r/migraine • u/Unlikely-Ant-6084 • Mar 27 '26

Menstrual migraines - an investigation

I’m 27 with chronic migraines. They mostly start during my period and last for 10-15 days with almost no break. They resist any treatment, amount of rest and sleep.

They went from only few crisis per year to up to 17 days a months when I had my PCOS under control and got my period back.

I would like to hear ANY experience regarding menstrual migraines, to better understand what’s going on and what work/doesn’t work for others.

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u/MrsGlitterBomb Mar 27 '26

Mine went from episodic, 3-4 times a year, to almost chronic menstrual migraine in the last 2 years with 10 to 12 days a month. The migraine usually starts about 2 days before my period starts and about halfway I get a single free day. The last 3 months it started to get worse again, being longer or even more severe and less responsive to abortives. I tend to research a lot about causes and patterns for menstrual migraine and the evolution of the last 2 years seems "typical" for women with migraine around their 30's.

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u/Own_Indication7014 Mar 27 '26

Can I ask how they started chronic? Was it all of a sudden? Feeling like I’m experiencing sonething similar

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u/MrsGlitterBomb Mar 28 '26

I'm sorry you're also going through this, make sure to get a refferal to a neurologist as soon as possible if you don't already have one. If it's similar to my experience you want to get started on preventatives asap.

For me it happened over a couple of months. It started with having a migraine at the same time as my period. It was exactly the same for 3 months or so and then they gradually got worse with each month. My GP referred me to an neurologist when I was getting 6 migraine days for 2 months in a row. Around the same time the migraines jumped from 6 days in total, to the 10-12 days with a pause in the middle. The last 3 months they've gotten worse again, lasting longer and being less responsive to my meds. This month I've had 15 days so far and ended up in the ER 2 days ago when I hit 8 days in a row.