Hormones and Migraine Headaches
Estrogen and Women's Monthly Cycles Linked with Headache Pain
Aug 8, 2009
Migraines are the most debilitating of headaches, often accompanied by nausea, dizziness, vision problems, and muscle pain. Studies show that women are three times as likely to suffer migraines as men, prompting doctors to consider the role that hormones play in migraine headache pain.
Migraines and Hormones
Although boys and girls report migraines in equal numbers before puberty, women have dramatically higher incidence of migraines after they begin menstruating. As many as 75% of migraine sufferers are women, according to EverydayHealth.com, and 60% of those women report that their migraines seem to be triggered by their menstrual cycle.
- According to the Mayo Clinic, 18% of women have at least one migraine per year, while only 6 to 7% of men do
- Migraines are most common in women aged 20 to 45
- Women's migraine headaches are more severe than men's, and are more likely to include other symptoms like nausea and vomiting
- 60% of women experience migraines in the week before a menstrual period
- Women are also likely to have headaches when ovulating
- Pregnant women often report a change in headache patterns – usually fewer migraines during pregnancy and while breast-feeding, although the opposite is sometimes true
How Hormones Make Headaches More Severe
Estrogen and progesterone – the two hormones that fluctuate during the menstrual cycle and with pregnancy – affect the way the brain deals with pain and sensation. These hormones can be involved in migraine headache pain.
A 2006 review of 643 studies on estrogen and migraines concluded that there is, in fact, a strong connection between estrogen and women's headaches. Estrogen levels fluctuate during a woman's cycle, and these levels affect the chances of getting a migraine – and the intensity of such a headache, if it should occur.
Estrogen is believed to play an important role in pain. As estrogen drops off before and during a woman's period, she may be more susceptible to pain of all kinds – not only headaches. One study demonstrated that women experience more pain from oral surgery when procedures are done in the low-estrogen phase of their cycles.
Lower estrogen levels certainly contribute to the worsening of many women's migraine headaches just before menstruating. Birth control pills, which manipulate hormone levels, have also been found to worsen (or cause) some women's migraines.
Headaches in Menopause
The hormonal changes that occur during menopause can also affect migraines. In most cases, women report that the period before and during menopause brings an increase in migraines and other headaches, although in some cases menopause actually lessens the severity of migraines.
Like birth control, hormone therapy can be a migraine trigger, or it may mean fewer migraines. Estrogen therapy is sometimes used to help menopausal women with chronic migraines.
What can be done for hormonal migraines? The answer is far from simple. The most effective solution seems to be a balanced diet, plenty of water and rest, and exercise. For other tips on preventing migraines, see 5 Easy Ways to Prevent Migraines and Headaches.
Sources
- Kerrie, "Migraine and Estrogen Officially Linked," TheDailyHeadache.com, 19 April 2006.
- Lee, Katherine, "Women and Migraines," EverydayHealth.com, 23 February 2009.
- Mayo Clinic Staff, "Headaches and hormones: What's the connection?" MayoClinic.com, 30 May 2008.
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