What helps with hormonal headaches?

pland54

I know a few of my mfp friends have responded to my questions about headaches, but I thought I might open the question up on the forums, so maybe there will be more input and help others as well.

I get chronic headaches, and they are obviously hormone-related. They tend to come in waves, and stick around for about a week, and then disappear again for a little while. I don't ever have periods, so I have no idea if they would coincide with that, but I guess they probably would. I have normal estrogen levels and very high androgens. I also have a history of low blood pressure.

I usually take Ibuprofen when the pain becomes unbearable, but it doesn't completely relieve the headaches, and I worry about taking NSAIDs too much, because I've had ulcers. Does anyone have any suggestions for something else that works well for hormonal headaches?

pland54

I should add that others have recommended magnesium oil, a chiropractor, and Imitrex.

I'm definitely going to try magnesium oil if I can find it here in Germany- who takes this? How much do you take?

I may be able to see a chiropractor, but it's a little scary to me, haha. Can someone elaborate on what exactly they do that helps?

melodymedlin

a chiopractor will adjust your neck (this doesn't hurt) and help relieve pressure that builds up in base of skull. I loved going when I was having horrid migranes! I've tried imitrax but it made me sick. I do take a blood pressure med that helps with chronic headaches but would not recommend with low BP. Have you tried exedrin migrane? sometimes that helps. There used to be a stress/ tension formula but I don't remember if they still have it out.
Also just a thought sometimes if I eat a lot of sodium a headache comes on bad!
Try lavender oil massaged into base of temples (love this one as it helps a lot)
Good luck and hope some others can give you good advice

birdiephd77

I take 500 mg of magnesium a day. I also found that going onto a 3 month birth control pack helped a lot. Since I only get a period once every three months, it helped control my migraines on the off months.

I also use Tiger Balm on my temples when I get one. It might be all psychological, but it helps.

pland54

Thanks for the advice. I used to take Excedrin back in college and it did work well for me, but my husband had a giant bottle of Ibuprofen, so when I ran out we just switched to that, and now I live in Germany, where pain relievers are kept under lock and key for some reason. You have to go through the pharmacist to get most things, whom I sometimes have difficulty communicating with. I can explain that I have headaches, but when I try to specify that they are hormonal headaches, they don't seem to understand me and vice versa :frown:

Aspirin is the most common pain reliever here, but since I have low blood pressure I prefer not to take aspirin. The second most popular is something called Kava, which as far as I can tell is a mild narcotic (!), that you don't need a prescription for. :noway:

I do use lavender oil every day, which is calming for me and a nice part of my routine, but apparently it's not relieving the headaches. It makes total sense that sodium overload would give a person headaches, especially if they are already prone to them. I will keep an eye on that in my food logs. I may try a chiropractor next time....makes me nervous though, lol :laugh:

Magnesium might be an accessible option for me. Thanks for the suggestion. As for birth control, I'm surrently off it because I had bad side effects for years, but every kind is different, so if need by I'll try it out again.

:flowerforyou: