Menstrual Migraine: 5 Tips to Treat Your Headache

Menstrual migraine is one of the prominent symptoms of Premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Headaches occur when your body undergoes changes in the levels of progesterone and estrogen.

Highlights:

Menstrual migraine is one of the prominent symptoms of Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Drinking caffeinated beverages helps relieve the pain
You can also practice yoga and meditation

Are you suffering from severe migraines either before or after your menstrual cycle? Here are a few tips that help relieve the pain.//

A woman goes through a lot of hormonal changes when her menstrual cycle is about to commence. It doesn't just happen before the period but it sometimes continues during and post menstrual cycle. So, if you're experiencing a headache during all these phases, you're not alone.

Menstrual Migraine - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Menstrual migraine refers to severe headaches occurring in women two to three days before onset and during periods, and is related to hormonal fluctuations.

‘Headaches can hampers your daily activities. It occurs when your body undergoes changes in the levels of progesterone and estrogen.’

Before the period, menstrual migraine is one of the prominent symptoms of PMS. So, these headaches occur when your body undergoes changes in the levels of progesterone and estrogen. When there is a fluctuation in the levels of these two hormones, the neurotransmitters in the brain get impacted and lead to headache.

Around your period, you basically get two kinds of headache -- menstrual migraine and hormonal headache. Though both the headaches occur because of the hormonal upheavals in the body, their symptoms may vary.

Menstrual Migraine Vs Hormonal Headache

Excess Coffee Consumption can Trigger Migraine Headache
Excess daily consumption of caffeine or caffeinated beverages can trigger a migraine attack in persons who suffer from episodic migraine even after taking into consideration other potential factors such as lifestyle and stress.

The intensity of a hormonal headache is from mild to moderate but it is a nagging ache. This is why it causes an uncomforting feeling. But it doesn't cause any hindrance in your daily activities. Whereas, menstrual migraine could be unbearable and incidentally around 60 per cent of women across the globe undergo menstrual migraine. People, who get frequent migraine attacks, are more susceptible to this form of migraine during their periods.

During a menstrual migraine, the person experiences flashing lights, zigzag lines, or other sensory experiences before the throbbing pain begins. It hampers your daily activities as you won't be able to open your eyes, think or even work. A menstrual migraine is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to bright light and sound besides the throbbing pain.

Acupuncture can Treat Migraines
Migraines affect more than one billion people worldwide. Therefore, treating with manual acupuncture can reduce the frequency of migraine days and migraine attacks.

Medication: Depending upon the severity of the menstrual migraine and hormonal headache, your first line of defense is over-the-counter pain relievers. They are often quite effective to ease out the pain and inflammation. Some of the prominent medications include ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, aspirin and acetaminophen.

Caffeine: Drinking caffeinated drinks are best to treat hormonal headaches. Caffeine also constitutes one of the pivotal ingredients in some of the medications to control premenstrual syndrome in women. Even eating chocolate takes away the discomfort of the hormonal headache. However, one should be careful about caffeine intake as it's addictive and too much caffeine gives you other issues like insomnia. Stopping caffeine abruptly after your periods can give you a withdrawal headache.

Migraines More Common in Women Due to Estrogen Levels
The cause of migraines has been narrowed down to estrogen and other sex hormones, according to researchers who analyzed migraines, their triggers and their relationship with sex hormones.

Hormone Therapy: If your menstrual migraine persists even after taking the above-mentioned medications, you might need to undergo hormone therapy. Administering this therapy before your menstrual cycle helps to maintain a balance in hormones. Sometimes doctors may also ask you to take estrogen supplements to rectify the hormonal imbalance. Besides migraine pain if you're also experiencing severe vomiting or nausea with a menstrual migraine, ask your doctor about prescription anti-nausea medication.

Relaxation Exercises: One can also practice yoga, meditation and deep breathing during this phase of the month. All these practices relax your muscles, take away stress and reduce the headache symptoms.

Getting enough rest: It is also one of the best ways to deal with headaches. Sometimes sleeping disorders lead to headaches. Try to get an uninterrupted sleep of seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

Source-IANS