Hello...I haven't posted here in a very long time. I'm desperate for answers.

I've had migraines all my life...started when I was just a toddler. At first they were associated with barometric changes but when I entered puberty my periods became the main trigger. I've always had horrible, painful periods and after struggling for a long time finally had a hysterectomy 7 years ago when I was 38 years old.(kept my ovaries) I did notice that when my periods were really heavy and painful...that's when I had the really severe migraines. I did have one complication with my migraines when I was 31...I was put on the BCP (which I had used on and off for most of my adult life) and ended up having a major TIA or maybe even a small stroke due to my migraine. The doctor immediatly told me it was hormone related and said no more hormones of any kind.

Now fast forward to today...I'm 45 and my recent blood work has confirmed what I have been suspecting for a long time now...I'm in peri-menopause. I'm going crazy! I'm hot flashing so much it's horrible. I work as a nurse in a clinic and run around a lot...the sweat literally runs down my back and legs. And some days it's so bad I look like a drowned rat! I'm dying from the heat when others are freezing. Either that or I'm in cold, cold sweat. My blood pressure is borderline high and for the first time EVER I'm taking an anti-depressant. I'm moody and my libido is no where to be found. On top of that, I have a cystocele and have to wear poise panty liners because not only do I have stress incontinence but I have urge incontinence as well. But...now that my uterus is gone, my migraines are back to being only barometric pressure migraines and not as severe. I noticed that almost immediately after my hysterectomy.

My family doctor will not give me any hormones because of my migraines. She just laughs and says "it's peri-menopause". But something has to be done...I'm going NUTS. Does anyone know of ANYTHING that I can use that would help? I've tried Soy and it helps a little bit...but not a lot. I've read that using HRT creams or bioidentical hormones are easier on the body than the pills. I'm seeing my doctor in August and want to see her with suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Laura, I can fully sympathise with your situation. I, too, am having a return of migraines. In fact, I had one this morning and couldn't go to work. I have had the odd 'bad headache' but I have associated this recent worsening to the commencement a few weeks ago of Femseven patches. I wondered only this morning whether my past migraine troubles were the fault of the BCP, even after I stopped it, rather than the food sensitivities I associated them with at the time.

I, too, had awful periods, and I had a hysterectomy (kept ovaries) when I was coming up to 30 years old (I'm now 49). It was the best thing I did, or so I thought at the time - no more period problems - but the headaches still persisted. The patches have stopped the hot flushes, so I'm persevering with them for now, but I have a review next week, so I might mention the recent increase in headaches to the doc. When I get a migraine, I take Ibuprofen.

I haven't had any of the other problems you mention, but I don't know how you're maintaining your job with all that going on! I also used to be a nurse, and no way could I have put up with all that AND go to work. I'm lucky in that I had a career change a few years ago and now have a sedate office job, so no more running around for me.

I hope you get yourself sorted out soon. Perhaps you would be suitable for the HRT cream or patch, rather than oral.

Hi Laura,

Are you sure it was a TIA or stroke? as migraines can really mimic the symptoms of stroke. I say this beause I went through an awful time of migraine auras, which used to finish up mimicing small strokes and I would lose my ability to speak and just feel out of it, some people get numbness down one side of their bodies too, and this was all due to migraine caused by menopause.
Never had a migraine before in my life. Even my GP thought I had a stroke and sent me off to see a Neurologist as was getting them constantly, every few days for about a year.
After MRI checks, all was clear, The Neuro confirmed it to be migraine and not stroke. You should be seen by a Neurologist at any suspicion of stroke. GP can't diagnose this just by your syptoms.

I was put on Beta blockers for prevention. They also help keep blood pressure down and anxiety.
They have helped a lot, but I was still getting them, there are other meds too which help prevent migraines.

Like you, I had a hysterectomy and kept ovaries and am having hot flashes like no tomorrow at the moment.
Something I feel I am now getting over the worst of.

All shoot me down if I am wrong, but as far as I am concerned there is no alternative to HRT and doctors do not want to know too much about helping anyone through menopause, now that they don't like prescribing HRT, because of the health scares.

I had a breast cancer, so can't have it anyway, so for me, I just have to keep going through the worst of it and hope it all eases up soon.
I have been migraine free for 3 months now and this is because at last ovaries are shutting down for good.......I hope.

Good luck and best wishes
Caroline

The worst of my migraines went with my uterus. Now a days I only get migraines when weather comes in or out...or when it's windy...like today. My head hurts today. That's why I'm wondering if my migraines weren't related to my uterus. I'm just so totally fed up with these hot flashes and day sweats. I keep worrying about my anti-persperant giving up the ghost KWIM?

As for my job, it helps that I only work 3 days a week and absolutely LOVE what I'm doing. Prior to this I was working full time at a desk job at a very high stress job. I had a total breakdown and became so depressed I was suicidal. The fact that I've been working at this job for about 2 months and doing well is a big accomplishment.

That's what I was told by a neurologist. I started with a terrible migraine one day and the day after had numbness all down my right side. It got so bad I was drooling and had trouble swallowing. I went to the ER and was told it was a "migraine syndrome" and discharged after the symptoms subsided a little. I saw a neuro a few days later who sent me for a CT scan...which came back normal. When I saw him for a follow-up a few weeks after that I was still experiencing transient numbness in my right cheek, leg and arm. He was surprised I still had the numbness and said that it was likely a very big TIA or even a little stroke that didn't show up on the CT scan. It's been 14 years and I don't have anymore numbness with my migraines....except for one time when I took Zomig and reacted badly to it. (that was scary...thought I was having another stroke)

What bugs me is the attitude a lot of doctors have...."oh, it's just (peri)menopause...Ha, ha, ha....live with it!" It's the same attitude many doctors had when I was having my killer period pains....it wasn't "nothing" it was serious.

Hi laura,
You sound as if you are truly suffering the hurricane of peri-menopause. I sincerely do not know how you are coping with nursing as well as all this mayhem. As I have often stated before, I am a world and olympic champion migraine sufferer. I have never taken HRT because quite frankly I daren't mess with an already volatile situation. When they visit; my migraines are so severe that I have wanted to die on several occasions and believe me that is no exaggeration. At one stage they were so severe I was placed on an emergency list reserved for terminally ill patients, to help me bye-pass all the garbage British patients have to suffer when trying to access emergency care. I can't give you any advice on HRT and migraine. I think that you need advice from a neurologist who accepts that menopause exists and has studied the interelationship between migraine, menopause and HRT. Sadly I think trying to find a doctor with these attributes would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!
The only help that I can try and offer, is to give you my timeline. As I approached cessation of my periods in the early perimenopause the migraines came thick and fast. Their severity became almost intolerable and they could last 4-5 days. I kept thinking that it was something I had eaten and ended up on such an exclusion diet I lost a couple of stone in weight. About 18 months before my last period I woke up one day and felt different. All of a sudden I didn't feel on the cusp of a migraine and it is only in hind sight that I realised how hormonally driven they had been. In the months before menopause those migraines just stopped. I did have a stinker a couple of days ago but it is my first attack in many months.
The very latest news(2008) is that low dose HRT is pretty safe for young menopausal ladies 50-59 and these might help you with your other symptoms but you will have to be very careful with those migraines.

Let us know how you get on!

Regards,

XIII

Have you tried magnesium? My sister swears by it. She used to have killer migraines every month but since starting the mag/calcium she hardly has any.

Actually, I'm doing pretty well now compared to a few months ago. It got so bad about 6 months ago or so that I had a complete breakdown and couldn't work for a long time. I found a doctor who took me seriously and put me on an antidepressant. Now I have a part-time job that I love. It's really, really busy and I run like crazy, but it's been almost therapeutic for me.



Yay! Another Migraine Sister! How much fun is that???



That's what I've been reading lately. Low dose HRT creams or gels might help. Even the compounded stuff. I have an appointment with the doctor next month, I'm going to talk to her about it. Yesterday I stopped off at the pharmacy and picked up some natural supplements with soy isoflavones to see if it will help. The pharmacist told me to start slowly and then build up. I'll see if it works. After all, I'm only 45!



I've tried the magnesium. It didn't help unfortunately. The only thing that helped was when I took a certain brand of Feverfew...took my migraines away completely. Then they discontinued the brand and none of the others worked. I also saw a neurologist who put me on Epival (it's an anticonvulsant that is also used to prevent migraines). It worked well but I ended up gaining 20+ lbs on it...so I stopped it. (I'm already overweight...I didn't need more)

I,too, am a migraine sufferer, although they have not been showing up recently. The best treatment that I found was acupunture--really descreased the number and severity of the migraines. I've not gott many at all recently. [fingers crossed]