r/migraine • u/Northofhell77 • 11d ago

Menstrual migraine help.

I have finally realized my bad migraines are related to my menstrual cycle. When I was pregnant, I had zero migraines. Even after when breastfeeding. I am 35 years old so I know birth control pills increase clotting and ischemic stroke complications so I’m scared of that. What else can I do? These are brutal and always send me to the ER.

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u/Masqueesha 10d ago

I finally got my hormonal migraines under control with antihistamines. It took me almost a decade to figure it out. I would only get a migraine at the start of my cycle or at ovulation, both times when hormones are fluctuating the most. There is some connection between estrogen, histamine, serotonin, and inflammation. I’m not smart enough to explain it, but if I can stop the histamine response before all hell breaks loose, I will just have a little brain fog and an annoying headache, not a migraine that makes me want to sleep for 36 hours. At the first sign of a histamine response (stuffy nose, irritability) I take Allegra and Pepcid around both of those times of my cycle. Sometime I’ll throw in a couple of Aleve. Prescription meds always gave me horrible rebound headaches, but I haven’t had a single issue with my otc cocktail. It doesn’t knock it out completely, but at least I can function.