The Pain of Hormone Headaches

Changing levels of estrogen during the menstrual cycle can cause excruciating migraines. They tend to occur two times of the month: with ovulation and at the start of your period. These are the times when your estrogen levels drop.

Migraines are not just a headache. They can cause severe throbbing and disabling pain. You may become very sensitive to light and noise. You may experience nausea and dizziness and wish the whole world would just go away. Your body's changing estrogen levels are the trigger to a whole series of electrical and chemical events that throw your brain into turmoil.

People with good lifestyle habits handle these migraines better. If you exercise regularly you will have a significant reduction in migraine headaches. Exercise also relieves stress, and stress is a migraine trigger. There are food triggers that you can eliminate. These foods include aged cheeses, processed meats with nitrites, chocolate, excessive caffeine, alcohol, pickled or marinated foods, citrus fruits, bananas, onions, aspartame, and MSG. Make sure you do not skip meals. Sleeping late or any other changes in your typical routine of doing things can lead to a migraine. If you spend time daily doing some sort of relaxation or stress relieving routine, you will reduce the stress associated with migraines. Yoga, meditation, or muscle relaxation are all ways to accomplish this. A daily 400 to 600 mg of chelated magnesium supplement can also be beneficial.

There are pain relief options. Most people, myself included, make the mistake of waiting too long before taking pain relief medication. Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen at the first sign of trouble is the best way. Talk to your doctor about triptans. They stop the pain and help deal with the nausea related to your headache. They are not for people with heart disease so be sure to talk to your doctor first.

There are wonderful herbal remedies for headaches and PMS. These remedies can be found easily in your kitchen, garden, or grocery store. Rosemary is a reliable tonic that is especially helpful for coping with premenstrual sadness. Certain compounds in rosemary bring hormone levels back into line and this helps in the reduction of symptoms. To prepare rosemary tea, bring one cup of water to a boil. Pour the water over one teaspoon of dried rosemary leaves. Let steep, covered for 10 to 15 minutes and drink warm. Having a cup before lunch and another before dinner is sure to ease your blues. Ginger is a great headache-reliever. Chewing a piece of ginger about the size of a quarter for 20 to 30 minutes can ease headaches related to stress and tension, indigestion, or congested sinuses. Ginger tea can be sipped as well. A warm marigold bath is helpful in lifting your spirits. The Mayan people believe that marigold is an angelic force with the power to dispel anxiety, fear, and insomnia and to help mend a broken heart. Fresh marigold is widely available in nurseries during the spring and summer months.

Before you go to your doctor, keep a headache diary for a couple of months. Record the days you have your period, the days you get headaches and how long they last, anything you did to trigger the headache, how bad the headache was, what medication or herbal remedy you used and how well it worked. Keeping this diary will help in the proper diagnosis and treatment of your migraines.