Migraines and contraception

[welshmum77]

I suffer with the odd migraine with aura and have been told that its too dangerous for me to take the combined pill. I am currently taking cerazette and on my third month but i have put on nearly a stone since taking it and my periods are all over the place i feel bloated a lot of the time and look pregnant and have sore boobs. I have tried the implant twice but had a lot of spotting but am thinking this may be better than the weight gain and moods. Could anyone else out there with migraines give any advice on what contraception suited them bearing in mind i know everyone is different. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Hi - I tried a few different types of pill before using one that made me feel 'normal'and didn't give me migraines. I was taking Brevinor until I stopped last year (to get pg and I am now) and it was fine for me.

I can't remember the exact details as it was some years ago when my dr first prescribed Brevinor to me but it is an older generation pill (2nd?) and it has something to do with the type of hormones I.e. whether it is artificial or natural (derived from an animal??!!??) and the 2nd gen pills are the opposite to the 3rd gen eg Microgynon etc.

I know that sounds all jumbled up but I really can't remember the details. Sorry. I do hope you find something that works for you though.

Welshmum, hope you got sorted

I have just been stopped from taking the combined pill due to very occasional migraine with aura, and am about to embark on cerazette.

I have been on the combined pill for nearly 30 years and if anything, my migraines have been better. I haven't had anything like a stroke either!

Yes I'm strictly banned from the combined pill too - stroke risk with the migraines plus family history of thrombosis. On Cerazette now but feeling absolutely crap on it (sorry Whizmum!) and also on Triptans with poss need to go on the injections if the migraines continue. Also, history of PCOS-related acne. Bleugh. One big hormone mess!

I strongly believe my migraines are hormone-related and that I'm particularly sensitive to any imbalance in them so I've decided to try the copper coil and get all the shitty synthetic hormones out of my body for good and see how I go. I'm nervous, but apart from the reported heavier periods, which I hope I can cope with, it seems to be the best option for me. Hoping I might get a flicker of libido back too.

90% of my migraines are hormone related. Before having a kid, I took a monophasic birth control pill called Seasonale that reduced the number of menstrual periods I had, which in turn greatly reduced the number of migraines I got. It worked great until I had a baby. After my daughter was born, the pill just didn't work the same anymore; I spotted continuously for months, which means I had a low-level migraine daily for several months. It was awful, and I gave up on it.

I then tried a bio-identical oestrogen, which I took daily starting a couple days before my period and stopping a couple days after my period. It worked fine---not perfectly, but it helped most of the time. Of course, oestrogen isn't birth control. I still needed birth control.

After my experiment with oestrogen (which is generally successful at getting rid of my menstrual migraines, but not enough to make me completely happy), I finally went to my GP and got a prescription for Imitrex (sumatriptan in the US). It works wonders, and I love it.

For birth control, I chose the hormone-free IUD (the copper IUD, called ParaGard in the US). I chose it over the one with hormones (called Mirena in the US) because I didn't want to risk migraines (some migraineurs see a benefit with Mirena, others have had to remove it because it made their headaches worse...there's no way to know unless you try it yourself).

Good luck to you. I hope you find something that works.

I ended up giving up! It was condoms and crossed fingers for me until DH had the snip.

I used the copper coil myself - the non hormonal coil. And it's what I'll use again after my twins are born (planned pg not a coil failure)

Also had 2 years using just condoms, one split so needed MAP and was actually physically ok with it, but I don't want to go back to condoms as a long term contraception.

babydolls: I have the copper IUD ("coil") and it's great birth control. The insert I got with it claims that it's even more effective than tubal ligation! I don't know how that can be, but that's the claim. Oh, and it's good for up to 10 years, so you won't have to think about birth control again for a very long time.

For the first two or three days after you have it inserted, you'll definitely be aware of it (it's kind of a strange feeling, actually), but by day 3 or so you won't notice it anymore. And Hubby, try as he might , claims not to notice or feel it, either.

A few hours before you get it inserted, take an over-the-counter pain reliever (e.g., ibuprofen) because you'll probably experience some cramps the day it's inserted.

Finally, your menstrual periods will likely be heavier (i.e., more blood flow) on the copper coil. Mine certainly are, and other women have reported the same thing. However, my periods last the same length of time, so that's the same.

If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a private message and I'll respond.

Vascectomy (though before that I was fine with minipill - I just didn't trust it).

Thanks Vintage! I really feel like I need to hear some success stories with it You google these things and only those with bad experiences tend to feel compelled enough to post. Great tip about the pain relief beforehand - will definitely do that. I'm quite excited about it and am really hoping I'll feel like 'me' again, IYNWIM.

I have the same restrictions due to migraine (hormonal and aura etc) and history of migraine and stroke in family.

Pre-children, I was on the depo-provera injection for about 13 years. I was fabulous for me - random spotting for a month or two, but then no periods at all unless I stopped the injections (in between boyfriends!).

I stopped having the injection a few years before I thought I might want children (just used condoms), and it took about 6 months (?) for my periods to return. No problems conceiving.

I'd go back on the depo injection like a shot if I knew I was not going to want more babies, but as it can take a while for fertility to return, I'm sticking with condoms until I know I've had all the babies we want.

Well, I have taken cerazette for a month now and it is ok without any of the worried about side effects so far. I do seem to be getting bigger nipples and swollen privates, like when I was pregnant, which I could do without TBH. No auras, and no none aura migraines either!

I do feel a bit low, which may be more to do with unexpectedly having my plans buggered up with no warning, than the actual hormones. My twins (congrats LookAtHerGo) have just left home for uni and I was looking forward to a bit of fun! So all this changing of pills suddenly had taken the shine off it all somewhat.

I think I need an appointment at the doctors to discuss this menopause business properly, not at an unexpected consultation. It might be that I can get by with condoms for a few months and ditch the bluddy pills!

(PS sometimes wish we had gone down the vasectomy route. It is 10x more reliable than female sterilisation. But the pills were good at reducing the heavy periods, which was pretty damed important to me.)

How did you get on baby mum?

Vintage, that is fascinating. I had a lovely break from headaches when I was on cerazette, but lost all libido. Once I got the copper coil again and stopped taking it, they wer back again. Where do you find ou about oestrogen? Pharmacy? Gp? Health food shop?