Bad headaches/possible migraine from periods

[Rosewaterblossom]

Hi,

My dd who is 15 is getting increasingly worse headaches/possible migraines every month her period is due.

I have spoken to the gp, who appear to not think it's anything to worry about and say to just take paracetamol. My dd is in pain every month to the point she doesn't want to go to school.

Is there anything anyone can recommend, aside from paracetamol, she can take to help ease her bad head each month?

Thank you

I have hormone-related migraines which started when I was a teen and I still struggle with them now. I usually rely on paracetamol but do take over the counter co-codomal if they get bad, the ones that dissolve taste awful but tend to work quicker. I don't have any triggers but still try to avoid known ones like caffeine, chocolate etc around that time of the month. Magnesium supplements are sometimes effective and otherwise it's a cold, dark room for me and trying to sleep through it as much as possible. Recently I've been listening to the sleepy bookshelf podcast (when I can stand any sound) on low volume to distract myself and help to sleep when I have them. I tried 4head, it helps your head feel cooler but otherwise seems to be placebo so was only as effective as a cold compress would be. I am considering buying a migraine TENS machine as mine have got worse post COVID, reviews as to how well this works varies. I vomit alot with mine, not sure from your OP if that is an issue but if it is then you can become dehydrated and there's a cycle of the dehydration making the migraine worse - I keep an emergency stash of Dioralyte as even if you can keep some of it down it helps to reverse the dehydration. Also, just something to bear in mind in terms of hormonal contraception in the future - she will need to mention her migraines so the combined pill (for example) can be avoided as it's exacerbates migraines.

Bit of a thought dump there but hopefully something will help and I've not just regurgitated what you already know - best of luck.

Soluble paracetamol works really well for me as long as I take it early enough. Apparently it works better than tablets because the stomach can go into stasis during a migraine which is what causes the nausea/vomiting.

I used to get these badly when on microgynum (pill), I'm on a mini pill instead which has helped. Still get migraines if I'm stressed, don't get enough sleep etc and the only thing I've found so far that helps is migraleve.

I get menstrual migraines & paracetamol just doesn’t touch them. I find the best thing is nurofen plus (co codamol & ibuprofen combined) but I know some people find them too strong

Thank you for your replies. I will get her to try what has been suggested. Something must work hopefully 🙂

I found being in the pill did stop them but that came with other issues, so it’s a bit of a balancing act

I used to get awful headaches as a teen for 3 days. Went on the pill (celest) which helped a lot.

Aspirin is a God send with my migraines.

I get hormonal migraines around the time of my period & also when I’m ovulating. I’ve found that magnesium supplements & a high dose of vitamin B2 do help somewhat. Aspirin or co-codamol are more effective (for me) than plain paracetamol.

I would encourage her to keep a symptom diary for a while & see if it makes a difference if she avoids common migraine triggers, especially when she’s due an episode.

Going on the pill if she suffers migraines needs very careful consideration. It was the pill (combined) that initially triggered mine. If there’s a family history I’d recommend you ask a different GP TBH, this one sounds dismissive & potentially unlikely to consider the risks if he doesn’t believe she’s suffering migraines.