"Bloating, abdominal cramps, fatigue... Unpleasant accompanying symptoms often occur with menstruation. Some women suffer especially during menstruation from severe migraines. Sisters Republic reveals more about menstrual migraine."
Menstrual Migraine: What is it?
A- Menstrual Migraine: Definition
In addition to pain in the breasts or lower abdomen as well as irritability, headaches can also be a accompanying symptom of menstruation. The headaches usually occur between the first and third day of menstruation and often last up to four days after the end of menstruation. They depend on the menstrual cycle and sometimes occur together with nausea and vomiting. Such severe migraine conditions, referred to as menstrual migraine, are associated with a reduced estrogen level in the body and affect an estimated one in ten women. These intense headaches can significantly impair the lives of women who are prone to this type of discomfort. Menstrual migraine is characterized by headaches without aura and thus without neurological signs, such as hearing, vision, or speech disturbances. They are also more difficult to relieve than their non-hormonal counterparts .
B- The different types of menstrual migraine
- The pure menstrual migraine
This type of headache depends solely on menstruation and does not occur outside of this period of the menstrual cycle. It is mostly migraine attacks without aura.
- Menstrual-related migraine worsened
Women who already suffer from migraines experience such headache attacks especially when they have their period. These headaches can occur with or without aura.
Causes of headaches during and just before the period:
A- Hormone, menopause, pregnancy...
Even if migraines are not caused by hormonal disorders, the hormonal fluctuations that occur during menstruation promote their occurrence. For this reason, women are more affected by such complaints than men. Migraines particularly occur when the hormone levels in the blood show particularly large fluctuations. Therefore, headaches often occur especially shortly before, during, or at the end of menstruation.
"Certain life phases of a woman can also lead to hormonal migraine. In 10 to 20% of women predisposed to migraines, the pain occurs during puberty. In contrast, such migraine attacks decrease during pregnancy. With the approach of menopause, migraines intensify again and generally decrease after the last menstrual cycle. Hormonal contraceptives and sexual intercourse can also trigger recurrent migraines."
B- Genetic Factors
"Even if it is sometimes caused by hormonal fluctuations, migraine is often genetically determined. It is believed that inheritance influences migraine headaches. Over several generations, migraine patients can occur within a family. It involves a number of specific genes that are passed on to the offspring and are thought to predispose them to these disorders."
C- Stress and Emotions
- Stress: Stress is a factor for migraine headaches in people who are prone to cephalalgias.
- Depression In cases of depression or severe anxiety disorders, migraine patients experience recurring, severe headache attacks.
All negative emotions can promote stress. Therefore, migraines can repeatedly occur during conflicts or anger in personal and professional life.
D- Unhealthy Lifestyle
In general, a too intense lifestyle that leads to overload, such as unfavorable working hours, fasting, and/or lack of sleep, can promote the occurrence of migraines during and outside of menstruation.
E- Other Factors
"Other factors can also lead to a migraine during or after menstruation. These can be external elements that change the condition of the migraine patient. These changes are thought to be responsible for the onset of a migraine:"
- Some women find that certain foods such as coffee, alcohol, fatty foods, chocolateetc. can trigger migraine attacks.
- Certain climatic conditions and lighting conditions can also cause headaches: intense light, loud noise, oppressive heat, etc.
- The intake of medications to alleviate painful migraine attacks can even promote their recurrence in the long term. Examples of this include paracetamol, migraine medications, ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory medications.
Treatments, remedies, and solutions:
A- hormone treatments
To get rid of menstrual migraine, your doctor may recommend taking an oral contraceptive like the pill. However, this treatment can also worsen the symptoms. It is therefore advisable to monitor its effects for a few cycles. Sometimes it can also be the pill that triggers a migraine. In this case, you should opt for a non-hormonal local contraceptive like condoms and spermicides.
B- Medications: anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving agents
To temporarily relieve the pain during migraine attacks, the intake of painkillers can be effective. Paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen, migraine medications, or aspirin are recommended for this purpose. However, these medications are much more effective for migraines that do not occur during menstruation. Menstrual migraines cannot always be alleviated with conventional treatment methods.
C- Natural treatment methods
To relieve complaints from migraines, it is generally best to rest in the dark. This alleviates the symptoms. If the headaches are due to overexertion or short-term high stress, you can use natural remedies for relaxation: yoga, meditation, etc. Also,acupuncture or wellness massages during menstruation are effective natural alternatives.
A menstruation-related migraine can be as difficult to bear in everyday life as a migraine outside of menstruation. Since the causes are diverse, they cannot always be precisely determined. Relax in a quiet place and make yourself comfortable by wearing comfortable clothing in addition to your period underwear. Make sure you can rest in the dark and try different methods with or without medication until you find the one that alleviates your pain.
