What helped manage frequent migraines, especially those linked to hormones?

[Mumbythesea1]

I’m desperate for help with migraines. I have had them for years and haven’t yet been able to identify triggers as they happen so often. I know that some of them are hormone related as they come in the week before I’m due my period.
I have seen a neurologist already, had MRIs etc but my life is becoming miserable as they are always happening. I have previously had sumatriptan but when this stopped being as effective I moved to zolmitriptan.

im going to be more forceful with the GP as I’m having more days with a migraine than without.

if you have been like this, what helped?

would a contraceptive pill help to manage hormonal linked migraines?

any advice that I can push for with the GP would be really useful please! X

Mirena coil reduced the frequency of my migraines quite a lot, and I also take Propanolol morning and evening. Hardly ever have them now, and I was getting several a week at one point.

I cut out dairy and reduced my migraines drastically. I also got migraines from other foodstuffs which I eliminated through food diaries. My foods tended to be approx 24- 48 hours before migraines so a diary was imperative. I used to have at least one every week, now have one a year maybe.

Wearing a mouthguard at night helps me.

I cut out meat and dairy 10+ years ago and switched to the arm implant. I cant say either helped but they've definitely reduced in that time period.

Have none of the preventive treatments helped?

Sleep apnea was triggering mine as I started snoring in menopause
Not drinking enough water
Mirena and estrogen patches helped as part of hrt

No. I’ve tried amitriptaline and propranolol but both made me drowsy. I also have MS and I think it was a bit of a clash with existing drugs I take for that 😢

@Mumbythesea1I’d be very careful about taking hormonal contraception if you have migraines. When I was a teenager and went on the pill that’s what started my migraines. They were so severe and frequent and made me really sick, there weren’t any meds that would help. I was then pulled off of them because I started to get numbness down one side when I had the migraines, so I’d be very careful if you choose that route. I’m early 50s now and have recently started getting them again, from very infrequent to several times over the past month, I’m assuming they’re hormone related.

Metformin worked for me as is regulates hormones even though it’s meant for diabetes, my gp only agreed to it those because it helps polycystic ovaries which I have - I’m not sure they’d give it to someone without