This is great, would love to hear you talk about managing migraines during perimenopause..I used to get relief when I got my period. Now my period is irregular and the migraines can go on for weeks.
Wow, this is the best explanation and summary of how to deal with hormonal migraines. I have been suffering for 10 years and finally figured it out how to minimize the duration and the severity of hormonal migraines . I’m doing almost all that Dr Gersh is recommending and I have found a great relief. Please, follow the wise advice of this fantastic doctor who really knows what she’s talking about.!
Codeine also works to relieve (estrogen withdrawal related) migraine pain, when regular nsaids will not even touch it. There are some interesting studies on pain and menstrual migraine that confirm this.
I got my first menstrual period at 13 and my last period at 58. I suffered with menstrual migraines for 45 years. I only had an aura once in all that time, but the migraines were debilitating. Nothing helped, including triptans. I finally ceased to have migraines when my menstrual cycles stopped, after menopause.
45yo perimeno, regular cycles, on 3rd month of BHRT (cycling micronized progesterone vaginally, as I’m extremely intolerant to P, even my own😢). I always get menstrual headaches & migraines that begin with a stiff neck and extreme tension, then comes the sparkles and some times blind spot in my right eye, nausea, then 3-5 days of the worst headache and stiff neck. Followed by three more days of extreme fatigue muscle and joint pain, and low mood misery trying to pull out of it. (Finally pull out of it day 7 of cycle). Now that I’m on BHRT it’s very obvious it the days I came off the vaginal Progesterone…into the first 3 days of my period. Horrific. Unfortunately it seems the drop from the P, that is my trigger and yet I am extremely Progesterone intolerant (causes severe low mood, intrusive thoughts & apathy, & sugar cravings). I hate the P part of my cycle enough already, but now it Seems to be worsening my menstrual migraine intensity and length of days by coming off it every month😢 . I love the E, but the P is really frustrating. Dr Gersh, please speak more on progesterone intolerance for us that severely suffer from it. I can’t even put it on my skin. Has to be vaginal and I have to break up the 100mg dose up into three every 8-10hours. Because P feels ok in my system, but it’s the wearing OUT/OFF…that causes the angst, extreme low mood, and intrusive dark clouded thoughts. The wearing off! So it kind of makes sense, that it now worsens the menstrual migraines coming off the 14 day cycle. Help Dr Gersh! There are som many of us out there that don’t have a knowledgeable doctor like you!
Fantastic information, thank you 💛 You explain everything so well, with enough detail that I understand what's going on physically and why. I still get migraines at 56, had one yesterday in fact, (from fatigue). Taking daily propranolol and triptans if that fails. I'll look into the vagus nerve stimulators, and the peptides. Wish I'd known so much more 30 years ago 😊xx
Great info! That may explain my current pain that usually starts at the beginning of the month when I cycle my progesterone. I am having pain that I didn’t have before maybe because my estrogen is too low. I use estradiol patch .05 daily and the 200mg of progesterone I use half of the month. Should I increase my estradiol patch during the 14 days I am taking the progesterone? Thanks 🙏
