How to Deal With a Hormonal Migraine
A hormonal migraine usually rears its ugly head during the onset of a female’s menstrual cycle. Although both males and females experience hormone-related migraines every now and then, most migraines that females experience are directly related to changes in their hormonal levels, which may be due to overproduction or imbalance.
Recent studies show that this type of migraine is affected by estrogen. This hormone is in charge of opening up blood vessels for the proper collection and disposal of body wastes and to maintain the growth and development of tissue. When menstruation starts, estrogen levels drastically decrease, resulting to the bleeding part of the menstrual cycle. This would also cause the constriction of blood vessels in the brain, producing the trademark headshot of pain, which is the migraine.
Hormone-related migraines usually have the same symptoms of other forms of migraines, such as extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, paleness, weakness, and extreme headaches. Sensitivity to light and sound is also a common symptom. The only thing that separates hormone-related migraines from the rest of the world of headache is that this type of migraine has the tendency to occur almost regularly. Thus, it is possible that when that time of the month comes, a nasty migraine would most likely be tagging along for the ride.
Fortunately, it is possible to keep track of this migraine. It can be done by monitoring a woman’s menstrual cycle with the use of the common calendar. This would at least give the person an idea when the migraine is going to strike next. Then stocking up on pain relievers is the next obvious step. Making an appointment with a doctor is not a bad idea as well.
A lot of medication types seem to do the trick when trying to scare away a migraine. Pain relievers seem to work, with a selection of mefenamic acid, ibuprofen, and the ever so popular paracetamol. If these do not work, some women find birth control pills to do wonders because of their effect on a woman’s hormones. And if these still do not work, getting a prescription for a tryptamine-based pain reliever may be a good idea. After all, when all else fails, what have you got to lose?
It is also a good idea to keep the curtains down and to wear eye masks when going to sleep. Try to keep the place as quiet as possible because a whisper can sound like a shriek to someone with a hormonal migraine.
How Effective Are Home Remedies In Curing Migraine?
Migraine happens because of changes in blood flow to the head. Some of the causes for migraine are excessive caffeine, dehydration, muscle tension, or a deficiency in magnesium. These kinds of headaches can vary from the mild nagging pain, or shoot up to a throbbing, endless pain that can wreck your day, and make you incapable of working at all.
Although the medical community does not encourage home remedies for obvious reasons, they have been around for ages. These are time-tested home cures that have been passed on from generation to generation.
Home remedies are made from ingredients found in your home, which makes it an all natural cure with little or no side effects, at a cost that is minimal.
The most popular migraine remedy you can do at home is called aromatherapy. Of course, with the growth of spas all over the country, you can go there to have it done professionally.
Aromatherapy promotes the relaxation of the senses using scents from essential oils. It is actually a massage session you can ask your husband, sister, or close friend to do for you. Choose a scent that you enjoy; as it is being massaged on you, the scent induces you to relax and de-stress.
Some oil scents are more favorable than others because of its chemistry. Kukui, rose hip, and borage can handle most skin types, plus you have less chances of getting an allergic reaction. You may also choose hazelnut, which is an oil specifically used for massage.
Try to stay away from the oil scents that have strong aromas, like sesame, olive, and macadamia nut because it can overpower your senses.
Aside from aromatherapy, you could try feverfew. It is a plant in which you can chew the leaves, boil it like you would with tea leaves, or buy the feverfew capsules available in health stores around the country.
Feverfew has parthenolide and prostaglandins, which are anti-inflammatory agents. These properties have been acknowledged to help stabilize the distribution of blood in your body. This remedy is known to be specifically for the cure of migraine, so it has a regular following in the market.
The last cure you can make is using apple cider vinegar. This item is a must-have in your house since it is the all powerful home cure for many ailments. For migraine, apple cider vinegar can stabilize your pH levels. You can choose to drink it with water or smell the fumes from a boiling mixture of vinegar and water.
Hormonal Migraines and the Affected Woman
Sometimes you wonder why your wife, your mother, or your sister suddenly does not get out of bed and stays in her bedroom with all the window blinds drawn. She yells at you to keep the TV’s volume down, and she groans in pain all day. Then, you finally get the picture: she is having hormonal migraines.
This migraine is known to affect both males and females. However, by reason of the female’s natural shifting of hormonal levels due to the monthly changes in her body, she is more prone to getting the headache that most people dread.
When there is a sudden decrease in the estrogen levels in a female’s body, this migraine will usually strike. The decrease in estrogen affects proper blood flow, resulting to a throbbing pain in either side of your head. What is worse, over-the-counter pain relievers often will not do you any good. The migraine can last for hours, and even days. Just imagine the agony the affected female is going through. It can happen a few days before the start of the monthly period, or during the period itself.
So, what should a responsible companion do in case a female is hit by a migraine?
What you should do is to make the environment as comfortable as possible for her. Keep the window blinds drawn so that she does not get blinded by sunlight. While having a migraine, she is extremely sensitive to sunlight. Also, if you plan on playing your PSP all day, use some headphones. Like sensitivity to light, a migraine victim is also quite sensitive to sound. This is because of the affected lobes of the brain, which affect sight and hearing.
Getting her a glass of water every hour would be a good way to help her relax. Water therapy can ease the flow of blood and is known to work wonders. Keep household lights at a very dim level — if you have a dimmer. If you don’t, then better get used to walking in the dark for a few days.
Call up her doctor and ask him about possible medication. If needed, accompany her to visit the clinic. Do not forget to let her wear an eye mask while you drive her there. Nothing like a beautiful sunny day can make her day get even worse. Make sure she takes her medication round the clock and on time. With her migraine, remembering things are on the back of her mind and she will need you to take note of her medication schedules to help her cope with hormonal migraines.
Finding the Migraine Headache Treatment For You
There are two ways to treat migraine. You either attempt to control future occurrences by using preventive medicines or you try to stop it once it has started, also known as abortive treatment.
If you have a history of migraine, you might want to try the abortive treatment. The goal of this treatment is to stop the attack once it has happened, or at the very least, lessen the pain. Your doctor would most likely prescribe a medication like Sumatriptan, Almotriptan, or Naratriptan — all of which are triptan medicine designed to control serotonin. Some of these medications are injected in the thigh or are taken orally.
Triptan medications are all similar in chemical structure. However, they are specifically for headache — they do not relieve any pain from your back, arthritis, or menstruation.
If you have been getting migraines for some time now with incidents happening at least once a week, the preventive treatment might be better for you. You should be able to recognize the signs of a migraine starting, like nausea, fatigue, or a swelling sensation in an area of your head. Being observant will help you tremendously in treating your migraine before it happens.
Preventive medication will try to lessen the severity and frequency of your headaches. In most cases, the medicine is taken daily as a maintenance drug. Some of the preventive drugs are beta blockers, anti-depressants, anti-seizure drugs, and some antihistamines.
These drugs are prescribed by doctors and will gradually increase in dosage over time.
There have been cases when all that is needed to treat migraine is to slow down. You could be doing too much and exerting a lot of effort when going through physical activity. You could also avoid certain foods like dairy products and caffeine if you find that they are probable causes for your migraine.
Once your doctor has given you a prescription for your daily maintenance drugs, be sure to maintain communication with him and update him on the effects of the drugs. He may want to change the dosage or the drug for a better alternative. Some drugs might work better than others depending on your body chemistry.
Any changes you might want to do regarding your medication should be consulted with your doctor. It will be very dangerous to self-prescribe or to listen to friends and family as to what worked for them. It might not be the same case for you.
Moving to another spectrum of treatment, if your tendency is to support natural remedies, you may search the Internet for herbal alternatives. The variety of herbal supplements and remedies are quite extensive.
Coping with Visual Migraines
Due to the increasing number of patients with migraines, studies have immersed to identify the causes. The most common migraine condition among patients is the visual migraine. The clear relationship between headaches and eyesight evens out other signs going toward this health condition that can be life altering.
There are various concerns that can lead to different kinds of migraines. Stress, normal daily activities, and chemical imbalances of the body are usual causes for normal migraines, while graver ones are brought about by tumors present. Normal daily activities can also be a source. This is the case for visual migraines, which comes as a result of incorrect lighting perceived by the eyes.
Anyone can experience visual migraines, and due to the variation of each person’s visual capability, there are instances that allow the connection of headaches due to one’s eyesight come with factors that are not comprehensible.
The incapability of one’s eyes to take in too much signals of light is the foremost cause of this type of migraine. The brain sends out warning signals because of one’s sensitivity to patterns of light. These signs are then converted to sensations of pain, thus resulting to a migraine.
The brain also tends to stimulate visual migraines in order to correct one’s visual behavior. This is the case when you experience extreme headaches while you read in places that are low in light or when straining your eyes from being in front of the television or computer. This is because the optic nerves receive high levels of stress.
Aggravated cell tissues may also be the cause in other health scenarios. Studies have shown that people who have eye problems, such as having tumors located in the eyeball, are most likely to experience visual migraines, as this mass at the back of the eyes activate signals of pain leading to visual headaches.
Treatment for this kind of migraine is dependent on the source. If it is because you are highly sensitive to colors that are sharp and bright lights, then you must avoid looking at them for long periods. However, if it is due to vision problems, it is best to see an ophthalmologist to assess your eyesight.
Consulting other specialists in other associated fields of medicine is also encouraged, such as checking with a neurologist or doctor specializing in EENT, to know about other causes of your migraine.
Should the pain still be tolerable, you may opt to drink painkillers, such as mefenamic acid and paracetamol. If the pain persists, then have yourself checked out by your doctor and he or she will administer the appropriate diagnostic tests.