Hormonal Balance Can Equal A Pain
Pain of any kind is a signal from your body that something is off. Treating the pain might mask that signal, but it wont make the problem disappear. Taking an integrative approach, and considering hormonal balance in your treatment plan can bring your body back into balance, relieving your symptoms for much longer than a pain reliever will. When hormones are behind your headaches, there are so many ways to address the issue in a proactive way. Nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, natural hormone support and proper supplementation can reduce how often and how severe your hormonal headaches are.
Relief wont come overnight, and you may need to try a few interventions to find the right one. But be patient, because when you get there you just might be headache free naturally!
Get the Support for Your Hormonal Imbalances
Because every womans body is different, you might find yourself in need of support to get you through periods of natural hormonal fluctuations. My Hormonal Quiz or PMS quiz can help you evaluate your needs and give you a starting point for discussion with your healthcare provider.
If you find you need a little extra support, I have some programs specifically designed to help you through crucial transitions.
You can take control of your own hormonal imbalance instead of letting your hormones control your life. With a little natural support, you can find your way to a pain-free, happy, healthy life.
Eat Nourishing Meals Consistently
Skipping meals and not eating enough nutrients contribute to blood sugar imbalances and nutrient deficiencies, as well as put your body into stress/survival mode .
Thus eating nourishing meals throughout the day ensures your hormones are getting what they need to stay balanced and keep menstrual migraines at bay. Aim for lots of cruciferous veggies, beets and high quality fats and proteins, which support your liver in detoxing excess estrogen. For more tips on what to eat the week before and during your period check out this post.
How To Prevent Headaches During Menopause
Headaches are a common symptom of menopause. Menopausal headaches can range from mild, dull pain to unbearable migraines that interfere with life. Menopausal headaches are caused by fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone, which cause blood vessels todilate and constrict. Women are five times more likely to get headaches than men, especially menopausal women. There are however, several ways of preventing and managing menopausal headaches.
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Headaches And Women: What Do Hormones Have To Do With It
A bad headache can ruin your workday, strain your relationship with family members and affect your ability to exercise. In the U.S., headaches cause 112 million sick days each year. While one-third of the population gets headaches, women suffer more than men do.
Changes in hormones could be among the reasons women have more headaches than men do.
These hormone-related headache triggers include:
Tips For Hormonal Headaches Treatment & Prevention
Reduce Xenoestrogen Exposure
As weve learned, high estrogen levels are a common contributor to hormonal headaches. Xenoestrogens or estrogen-mimicking chemicals are found in most conventional products on the market. Think makeup, body care, plastic, and not organic food. These synthetic forms of estrogen mimic estrogen, increasing estrogen levels and wreaking havoc on hormone imbalance.
- Ditch conventional chemical-laden cosmetics
- Switch from plastic to glass food storage containers
- Eat organic and hormone-free foods
- Wash hands after touching paper receipts, which are coated with BPA
- Purchase BPA and BPS free plastic and cans
For other ways to reduce estrogen dominance, check out our tips here.
Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin
As a preventative measure, consider taking 400 mg/day of Vitamin B2. Many people have seen a reduction in migraines after taking riboflavin consistently for 1-3 months.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
It may seem obvious, but the truth is most of us are dehydrated, and its messing with our hormones. Remember to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Consider adding electrolytes and flavor to your water if you have a hard time drinking water throughout the day. No shame, Ive been there.
Reduce Stress
Consume Healthy Fats During Every Meal
Give Your Liver Love
Our liber is responsible for hormone breakdown and metabolism. Consuming leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and herbs like burdock can help support a healthy liver.
Here is the recipe:
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Natural Remedies For Hormone Headaches
Women dread that time of the month for all sorts of reasons. For some, the worst part is the searing head pain that accompanies Aunt Flos arrival! Studies show that hormonal headaches affect up to 43 percent of womenduring their reproductive years. If you are one of them, then the next time your head starts pounding from your period, put down the aspirin and try some natural remedies for hormone headaches.
What causes hormone headaches in women?
Genetics and poor diet can certainly trigger menstrual migraines in women. Fluctuating hormones can, too. Whenever estrogen or progesterone levels shift, a hormonal headache may follow. These fluctuations are especially associated with:
Hormone headaches in men? Oh yes, it happens!
Men are not exempt from hormonal headaches. For them, the culprit is decreasing levels of testosterone. The gradual decline starts around age 30, and can include a number of symptoms: diminishing libido, erectile dysfunction, changes in sleep patterns, and yes, migraine headaches. Once a man enters andropause cluster migraines can occur. Traditional medical treatment for these male hormonal migraines is testosterone therapy, which is still quite new and risky. For this reason, most men welcome natural alternatives to alleviate the pain.
Are hormones always to blame for all headaches?
Common medical solutions for hormone headaches
Top 7 natural hormone headache remedies
A final word on natural hormone headache relief
How Your Hormones Are Linked To Migraine
Your hormones regulate your menstrual cycles and almost everything else in the body skin, hair, heart and the brain.
For example they control: emotions and moods, childhood growth, digestion, energy, sleep, appetite, sugar and fat metabolism, hair growth, salt and water balance, bone hardness, libido, kidney function, blood pressure, the immune system, wound healing, blood cell production and the list goes on and on.
Dr. Jones says his method of balancing the ratio of progesterone and estrogens has an 80% success rate of either the hormonal migraines disappearing all together or having a significant reduction. Thats pretty amazing.
If I werent on the hormone creams when I got his book I would have tried the tablets. He also states that creams just dont work. His book is very thorough so if you dont live in the United States you can still try his method.
Your hormones are important to every cell in your body. Your brain cells are no exception!
~ Me
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Which Treatment Option Is Best For You
Keeping a diary of your headaches, including when they occur in relation to your menstrual cycle, as well as their severity and response to treatment, will help your doctor determine the presence of menstrual migraine. There are not any blood tests or any type of imaging that can be done to diagnose this, says Dr. David. Its purely done based on the history.
A headache and menstrual diary can also help you and your doctor identify the best treatment for you. Women with menstrual migraine who have painful cramps may benefit more from a NSAID strategy with a triptan for rescue. Those who have predictable cycles and migraine attacks may benefit from a mini-prevention strategy. Those who dont have regular cycles can try other options.
It is also important to discuss with your doctor any personal risk factors you may have for taking oral contraception, such as an increased risk of stroke, heart disease or blood clots, as hormonal birth control can affect women with migraine differently. Please let your provider know if you have migraine with aura when discussing hormonal options.
The American Migraine Foundation is committed to improving the lives of those living with this debilitating disease. For more of the latest news and information on migraine, visit the AMF Resource Library. For help finding a healthcare provider, check out our Find a Doctor tool. Together, we are as relentless as migraine.
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Natural Home Remedies For Menstrual Migraine Relief
If youre experiencing menstrual migraines, chances are youre also looking for instant relief. While its important to have tools to reduce pain at the onset of menstrual migraines, I also think its just as crucial you have remedies that address the root cause
Below youll find a combination of natural remedies for menstrual migraine relief, including both immediate pain-reducing tips as well as long-term root cause approaches.
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Does This Feel Like Your Typical Headache Or
They may present a little differently than a typical headache or migraine. Menstrual headaches can range from mild to severe when it comes to pain, says Dr. Talebian, and they tend to start on one side of your head before spreading .
Classic migraine symptoms could strike, too for instance, you might feel super-sensitive to light and sick to your stomach.
Why Black Cohosh Is A Great Natural Remedy For Your Menstrual Migraines
Black cohosh has an ancient history of use among Native American women for menstruation and menopausal health issues. Western research has yet to conclude if black cohosh is effective in the use of treating symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. But there is evidence that black cohosh is effective in treating issues related to Premenstrual Syndrome .
It is the root of Black Cohosh that is used medicinally and it has been reported to regulate estrogen. At times, estrogen can overstimulate the tissue of the uterus, leading to pain and swelling. Black Cohosh counteracts this overstimulation by acting as an anti-inflammatory and an antispasmodic reducing pain, swelling, and cramping.
Because of its ability to even out estrogen levels, it can mitigate the drop in estrogen that triggers period migraines.
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Menstrual Migraine Is Tough To Treat
Menstrual and menstrually related migraine can be the hardest kind of migraine to treat. can be pretty severe, they can last several days, and they can be quite debilitating, she says.
Even if you have migraine attacks only around the time of your period, for many women that may still mean five days or more a month, says Hindiyeh. In that case, its really time to talk to your doctor about daily preventive treatment options for migraine, she says.
Generally speaking, there are many treatment options for the prevention of migraine and menstrual migraine, says Hindiyeh. Heres a rundown of top medications and lifestyle modifications that can help reduce the frequency and severity of menstrual and menstrually related migraine attacks.
Treatment Options For Menstrual Migraine
There are several treatment options depending on the regularity of your menstrual cycle, whether or not you have painful or heavy periods, menopausal symptoms or if you also need contraception.
If you have regular periods your doctor may suggest taking medication for a few days around the time of menstruation .
There are different options available and your doctor should suggest the option that suits you. It could include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen or mefenamic acid, oestrogen supplements or triptans.
- Frovatriptan tablet
- Zolmitriptan tablet
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Hormonal Contraception For People With Migraine
People with migraine with aura are not recommended to use combined hormonal contraceptives . Having migraines with aura is a risk factor for experiencing a stroke , plus taking combined hormonal contraceptives up to doubles that risk . The combination of these risk factors is associated with a 3x increased risk of stroke, compared to people with migraine who donât use combined hormonal contraceptives .
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people with chronic migraine are safe to use certain forms of contraception:
-
any form of emergency contraception
Most people who experience migraine without aura can use combined hormonal contraceptives, too, as the risk of increased stroke is outweighed by the benefits that the pill offers however, people with other risk factors for stroke, such as older age and cigarette smoking, may be advised not to use combined hormonal birth control .
People with non-migraine headaches do not have any restrictions on hormonal birth control .
Some birth control options may be safer than others, depending on your age and other risk factors . Speak to your healthcare provider to figure out what is the best contraceptive method for you.
to track your headaches and see how they appear in relation to your cycle.
Lets support one another.
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What You Can Do To Prevent Headaches Related To Your Birth Control Pill
I often have women tell me that their hormonal headaches appear on the second or third day of their placebo pills. I presume that these headaches are a lot like menstrual headaches, and they happen because of the rather abrupt drop in synthetic hormones that occurs during the placebo week of birth control pills.
Nutritional support is critical for all women, and those on synthetic birth control will certainly feel better if they are supporting their bodies in ways that will help them metabolize and clear those synthetic hormones. And this is also where the low-dose, bioidentical progesterone cream can offer support. I recommend using it on days 7-21 of each pill package, but it might also work well during the placebo phase. Another option is to try a bioidentical estradiol patch during the placebo week. All of these solutions are best worked through with your healthcare provider to be sure you find the one thats right for you.
In severe cases, you could consider skipping the placebo phase altogether for a few months. This is not something I typically recommend, but its an option for women who struggle with changing their diet or lifestyle, or dont want to try bioidentical progesterone. It works best when you are taking birth control pills that all contain the same dose, rather than those with a gradation of doses throughout the cycle. While you might encounter some unexpected bleeding, this method should protect you from pregnancy if you take your pills as directed.
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Who Gets Hormonal Headaches
Women who are susceptible to hormonal fluctuations often suffer with menstrual headaches or migraines just prior to the onset of menses when there is a natural drop in progesterone levels. But headaches may also occur when estrogen and other hormones spike, or during menses itself, when estrogen and progesterone have bottomed out.
Hormonal headaches can come on suddenly or become more unpredictable in perimenopause or at menopause, when hormones are really shifting. Some women who have never experienced headache or migraine before begin to suffer with regularity. In my practice, I have seen women with incapacitating migraines in their initial year of menopause, similar to those they recall experiencing at puberty/menarche. But for the 40 years in between, they had no headache pain! Every woman is different, and tuning into your bodys own unique signals is the first step in any kind of natural prevention or treatment.
As with any other kind of headache or migraine, tracking the onset of your pain using a journal will help you get a handle on any pattern and potential cause. If you are still menstruating, I recommend charting the days of your period for a few months with the same journal. This will help you understand the basic ebb and flow of hormones in your system each month and how these may relate to your headache or migraine.
Treating Hormonal Migraines Naturally
Just as every migraine is different, so is every person. There are many different solutions out there, so give a couple a try and move onto the next if you arent finding relief however, give regimens time to work. Often, it can take several weeks to start seeing results using natural measures.
Six of the most effective ways to treat hormonal migraines include:
Supplements One of the most common causes of hormonal migraines is a nutrient deficiency. Taking supplements like Vitamin D, B6, B12, B1 and magnesium can help regulate nerve and muscle function, as well as blood sugar levels.
Lifestyle Food and sleep are both common migraine triggers. Making sure you get enough sleep and are maintaining a balanced diet may help regulate common hormonal changes.
Diet Many women have found that they can treat their migraines by making significant changes to their diet, such as cutting out gluten and dairy as well as reducing sugar intake. Keto and Intermittent fasting are good options to help you
Stress reduction Stress is often the culprit of migraines, which is why adopting a stress-reduced lifestyle can be of benefit. Also included here is eye strain. Use the blue-light filter on your phone and home/work computers to alleviate the stress on your eyes.
Acupuncture/Chiropractic Acupuncture, chiropractic and other alternative therapies have also proven to be effective in treating active migraines and preventing future attacks.
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What Is Different About Menstrual Attacks
Menstrual attacks are typically more severe, last longer, and are more likely to recur the next day than non-menstrual attacks. This means that many women who find that their migraine treatment works well most of the time may still have a problem with managing their menstrual attacks. Characteristically these attacks are without aura.
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Apply A Cold Compress
Applying a cold compress to the back of your neck or over the areas you’re experiencing the headache can help reduce inflammation, constrict blood vessels and slow your nerves from firing pain signals.
Cold compresses are excellent for many types of headaches, including migraines, and can provide instant migraine relief at home.
You can make an icepack, soak a washcloth in ice water or throw a bag of frozen vegetables over the area. Be sure to use a towel between your skin and the cold pack and avoid applying for more than 20 minutes at a time. Brain freeze is real.
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