Headaches, starting 3 or 4 days before period...

[Artyfarty555]

I'm fifty and I would imagine peri menopausal but very regular cycle still😒. I do get headaches, not really bad ones, however sometimes they do escalate into a migraine and I'm sick and very poorly! But usually the headache is a constant "there" makes me feel sick,tired and just aware that it's there but doesn't do anything...if that makes sense. I have taken ibrobufen but it doesn't help. Been with this nagging headache for 3 days now. The only way to stop it is to sleep...slept last night 6.30 till 9.30 and then again till 8 this morning.

Should l be looking at a certain brand of headache tablet or one with a specific ingredient to help...as it's not really a throbbing headache just a dull pain that won't go...or just smile and get on with it!?

Hi - I'm going to follow this with interest. I'm probably perimenopausal and am suffering the exact same thing. From what I can gather, painkillers don't help because it's hormonal so the only thing that can be done is up your estrogen. This means HRT, the pill or potentially a change in diet. Things I have found which are supposed to help with this are dried fruits (especially apricots, dates and prunes), chickpeas, beans. Hope that is of some help to you.

I had/have this and my consultant told me it was caused by rising progesterone levels that aren’t balance out by oestrogen.

I’m on HRT now and they’ve pretty much gone. I do get a mild one but if I increase my protesterone And take ibuprofen I can stave it off.

I'd like to know too, have had 2-3 day premenstrual headaches since I was a teenager (so it's not just a menopause thing!), and for some reason the painkillers I'd normally take for a headache (paracetemol and/or ibuprofen) don't seem to have any effect. I've never understood why.
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In your case, if it could actually be migraines, would a migraine-specific medication help, rather than a general painkiller?

Sorry, my post should have read ‘if I increase my oestrogen and take ibuprofen ....’

It's very common. I had it all my life - migraines - before a period in fact that was the sign it was going to start in 1-2 days. I have it now when I have a withdrawal bleed on HRT. Many women also get it with the Pill. It's due to falling progesterone; mine starts the say I stop it (as part of the HRT cycle) and stops the day the bleeding starts.

There is probably not a lot you can do about it. I take paracetamol as soon as it starts and try as far as possible to keep those days in my diary low key and free from work (I work for myself) as much as I can.

Thanks so much for all your kind replies. Headaches have always been a part of my pmt but as I've got older they either turn into a full blown migraine attack where l am sick and sleep is they only thing that helped. I did take Synodol which was fantastic before they changed the tablets. If l have a full blown migraine attack now, l just sick up the tablets! Unfortunately the new Synodol don't touch the headache. As l only get these bad migraines once or twice a year l haven't bothered the doctor.
I did look online and it did mention about it being caused by hormone imbalance and hrt, but having no other real menopausal symptoms I've not gone down that root.
I'm feeling better today the headache has gone as has the sickness feeling... so just awaiting the period. I do get an increase in temperature at nighttime, exhaustion and generally can't stand lights or smells! Is this all part and parcel of it!?
Wouldn't mind but last period came 3 days earlier and l had no symptoms what's so ever...felt fine apart from food cravings and a little tired, which l put down to lots of Christmas crisps and sweets about and general festive fun!! So, guess I'll just have to ' be aware of when l might be feeling rough' and just ease up a bit like Polly said, and just accept that it won't be forever! Just hope DH manages to live with me still!!!

I am not aware of Synodol- is that for migraine? I'd see your GP and ask for something specific for migraine if there is anything else. There is quite a bit online about diet and PMS/migraine which is worth looking at- Womens Health Concern website.

I know women who get this kind of migraine on the Pill every month despite trying loads of brands. It's just some of us are more sensitive to rising and falling hormone levels. It can happen with or without HRT/ Pill and some women find those help because they regulate the amount each month.

Thanks Polly, l did spend ages last night looking online about diet and foods that would be good sources of estrogen. It made a lot of sense and my diet isn't that great especially over Christmas. I'm not overweight, have a busy active p/t job and walk miles with our dog so diet is definitely a good idea. However l do have occasional flare up of ulcerative colitis so have to be careful, although I'm convinced this is mainly down to anxiety issues, which reading through mainly of the menopause threads seems to be menopausal too!
I went to the gp a year or so ago to ask for a blood test to check for hormone levels as l was so low, crying,anxious and just couldn't relax,worrying about everything. At the time l was still grieving for my mums sudden death a year ago and I'd had to help my dad.. It has been a roller coaster and the gp prescribed a low dose of citralopram. I took this for about 9 months maybe a bit more and it did seem to help,so l stopped. My dad died , struggled again and citralopram was prescribed a low dose, yes I know it's not great and I'm sure everything is linked to hormone levels fluctuation but l just did as l thought best.
I looked online for menopause migraine last night and Amitriptyline comes up as similar to citralopram but it also stops migraines... so l wondered if anyone takes this? Thinking of either not taking anything and sorting diet and just grinning and bearing the headaches or switching to Amitriptyline.
Synodol is an over the counter headache tablet which is aimed at tension headaches. The old ingredients had something in it which caused sleepiness so they kept the name just altered the ingredients but unfortunately it now doesn't touch my headaches. As full blown sickness migraines are luckily few and far between l cope and haven't gone down the gp route. The 4 days of feeling sick, dull constant headache and completely drained feeling is what I'd like to tackle!! New Years resolution is to sleep at 10.30 each night but researching these things on the internet takes time and takes over!! Gone midnight last night, but thanks so much for your help and advice...and sorry for the long rambling post! I can't blame that on menopause that's just old women rambling syndrome!😂

It's not the estrogen that is the issue; it's when the progesterone level falls. Even if you have loads of estrogen it won't sort out the headaches because the headache is a response to the falling levels of progesterone- it's a 'withdrawal symptom' and as long as you have a cycle, there is no way round it.

As you will know, progesterone kicks in after ovulation for around 14 days. Once the levels fall at the end of a cycle (when there is no implantation as in conception) that's what can cause the headaches.

I think if you continue to feel low and moody generally, that's the time to ask for HRT rather than ADs.