Hormonal Migraines - what works?

[SugarOrange]

Without fail, every period and ovulation I get debilitating migraines (it’s so bad I can’t bear noise, even speaking level, or bright lights).

It also really affects my sinuses. Every migraine my nose will stream and I’ll feel like I have a bad head cold, then it clears up as soon as the migraine goes.

I saw a consultant who did an MRI (all clear). He diagnosed migraines and prescribed zomig, but they make me feel really sick and faint. He also suggested taking aspirin, which I do.

I find the only things that help ease the pain slightly are aspirin, nasal sprays, ice packs on my forehead, and weirdly enough chewing gum.

Has anyone found anything that helps considerably? Or even better, something that stops them from coming on in the first place?

My consultant offered epilepsy medication that I could take every day to prevent them (I’m not epileptic but apparently they work on migraines).. but I want to avoid taking medication all the time..

@sleepeasie I’ve actually been drinking some water with rock salt in as I heard that helps, can’t say I’ve noticed a massive difference with it but I only tried it once. I heard it from someone and proceeded cautiously but I’ll try it again if salt does seem to help.

@TheFairyCaravan thank you, I will look at ordering some.

I’ll also look at feverfew and the other suggestions, thank you so much everyone super helpful.

I take ibuprofen and codeine, which doesn't cure it, but it's the only thing that even begins to touch the pain, if I can keep it down and not vomit. I just have to lie in the dark and try to sleep. I haven't found anything that works to prevent them, though I've noticed that a poor night's sleep or alcohol around that time can make it worse, so I avoid those triggers. It's normally day 2 or 3 of my period, it really ramped up during perimenopause, but now I think I really am on the cusp of menopause and my periods are getting much further apart, I've been getting fewer migraines. Thank goodness.

There's so many medications made for migraines, why haven't you gone on any of those? If one is intolerable there's many others to choose from. I went to a neurologist and have been migraine free for a long time.

I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for OP but hadn’t spotted it mentioned in any other comments - a regular exercise routine has helped me.
I do HIIT 3 x a week and I don’t know if it was the intensity of the exercise that helped or because I find it really stress relieving.
I also think exercising made me more mindful of how much water I was drinking (because Hiit class if you’re a bit dehydrated is horrible - so I drink water more consciously throughout the day)
I was having roughly 6 - 8 migraines or very bad headaches a month and now have one every 3/4 months but sometimes a longer gap. It was debilitating and I really do empathise and hope one of the suggestions on this thread help you.

3 aspirin with a full fat coke.

Also take b6 (pyridoxine) to make those hormonal fluctuations less harsh on your body - when I forget to take mine I get hormonal migraines, too. When I take them - no migraines!

Maxalt melts containing rizatripan benzoate. Game changer for me, can get rid of migraines in mere minutes if taken early enough and massively reduces impact of established ones.