It’s our least favorite time of the month and we all dread the week that follows. There’s always pain and a lack of energy involved with your monthly period and getting anything done is potentially impossible. But it’s even worse when we start getting pre menstrual symptoms before our period starts. It prolongs discomfort and makes the week seem even longer.
Recently, I’ve been experiencing more PMS symptoms than normal. I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately, especially before my period begins. Just the other week a family friend of mine, who has suffered from migraines the entire time I’ve known her, pointed out to me that pre menstrual cycles can actually be a trigger for migraines. I found this very interesting and knew that I just needed to do a little research to see what was going on with that!
So today, we’re going to look at what migraines are and how menstruation can be a trigger for them.
What is a migraine?
Migraines are severe headaches that are followed with extreme pain in the head, tingling in the arms and legs, blind spots, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. These headaches can be very severe and cause sufferes to miss out on hours or days of their lives. Migraines can be difficult to diagnose and are often mistaken as tension headaches or sinus infections.
Migraines are actually very common and affect 1 out of 7 Americans and are especially prevalent in females during their reproductive years, something that we will discuss later (Webberley, 2015).
A refresher on your menstrual cycle
A lot of what is happening during your menstrual cycle has to do with hormones and the constant changes they are going through during your cycle. To understand these hormonal changes, let’s first get a refresher on what is happening during menstruation.
The first stage of the menstrual cycle is called the follicular phase. During this cycle, growing follicles are lost and one is selected to go to full maturity while the others are discarded. In the phase, growth is stimulated by the hormone FSH and estrogen which are secreted by the follicles. Estrogen secretion rates decrease during this phase before finally beginning to increase as the follicle continues to grow.
In stage 2, the Luteal phase, the wall of the follicle ruptures and causes a flow of antral fluid which carries an oocyte to the ovary surface. This follicle turns into a cell called the corpus luteum which secrets estrogen and progesterone. This causes a rise in the hormone LH. As the corpus luteum degenerates to a scar tissue, estrogen and progesterone levels decrease.
During the menstrual phase, estrogen and progesterone levels trigger the uterus lining to shed. Then, during stage 4, the uterus begins to renew (Stanfield).
Why do I get a headache before or during my period?
The headaches we get during our period are due to the changes in hormones our bodies are going through during menstruation. Research actually shows that migraine risk increases by 25% in the five days leading up to the first day or menstruation and then increases to 71% in the first two days before bleeding.
As estrogen drops in the days before our period, the risk for migraines increases. Research believes this is due to the fact that estrogen helps to activate parts of the brain that regulate the perception of pain. This is why headaches are so common a couple days before our period, at the end of the Luteal phase (phase 2) (Almendrala, 2016).
Birth control pills, which change hormones within the body significantly, may also trigger migraines along with menopause.
What should I do about my headaches?
First, you should definitely begin keeping a diary of when your pain starts compared to when your period begins so you can indentify whether or not your migraines are due to your period or may be being caused by something completely different.
Secondly, you can try different over the counter pain medications such as ibuprofen or exederin migraine. Laying down in a dark room after taking these will help to relieve your pain. However, if these don’t work, you may want to seek a doctor for advice.
Do you suffer from migraines during or before your period? Did you ever know the reason why this happened? Let me know what you do to help relieve pain in the comments below.
Until next time,
Kat
Sources and further reading:
Almendrala, A. (2016). Why You Get A Throbbing Heading During Your Period. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-do-i-get-a-headache-during-my-period_us_57118017e4b0018f9cba2a3a
Stanfield, C.L. (2013). Principles of Human Physiology. Pearson. 5: 649-654.
Webberley, H. (2015). Migraines: Causes, Symptoms and treatment. Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148373.php#what_are_migraine_headaches
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