I was sceptical, but gave it a go, and it's worked amazingly. Had another moment of scepticism a few years ago when I ran out of capsules and thought "fuck it, they're probably not really doing anything" and stopped taking them. Four days later I started with daily migraines again, which went away once I resumed the evening primrose. Usually very cynical about complementary medicine, and have been known to rant on the internet about snake oil cures etc, but this has honestly been life changing. No side effects. GP said to look at the quantity of GLA in the capsules, and take up to 320mg per day, which equates to 3 daily capsules for me with Tesco own brand evening primrose/ starflower oil.

it took me years to get on top of mine! And now they are almost a thing of the past what with menopause and all that!

staying well rested, not stressed, well hydrated all helped. Low carb really helped too.
Also the final realisation that in spite of migraines I am NOT a headachey person and that any looming headache was not just a headache and was really a full blown, lying down, vomiting and wishing for an early death migraine simply laying in wait. Then discovering that going in hard with a day or two of ibuprofen (six in 24 hours) alternated with paracetamol (eight in 24 hours) would usually see it off combined with a bit more tlc (rest, water, no screens)

I am still getting an occasional rare banging head, assorted visual disturbances, and nausea, but haven't had a full blown one for a good year or maybe two.

Sadly my migraines would laugh in the face of 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen.

They are 4-5 day affairs, usually accompanied by speech/sound/balance problems and on v rare occasions visual problems. As you are only supposed to take triptans on 2 days a week it's a case of try to guess which 2 days will be the worst and take them on those.

After really doing a whole life turnaround to focus on migraine management I've gone from migraine on most days of the month to about 4 days a month.

In an emergency, drinking a vast amount of water and taking a packet of frozen herbs out of the freezer and sticking it on your head can sometimes stave off a migraine too, if you are on a no painkiller day.

Painkillers do nothing for my migraines. Only triptans relieve it.

Thanks all!

@AnnaMagnani do you have any side effects from topiramate?

@DianaPrincessOfThemyscira I take 2 ibuprofen as soon as I have an inkling of a migraine and yes, sometimes it stops it within an hour. However, that's just sometimes, and I have many more a month, and don't have the ability to lie down or be in a darkened room, I need to look after a young child and on my working days I need to get them to nursery, drive a long way, work (on a computer) and so I need a solution that works on the migraines that don't respond to normal painkillers, allows me to get on with life without resting, lying down, taking time off (i.e. I need to keep my job!) or taking strong drugs that assist with the migraine but mean you get drowsy or other bad side effects (which mean I struggle to take care of my toddler or drive/work). Hence asking for ideas as so far things I've tried have either not worked or had intolerable side effects.

@OhSnake I tried EPO quite recently actually but it caused painful acne everywhere and my period also came early so I stopped and therefore probably didn't get any migraine-preventing benefits if there were any for me. I may try once more but if it's the same (acne much worse and more painful than what I usually already have and a shorter cycle) then I'm not sure I could stay on it forever. How long did you take it before you noticed an improvement in migraine frequency?

@AnnaMagnani what did your whole life turnaround involve? Looking for more things I've not tried!

I'm going to look into low carb diets as well but I'm going to put it further down my list as I have some long term eating issues and it would be best to avoid significant dietary restrictions (I already avoid several triggers for my food-related migraines which are pretty much down to 0 now).

Basically being a lot more organised and self-caring.

Planning meals, always having lunch, not snacking, getting up and going to bed at the same time of the day - migraine likes routine. Even if you don't do low carb then a lot less sweets and chocolate my diet was shit Drink a lot less alcohol - max one unit and then not every night.

Using apps like f.lux to get rid of blue light in the evening on screens.

Sorting my asthma out - I was waking in the night coughing. When my asthma was better, my migraine was better as I had better sleep.

Sorting out my fainting and dizzy spells - being hydrated, almost overhydrated all the time. Spent money seeing a cardiologist who diagnosed me with a dropping blood pressure - Inow eat a v salty diet and this has actually helped my migraine but I wouldn't recommend this to others without medical advice.

I also spent money seeing a neurologist as seeing one on the NHS was getting me nowhere and I also needed to keep my job - best money I ever spent - changed my triptan to one that didn't knock me out all day so I could actually go to work as well. Plus he sorted out my dose of topiramate. Obvs I was lucky that it only took one appointment but I felt so much better that I had been heard and that there were back up plans if it didn't work.

So basically I have identified I have a zillion triggers and tried to come up with strategies for them. Some things you can't do anything about - if there is a thunderstorm, you just have to put up with it. But you can prepare for it by being really sure you have eaten, had loads of water, gone to bed, never run out of meds, got ice pack in the fridge etc etc.

@AnnaMagnani ahh, thanks! I have actually ticked all those boxes already including the private neurologist! It wasn't as helpful as it was for you but I'm hoping to go one more time after I've tried out everything I can myself, armed with a list of questions and suggestions.

My routine/low blue light/regular eating/healthy eating/very little alcohol are all good but I've not done any strict low carb/sugar stuff.

No alcohol during the period week and taking an Aleve (naproxen) when I've got one coming on helps. I don't get auras though. Sometimes cold watermelon or sorbet helps along with cold compresses.

Are you anywhere in travelling distance of London?

If so I can highly recommend Dr Kevin Shields, the neurologist I saw. He also has migraine himself which is why he chose to specialise in it. He runs the migraine clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology.