What Is The Best Menstrual Migraines Treatment

First of all, let us be clear on what exactly is a menstrual migraine. It is a headache of severe intensity that occurs every month at the time of the menstrual cycle. A woman may also suffer from migraines due to other reasons.

The cause of menstrual migraines are very specific and related to the hormonal changes caused by the menstrual cycle, so it is important to differentiate which headaches are ordinary migraines and which ones need the specific menstrual migraines treatment. Migraine headaches are more common in women and about 60% of these headaches are connected with the menstrual cycle.

It is usual for women to pay more attention to aches and pains, including headaches around the time of their period and often ignore headaches that occur at other times. It is important to keep a record of when you get your headaches so that your doctor will be able to check to see if you are really suffering from menstrual migraines and recommend the correct menstrual migraines treatment for you. Prescribing menstrual migraines treatment for headaches that are not this type of migraine can be ineffective and even make the condition worse.

Types Of Menstrual Migraines Treatment
There is not one best menstrual migraines treatment. The metabolism and the overall health of the patient will influence the way any menstrual migraines treatment works. The most popular are:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) are generic medications for the treatment of all types of migraines. While these do not address the specific causes of the menstrual migraine that menstrual migraines treatments do they are often found to be effective, especially in the case of those women whose attacks are not too severe. These are over the counter medications and are safe to take unless there are any side effects, in which case they should be stopped.

Triptans are a class of drugs that have been found to be effective as menstrual migraines treatments by offering a prophylactic option. This form of medication, which is available under a variety of brand names, is taken before the onset of the menstrual cycle and continued for the duration of the period. It has been found to be very effective in preventing the onset of the migraines.

Nasal sprays containing Dihydroergotamine are also used as prophylactic menstrual migraines treatments. This spray can be used at the beginning of the period and whenever the first signs of the migraine appear.

There are many special medications for menstrual migraine relief but these should only be taken under a doctor’s supervision since the effectiveness is dependent on various other aspects of the patient’s health and metabolism.

And there are a large number of alternative medicine options for menstrual migraine treatment. These range from homeopathy to Ayurvedic medications to herbal cures. Some women have found them to be effective while other have not so the jury is still very much out on these.

Menstrual Migraine Treatment Available

Before you begin considering ways of menstrual migraine treatment, it is necessary that you are sure that what you are suffering from is a menstrual migraine headache and not general migraine triggered by some other factors. Rather than trying to analyze the cause of your headaches yourself, it is better to consult a doctor who will be able to more accurately diagnose whether it is actually a migraine, if it is a menstrual migraine and finally, prescribe some menstrual migraine treatment.

But before you even consult a doctor, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself so that you can discuss you problem with your doctor more coherently.

3 Questions To Ask Yourself
1. Does the headache develop just before, during or after your period?
2. Does it make you feel nauseous and sick?
3. Does it make you sensitive to light?
If you have answered yes to these questions, you most likely need menstrual migraine treatment.

Menstrual Migraine Treatments
The most drastic menstrual migraine treatment is hysterectomy. This should be resorted to only as a last resort since surgical options are best avoided and also because success is never guaranteed.

Many doctors recommend hormone therapy as an effective menstrual migraine treatment. While this does seem to offer relief, no detailed data has been collected to show how effective it really is. Another menstrual migraine treatment option is to use birth control pills to stretch the time between periods.

This has been found to be effective in a large number of cases but should be used only under a doctor’s supervision, since using oral contraceptives as a menstrual migraine treatment can have unintended side effects of various kinds. Having a doctor available to spot any incipient problems and change the treatment before any side effects become a major issue is important.

Many women use standard Over the counter medications for menstrual migraine treatment. These are called Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and include such common pain killers as Ibuprofen. These are safe to try, but if they do not produce results, stop and try some other form of menstrual migraine treatment. Another menstrual migraine treatment that many women favor is the use of Triptan drugs.

These are popular both as a treatment and as a preventive which is taken at the time of their period to prevent an attack. Once again, talk to your doctor before trying this form of menstrual migraine treatment. There are many brands available, all with different formulations, so it is wise the try out a few to see which produces the best results.

Causes Of Migraine Menstrual

Of all forms of headaches, the migraine is the worst. Women are three times more likely to suffer from migraines as men and the most common type is the migraine menstrual. These menstrual migraine headaches, as the name suggests, occur immediately before, during or after the period. They may also be caused by ovulation.

The symptoms of menstrual migraine are the same as other types of migraine. The headache begins on one side of the head and increases in intensity until it is a throbbing pain. The pain results in nausea, lassitude and sensitivity to light. These conditions persist until the headache begins to wear off. There are many forms of menstrual migraine treatment available, but before trying any of them, it is important to understand the causes of this affliction.

What Causes Menstrual Migraine
All migraines are caused by changes in the body’s hormone levels. Recent research reveals that a fluctuation in the levels of a hormone called Serotonin is the actual trigger that sets of the headaches.

It is possible that this is a genetic disorder where the body’s inability to metabolize Serotonin is inherited. While this may explain migraines in general, it is only a partial cause of the menstrual migraine. In women the menstrual migraine is caused by the way Serotonin acts upon specific female hormones.

Estrogen is the female sex hormone that regulates the menstrual cycle. When the levels of Estrogen and Serotonin reach an imbalance in the body, a menstrual migraine is triggered. An imbalance in the levels of another female hormone, Progesterone, is also thought to be a factor in setting off menstrual migraine headaches.

As every person’s body is different in the way its metabolism functions, some women are far more prone to menstrual migraines than others. In fact, a lot of women never have any kind of headache problems associated with their periods. Stress is a key factor in the changes in hormone levels in the body and can cause even women who do not suffer from menstrual migraines to have attacks.

Increased stress levels also impact the intensity of the headaches of those women who are prone to menstrual migraines. Since estrogen levels are affected by taking oral contraceptives, women on birth control pills often suffer more frequent and more severe attacks of menstrual migraines.