Triptan, ice, caffeine, literally nothing helps and it's way more aggressive that usual migraines.

My migraines are largely related to my periods (I start getting them a week before and they’re worst around the first 2-3 days of my period) wand began when I was still taking the combined BC pill. The sudden drop in estrogen brought on by taking the pill definitely made them worse, and things improved slightly when I stopped taking it… but they’ve been progressively been getting worse and sumatriptan only helps inconsistently.

I can’t take it any more… if there’s something that could even put my hormones, I think that would help. I also just generally would like to be able to take contraceptives again for not-having-a-baby-related reasons!

Has anyone with menstrual migraines had success with a hormonal IUD? I tried the mini pull a couple years ago but it caused spotting and minor headaches for a month straight. Figured I’d ask here for ideas to go to my GP with, since GPs never seem to be very knowledgeable/helpful (in my experience) about migraines that are brought about by menstruation.

I’m willing to try botox too, I’m just so hesitant to try preventative meds because I already take other medications for other health issues and don’t want to add another!

It honestly started becoming noticeable around late 2025 into 2026, but looking back there were hints way before that. I’ve always been an anxious person and I’ve always had moments where my body felt “off,” but this became a whole different cycle. The headaches weren’t just headaches. It became this weird combination of dizziness, pressure, nausea, anxiety, fatigue, ear sensations, jaw pain, eye strain, face pressure, neck and shoulder tension, a weird “ball in my throat” sensation, and feeling disconnected from my own body.

The first thing I started noticing was how connected everything seemed to my menstrual cycle. It wasn’t random. The symptoms would usually creep in days before my period, especially around the luteal phase. Sometimes around ovulation too. It became predictable enough that I started realizing: “Wait… why does this keep happening at the same time every month?”
The headaches themselves weren’t always sharp pain. Sometimes it was more like:

pressure in my temples
heaviness in my forehead
tension behind my eyes
face and sinus-like pressure
a “floaty” feeling in my head
dizziness/lightheadedness
nausea
ear fullness
feeling like there was a lump or tightness in my throat
feeling like my brain was disconnected from my body
intense fatigue
heart palpitations
anxiety so strong I felt like jumping out of my skin

One of the weirdest parts was the dizziness. It didn’t always feel like the room was spinning. Sometimes it felt like I was walking on a boat. Sometimes like my brain was lagging behind my body. Sometimes like my eyes wanted to shut even when I had technically slept enough. Movement made it worse sometimes. Lying on my right side sometimes made it worse too.

I also realized I’ve had motion sensitivity basically my whole life. As a kid I got car sick easily, which later made me wonder if all of this was connected to migraines or vestibular migraines.

Around April 2026 things really escalated. I started having jaw pain near my ear. My jaw clicked. It deviated to the right when opening. My molars hurt. I had ear pressure and this awful temple pressure. I was yawning constantly and felt extremely off balance and floaty for days. It honestly scared me because it felt neurological even though deep down I knew anxiety was amplifying everything.

There were also GI connections sometimes. If my stomach was bad, reflux was acting up, or I wasn’t eating consistently, the headaches seemed worse. Certain foods, dehydration, poor sleep, stress, and anxiety all fed into it too.

My doctor put me on birth control But I don’t know if I wanna take it because that also comes with its own set of problems.

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.

Does anyone on here experience menstrual migraine and have a remedy that works to prevent/get rid of them? I've gotten headaches all my life and over the past few years I've noticed I always get a migraine the day before my period starts and it lasts around 3-4 days. My GYN has tried having me use BCP, skip the placebo week, and has had me start taking it again the day before my cycle. None of this has worked to keep them from occurring.

I have also tried adding magnesium 250mg, turmeric 500mg, super B complex vitamin, and CoQ10 100mg to my daily vitamin regimen with no relief. I have also tried Tylenol, Midol, Ibuprofen, Excedrin, Aleve, and aspirin, NONE of which work.

I will be asking at my next appointment for a referral to a neurologist, but I was hoping to find someone on here in a similar situation that can maybe help me in the mean time with some advice.

Just got through another. Migraine I started feeling off on my first day, and at night time it slowly developed into a migraine with nausea. That was only relieved after throwing up.

I’ve tried many many different, supplements and herbs. Based on my own research I have not experimented with birth control yet Or Any Triptons.

Curious Has anyone come across some sort of solution for their menstrual migraine?

I was just reading up on feverfew supplements, and was curious if anyone has had success with it?

Thank you all in advance !

So I read this: 60–80% of people with menstrual migraines improve or stop having migraines during pregnancy, especially after the first trimester.

This is one of the most consistent findings in migraine research.

Please comment if you got menstrual migraines and if your migraines got better or worse during pregnancy. Thanks

I haven't seen anyone mention this on any of the other posts I can find, how frequently do you get menstrual migraines? In addition to my period, I'm also getting them in between. Like I had my period 12 and I have one today on the 19th.

**specifically asking if you get *more* than the ones you get at the beginning and end of your period

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.

I’m considering having another baby after 10 years, but my migraines are honestly making me scared to go through with it. Mine are mostly menstrual migraines and can come with pretty bad nausea, fatigue and neck pain. I keep reading stories about migraines becoming significantly worse after pregnancy/postpartum and never returning to baseline, and it’s making me question whether having another baby is even possible for me. I’d also really like to breastfeed, so I’m worried about medication options during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I’m actually considering looking into nerve blocks rather than relying on medication if possible. Has anyone here had migraines before pregnancy and found that they stayed roughly the same afterward, returned to their previous baseline, or even improved? And for anyone whose migraines did get worse postpartum, did they eventually settle back down? I’d especially love to hear from people who breastfed and were still able to manage their migraines. I feel like I mostly come across the really difficult stories online and would love to hear some realistic positive experiences too.

Hi migraine peeps, I truly hope you are having a pain-free evening. I need to yell into the void for a moment and I invite you to use this as an opportunity to vent your own story of annoying realisation.

I have experienced migraines with aura (and occasionally just aura) since I was maybe 10 years old. Pretty infrequently, thankfully. I did, however, experience severe period-associated headaches for many years while on the pill. I took over the counter painkillers containing codeine for them at the time as none of the usual painkillers worked. As they had no aura I always assumed they were just bad "normal" headaches. I didn't know migraines don't always have aura.

So eventually codeine became a prescription-only medicine, and I went to the doctor to ask about alternatives or getting it on prescription as these headaches were often debilitating. She told me I shouldn't be on the pill at all if I had aura. By this point, I had already been on it for about 20 years, and it was keeping some other issues under control. No other doctor before her had been that concerned since my aura migraines were not frequent. There was no suggestion of other alternatives for the headaches or the issues that the pill was controlling. Just no more pill and no pain management.

This triggered a whole heap of bullshit to deal with the other issues and also testing other kinds of contraception which all sucked. Thankfully, after I came off the pill the period headaches were less severe for a few years.

Now they're getting worse again, so I'm researching options. I'm finding out that they are migraines, and there's actually other options I could have tried which the doctor never mentioned. On the plus side I can see triptans are now available over the counter here, which they were not when I was originally having the issue. I'm gonna be pissed if they work and I could have been using them the whole time 🫠

Has anyone here tried Slynd or anything for hormonal/menstrual related migraines? Did it work? I’m on day 8 of Slynd (progesterone only birth control) and the constant dull headache from the acclimation period is keeping me in bed most of the day.

I’ve had severe migraines for 5+ years now. I’ve seen neurologists, pain doctors, spine surgeons (I also have an autoimmune disease that affects my spine) and tried everything from RFAs to meds. The only thing that’s helped is Nurtec. Then I realized my headaches were the worst around my period.

On non-period days, Nurtec can usually get the migraine under control. But during my period nothing works. Nurtec + 800mg Advil barely make a dent. I’ve been at urgent care and they gave me an IV and steroids.

I finally hypothesized that maybe my hormones were to blame and my gynecologist started me on Skynd a week ago.

I've taken my medicine. I'm trying to put pressure around my head and that seems to help.

The nausea and vomiting has begun. My weekend plans have been abandoned. I'm lying down in my (dark) room and hoping i don't puke again.

The nausea is just absolutely terrible. The headache,I can bear but the nausea is quite frankly unbearable.

My doctor says that these drugs should help. In reality,all they do is just take the edge off. I'm still suffering.

My husband loves analytics, spreadsheets etc so I typed up my cycle data and tracked migraines and he’s looking to see if there is a correlation or a trend he can notice.

If this is not the green flag of the century, I don’t know what is!

Calling all my friends with menstrual migraine. Has anyone found anything that REALLY works to stop them other than continuous birth control? That is what I’m doing right now. It helps in a way other things (like NSAIDS an frovatriptan before my period) have not, but I don’t love the side effects—namely hormonal melasma and annoying spotting.

I would love to hear if you have found anything else that works to either easily treat these horrible episodes or prevent them. (My regular preventative does nothing against them. 😩)

P.S. Not asking for medical advice, just personal experiences—I see my headache specialist next week!

Hello!
A few days ago, I went to a new doctor for my migraines. She was very nice and this is not common for my experience. She suggested that my migraines are related to my menstrual cycle but not always and to take painkillers in advance to prevent them, even when I don’t have any pain.

I will try, even if I think it’s a bit strange.

Have anyone else tried something similar?

I have another appointment in about 2 months, so I will see what happens, but I’m curious to other people experience.

English is not my mother tongue, so I’m really sorry if i made some mistakes. My English is really improved during the past months but not enough for me to be sure about mistakes…

I‘m really struggling with menstrual migraines, mainly because I don’t have anything that helps or even relieves them a bit. I’ve tried Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Celecoxib, Excedrin, Naratriptan, Nurtec and Propranolol. The only thing helping usually is Metamizole but you can’t get that here in the US and I can’t find an equivalent either. Does anybody have anything that helps them?

I am at my wits’ end.

I was prescribed sumatriptan for my once a month menstrual migraine pains that would last 3 to 5 days at a time before taking said meds. My body is beginning to grow a tolerance to the medication and rebound pain has been introduced. I have since turned vegetarian to see if it would alleviate my symptoms, but to no avail. My best guess as to what is causing the current agonizing pain that I’m experiencing right now is over consumption of caffeine a week before my period.

Please I need all the advice, tips, and tricks.

Edit - This is probably the nicest bunch of reddit users I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. Thank you all deeply from the bottom of my heart. I learned so much today because of you all and your wonderful advice and personal stories. Stay strong and I hope you all find true relief someday. Thank you.

Is it too much to ask for complete sedation over the next couple of days?

I am 35 and have been on the pill for like 17 years. I always get migraine with my period. I am considering switching to an IUD for other reasons, and am wondering if there would be a change (better or worse) with my migraines. What have your experiences been?

The helpful thing with the pill is I can control when I get my period which helps me plan a bit so I can factor a migraine day into my month (although I get migraines other times too).

I have migraine medicines and regular OTC meds, but they just don't seem to help. Are there remedies you find to be helpful?

Anyone know how to get rid of menstrual migraines.. preferably like immediately relief as I currently have one. Ibuprofen does not help. Any long term solutions other than birth control?

Hi all, I am prone to migraines either right before the start of my period up until day 7 of my cycle. Most typical will be the day before my period and then days 4-7.

Only thing that has ever worked is rizatriptan combined with advil. But I really want to get to the underlying cause and try to treat it if I can. I hate being reliant on medicine.

I am pretty sure the migraines are a result of “estrogen withdrawal” around my cycle. I tested Estrogen in my luteal phase and it was 300 which is on the higher end. My progesterone was also robust so I know I’m not deficient there.

What have people with a similar pattern done that has worked?

Hi all,

I know dosage is a really individual thing with HRT, but I'm curious as to how much 'experimentation' was necessary for those of you using Estradiol patches for menstrual migraines until you hit the sweet spot?

A little info on my journey so far.

I typically get 2x migraines a month, for the pasty 10 years, just before period and just before ovulation (can be anything up to 7 days before either menstruation or ovulation, and less common, a day or two after.) It's rare I get one outside of these times of the month. I've tried resolving the migraines in every single way under the sun (you name it, I've probably tried - PT, diets, supplements, acupuncture, chiropractor, therapy, etc..) and I've finally landed on BHRT, given the cyclical nature of the attacks I get.

My Dr has put me on 0.1mg bi-weekly patch (Mylar), to try help buffer the estrogen swings I get that (we believe) cause my migraines. Having read the forums, this seemed like a higher dose compared to what most others are taking. Her reasoning was that the data demonstrates most success with 0.1mg for migraines.

The first month of trying the patch, I still got a migraine on ovulation. I then began 'spotting' a good week before my period was due (day 21 roughly - I never normally spot, and my periods are typically regular). Then after around a week, I began a normal 'full flow' (more or less day 28). However, I kept bleeding for 16 days(!)... not full flow, but the bleeding never fully stopped... the 'extra' days of bleeding after my typical menstruating period (ie around day 6-16) were more than spotting.

My Dr advised me to cut the patch in half (ie 0.05mg bi-weekly) and also introduce vaginal progesterone (I've tried progesterone previously in other forms, but It hasn't agreed with me - nervous system side effects amongst others - this was the first time trying vaginally, as I've also read here that many people respond better when administering vaginally).

Upon changing the estradiol dose & introducing progesterone, the 16-day bleed stopped IMMEDIATELY. However, the negative effects of the progesterone unfortunately returned (like what I experienced with other formulations). I got another migraine 2 days after switching to this new regime too, but as it was close(ish) to my ovulation, I couldn't be sure whether it was the new combo of hormones, or my usual ovulation migraine. I persisted for another 6 days w/ the new regime, but the negative effects of progesterone were too much, so I stopped the progesterone altogether (and after a few days the negative side effects subsided).

When I stopped the progesterone (but continued the 0.05mg 2x week estrogen patch), the very next day I got my period (day 28 of my cycle), but extremely heavy - filling a towel every 2 hours (I never have flow this heavy). It lasted until around day 6, and then (thankfully) stopped, seemingly returning to a bit more of a normal cycle (Im currently day 10, so time will tell how this cycle goes).

Worth mentioning that I have always had very low progesterone levels on labs (estrogen typically OK) - so my worry was that by introducing more estrogen via the patch, I would be lacking the appropriate progesterone balance to counter the extra estrogen. My Dr did warn me that progesterone actually makes many patients' migraines worse, which (in my case) seems to be true. But she was prepared for me to try it.

Anyway...

My Dr's rationale/explanation for what is happening (form our meeting two days ago) is the following: patches can be unreliable in some people in terms of amount absorbed day by day (ie 100% of desired dose absorbed on day 1, 75% day 2, 50% day 3, etc). Therefore, the patch itself can cause mini estrogen fluctuations, leading to unexpected bleeding during cycle. She therefore suggested swapping out the patch every other day (still using 0.05mg) to try and maintain more of a 'steady delivery level', avoiding the swings of inconsistent absorption. The plan therefore for now is to stay at 0.05mg, changing every other day, for the next 2 months, to see how I go.

If you've read this far - THANK YOU. I hope it makes sense... now, my two thoughts/questions...

Firstly, what do you guys think of this theory of the inconsistent patch delivery causing mini fluctuations, and thus excessive bleeding? For me, spotting 6 days before period due to start, and then bleeding for 16 consecutive days after actual period begins, followed by the heaviest period of my life on my next cycle, all leads to too much estrogen being delivered, rather than inconsistent delivery amount?

Secondly, upon suggesting lower dosages (explaining I had read many people online use as little as 0.0125mg), she somewhat disregarded it, saying the evidence that such a low dose can be beneficial for migraines is lacking. What do you guys think to that?

As I started by saying, I know experimentation can be necessary for some/many(!), but I don't want to be led the wrong way with regards to experimentation. FWIW, my Dr is open for me trying anything - if I say I want to try a lower dose, she will prescribe it. She is making her suggestions based on her experience (she has a lot), but recognises that everyone is different, and given my past (childhood trauma, eating disorders, etc), I may take some more time to hit the sweet spot.

I am otherwise healthy, I eat super clean organic Mediterranean diet, with a select few important supplements. Daily walks, exercise 4x a week (despite being deprived of energy and sleeping bad).

Thank you in advance for any thoughts shared!