How to Deal with Hormonal Migraine
We all know what a migraine is.
It’s the pesky and painful headache that we get from time to time and, sometimes, for no apparent reason at all. As much as we’d like them to go away for good, migraines are usual medical occurrences, more common in women than in men. In fact, around 21 million women in America experience migraines and 60% of this big number suffer from what we know as menstrual migraines.
Menstrual migraines are also known as hormonal migraines. A hormonal migraine is a neurological syndrome that causes headaches among women during or around the time of their period. While the actual cause of hormonal migraines (and migraine in general) is still unknown, studies show that fluctuating hormone levels is one probable reason for getting them.
As said before the exact causes of migraines are not yet discovered; however, triggers of migraine attacks have been identified. For hormonal migraine, the most common triggers include chocolates, dairy products, foods containing monosodium glutamate, physical and emotional stress, and changes in sleeping patterns.
Apart from these and the hormonal changes in the body, the use of birth control pills, pregnancy, and the use of exogenous estrogens during menopause are medically accepted triggers of hormonal migraines.
These triggers make the body’s adjustment to the hormonal changes taking place harder and give way to migraine attacks. However, not all who suffer from hormonal migraine are prone to the same triggers. Some get hormonal migranes without any obvious reason and without experiencing the slightest symptom.
The treatment of hormonal migraine is not different from that of other kinds of migraine. Simple painkillers for headaches may be prescribed by your doctor. If you experience accompanying symptoms such as nausea, anti-emetics can also be prescribed or readily bought from the drugstore. These days, there are specific anti-migraine drugs available, as well as preventive drugs used to treat severe and recurrent migraines.
For hormonal migraine, the home treatment consists primarily of rest. There is not much you can do to control the hormonal changes going on inside of you. Take long, warm baths to ease tension and stress. Relax yourself in warm water until the migraine disappears.
Get the right amount of sleep. Do not hang out in areas with extreme temperatures and in places that have too much noise and bright lights. Stick to a clean diet for at least the duration of your period. Your hormones will regain their balance in time.
If you prefer a more serious treatment, hormonal migraine can be medically treated, too. Studies recommend the reduction of female estrogen hormones ito prevent the occurrence of hormonal migraines. The abnormal changes in estrogen levels during the menstrual cycle have been recognized as triggers.
Tests have been performed on sufferers of hormonal migraines, wherein they were given anti-estrogen medication that suppresses estrogen production (at least during the cycle), and the results have been promising. While hormonal migraines are among the most difficult kinds of migraines to treat, there is hope for women who suffer from them.