Hormone and Migraine (Vol.3 – What are the most common types of hormonal migraine?)

We now understand that if we see an association between menstruation and migraine in about two out of every three cycles then it would be defined as menstrual migraine. 

But is menstrual migraine the only type of migraine that women experience? Dr. Susan Hutchinson, author, speaker and founder of the Orange County Migraine & Headache Center responds:

Dr. Hutchinson: “…to take that a step further, some women that have menstrual migraine, it is just around the time of their period, and we call that Pure Menstrual Migraine. So that a woman’s management could be approached just for that vulnerable time of the month, and she may not necessarily need to take something all month long. However, for the majority of women that have menstrual migraine, it’s called Menstrually-Related Migraine. 

So that means they have triggers other than their period, so it becomes extremely important to keep a headache diary or calendar to identify those other triggers.”

Another common question we get at Migraine Buddy is: “when will my hormonal migraine attacks end? Will they end with menopause?”

Dr. Hutchinson: “When you look at the statistics, if a woman goes into menopause spontaneously, meaning she hasn’t had her uterus and ovaries removed, it’s just her own ovaries slowing down, two-thirds of women going into menopause, their migraine attacks will go away or get better.”

Coming up next: 

If you don’t want to wait until menopause to reduce your hormonal migraine attacks, or if you simply feel your migraine condition does not seem to be getting any better, stay tuned for our final installment on hormonal migraine coming soon!

If you are keen to learn more about hormonal migraine you can view Dr. Hutchinson’s full video interview here available via Migraine World Summit. Click on the link down below to learn more!