Get a migraine every month with period

[Peekaboo971]

And this all since the birth of my daughter in July of 2003. I thought maybe birth control pills were the cause, so I quit taking bc pills about five months ago. I still get the migraines monthly. I asked my primary care doctor and my ob/gyn. All they say is, "Must be hormonal. Do you have meds that seem to help it?" And that's it! How about treating the problem and NOT relying on meds all the time. Does anyone else experience this and maybe found a way to help prevent them?

[antoinettev3]

I've suffered with menstrual migraines for as long as I can remember. I went to see a headache specialist and he tried me out on feverfew, a different bc pill and hormone patches (not all at the same time ). Unfortunately for me none of these made any difference.

I find what works best is to avoid foods that tend to be headache triggers. Coffee, chocolate and bananas are the worst for me and take analgesics at the first sign of pain.

I can relate to your frustration of doctors just throwing pills at the problem but sometimes there isn't a solution and all you can do is treat the symptoms. The best thing to do is find a headache specialist or headache clinic in your area.

How many days during your period do you get a migraine? How long does the headache last? What do you take for the pain?

I hope you're able to get some relief. Migraines are miserable and I wouldn't wish them on anyone.

Antoinette

[sparga00]

i experience them, but i haven't found a way to prevent them, i actually have chronic migraines, and they get worse around my period......i'm on topamax, which doesn't always help......and i usually end up at my pcp or the ER for an injection of some sort cause that's the only thing that will help, but ask your dr for something like imitrex, or axert, or zomig.....see if any of those help.....or see if your dr suggests you taking any of those........i see a neurologist as well, and he still can't figure out what is causing them......it's a trial and error situation........stay away from msg causes them though i found that out

[mother of six]

I have migraines all month long but they tend to get worse as my period gets closer. I am 39 and perimenopausal. I've tried all the drugs also, watched eating "trigger" food and even went without medication. I also take axert and i've tried amerge. Both meds work great with very little side effects and quick relief. I recently started taking a natural product called Brevail. You can find information online at www.brevail.com. It's actually for breast health but has been found to cut down on headaches and migraines associated with periods. I have noticed that I don't have as many headaches throughout the month but as I said, as my period draws closer the headaches get worse. If you find something that works, please let us know . Thanks!

[Peekaboo971]

OOOhhh, thank you! I'm going to look into the Brevail. I used to take Imitrex, but I found that that never really kicked the headache, so my doctor prescribed a medication that has caffeine in it. It does help to knock it out, but I have to take these pills for about two - three days before it's ever really gone, and I put an ice pack on the back of my neck. The headaches last 2 - 3 days normally. The meds he has me on now are called Butalbital, which is generic for Fiorinal capsules. The info. on the script says that it's an asprin/caffeine capsule, which I would guess would be similiar to Excedrin, but this stuff works a bit better than Excedrin does, and I didn't find that I got as shaky with this as I do with Excedrin. Also, I guess I need to watch the triggers. It seems like everything I can think of triggers these things! What CAN you eat!