Tag: hormones

News & Research

Migraine Attacks Increase With Menopause, Study Finds

Kerrie Smyres

I just arrived in Los Angeles for the American Headache Society’s annual scientific meeting. It’s been a rough month, so I’m not sure how much of the conference I’ll get to attend, but I’m eager for whatever I’ll get to learn. Tons of research will be presented at the meeting, but one study in particular is more frightening than exciting:

A study of 3,606 women between the ages of 35 and 65 found that women who were in the transition to menopause or were already in menopause had more frequent migraine attacks than women who hadn’t begun menopause. In the study, about a third of the women hadn’t yet hit menopause (premenopausal), a third were in the transition to menopause (peri-menopausal) and a third had already entered menopause.

Only 8% of premenopausal women had 10 or more migraine attacks per month. Of women who were in the transition to menopause or already in menopause, 12% had 10 or more attacks a month. Researchers concluded that the peri-menopausal and menopausal women were 50% to 60% more likely to have frequent migraine attacks than pre-menopausal women.

Hormonal changes, particularly the drop in estrogen in peri-menopause and menopause, are thought to be responsible for this disparity.

I’d bet at least 99% of women have had a health care provider tell them to expect a decrease in their migraine frequency menopause. Many of us have even been told the migraine attacks will stop completely. This research raises serious doubts about the migraine nirvana we may have thought awaited us.

Resources

Misery and Maybe Menstrual Migraines

Kerrie Smyres

“I’m about to get out of the bathtub, but I’m not sure if I can stand up. If I can I’ll come pick you up. Let me call you back in a couple minutes.” That was my end of the conversation when Hart asked me to pick him up from work yesterday — which was the second day of a horrendous migraine. It was one of those weird moments where I watched myself from afar, thinking how strange those words were. “Normal” people don’t lie in empty bathtubs until they can stand up.

I did make the drive there and immediately relinquished the driver’s seat to Hart. Then came the fun part. I needed to get “feminine care products” (I HATE that phrase, but that’s another subject). I couldn’t send my sweet hubby out on his own to differentiate between an extra-super minuscule maxi pad with wings and an ultra extra-long light-day invisible maxi pad. That’s just too cruel.

In the Safeway aisle, I could barely stand up and my mind was obscured by migraine fog. I stared at the shelves, dumbfounded by the options. Each brand has it’s own name for each type, and each type has some distinguishing feature that does nothing to distinguish it from the rest. There are helpful pictures on the packages, except that every picture is identical. It would have been easier to buy a car in my impaired state than to pick out a package of pads.

Why am I regaling you with menstruation-related stories? Because we all have those can’t cope moments where headaches or migraines or the associate neurological weirdness is just too much. And because I have the sneaking suspicion that some of my migraines are linked with my cycle. My doctors and I have all concluded that the two don’t seem connected for me, and birth control pills have never reduced the frequency or intensity of my migraines, so I’m wary that this is a red herring. But my symptoms have been changing recently, and I would be overjoyed if hormonal birth control could keep some of the misery in check.

Researching this topic, I’ve learned an important distinction. A woman with menstrual migraines only has migraines during her period. If a woman has migraines during her period as well as at other times of the month, she has menstrually related migraine.

Some other important information I’ve found: Studies indicate that menstrual migraine is related to the drop in estrogen that occurs right before a woman starts her period. Diagnosis of menstrual migraine is based on a sufferer’s detailed headache diaries.

That’s all I can handle writing about right now. The fall 2005 issue of ACHE‘s newsletter is devoted to hormones and migraine, so I have a well of information to draw from. But it will have to wait until I’m up to sitting at my computer again.

For more information on menstruation, hormones and headaches, visit the National Menstrual Migraine Coalition‘s site or see the National Headache Foundation‘s hormone topic sheet. Or if you know someone who is a member of ACHE, ask to borrow the latest newsletter.

Coping, News & Research, Resources, Society, Treatment, Triggers

National Headache Awareness Week: Get a Head S.T.A.R.T. on Your Headaches

Kerrie Smyres

In recognition of the 15th annual National Headache Awareness Week, the National Headache Foundation (NHF) is announcing a series of events across the country in order to educate the public about types of headache and their impact on daily living, as well as stressing the importance of seeking an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatments. This year’s National Headache Awareness Week takes place June 1-7, 2008. Nearly 21 million people were reached last year through this successful annual campaign.

“One of our primary goals during National Headache Awareness Week is to gain recognition of headache pain as a real and legitimate condition,” said Dr. Seymour Diamond, Executive Chairman of the National Headache Foundation. “Over 45 million Americans get chronic, recurring headaches. Of this number, nearly 30 million have migraine headaches.”

Activities taking place across the country this week include headache screenings, educational seminars led by expert physicians, menstrual migraine awareness events and a 5-part podcast series focusing on women’s headache issues, a radio news release and the launch of a non-profit NHF channel on YouTube.

This year, the NHF is encouraging sufferers to “Get a Head S.T.A.R.T. on Your Headaches,” offering five easy-to-remember strategies for effective headache management and treatment:

  • Seek diagnosis — Obtaining the correct diagnosis for your headache is the first step toward effective treatment.
  • Triggers — Identify and track your triggers (e.g., foods, stress, hormonal and weather changes) by keeping a headache diary and share this information with your healthcare provider.
  • Advocate — Be an advocate. Be informed. Be a participant in your headache care.
  • Resources — Utilize the National Headache Foundation as a resource. Visit www.headaches.org for the latest information about headache causes and treatments, or call 1-888-NHF-5552.
  • Treatment — Successful treatment may include medications and lifestyle changes. Work with your healthcare provider to find the right plan for you.

For the first time, this year’s campaign is drawing specific attention to menstrual migraines by designating Wednesday, June 4th as National Menstrual Migraine Awareness Day. In support of Menstrual Migraine Awareness Day efforts, the NHF will also be releasing new survey data from a recent poll of its website respondents suffering from menstrual migraine.

Additionally, the NHF is hosting a five-part podcast series specifically addressing women’s headache issues including Hormones & Headache, Contraception & Headaches, Pregnancy & Headache, Menopause & Headaches and Menstrual Migraine. Podcasts and expert questions and answers are available through links on the National Headache Awareness Week page.

This post is adapted from a National Headache Foundation press release. -Kerrie

Meds & Supplements, Treatment

Managing Your Period to Manage Migraine

Kerrie Smyres

Lybrel, a continuous birth control pill that stops menstruation recently approved by the FDA, may help prevent menstrually associated migraines for some women. Hormonal birth control is often used as a migraine preventive. Many doctors prescribe that patients replace the sugar pills with active pills to suppress menstruation, thus lessening hormonal fluctuations.

Taken each day, Lybrel provides a continuous supply of hormones without a break for a period, ever. It seems creepy to me, but The Well-Timed Period quotes a report that says that periods aren’t as necessary as they seem. Also, I’m one of the few women who actually likes having a period. (Maybe you didn’t want to know that?)

Learn more about “menstrual management” under “How to Skip a Period” on The Well-Timed Period and pokearound the informative blog.

News & Research, Treatment

Migraine and Estrogen Officially Linked

Kerrie Smyres

A review of 643 unique journal articles related to estrogen and migraine establishes that the two are indeed linked. My initial reaction to this was “duh,” but stating the fact so plainly helps legitimize further clinical research on the topic.

The article concludes:

Epidemiological, pathophysiological, and clinical evidence link estrogen to migraine headaches. Triptans appear to provide acute relief and also may be useful for headache prevention. Clear, focused, and evidence-based treatment algorithms are needed to support primary care physicians, neurologists, and gynecologists in the treatment of this common condition.

In possibly related news, a study published in an oral surgery journal states that “the affective component of pain my be enhanced during the low-estrogen phase of the menstrual cycle in healthy women.” That is, women are more sensitive to pain from oral surgery when their estrogen is low. Perhaps the link isn’t only migraine-specific, but pain in general.

There’s tons of information available if you want to learn more about estrogen or menstruation and migraine. I recommend ACHE’s women and migraine section and their related newsletter articles (look under headache sufferer subgroups, then under women), and the National Women’s Health Information Center’s migraine section.