Signs of migraine in women during pregnancy, menstruation and menopause

1 Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms of migraine in a woman:

• is a strong, throbbing headache that covers one part of the head and radiates into the eye, which can occur two days before or three days after the onset of menstruation and increases with exercise;
• vomiting and nausea;
• photophobia;
• phobia of noise;

This is explained by the presence of female sex hormones and their special effect on attacks of headache. The scientifically proven fact that a sharp fluctuation in the levels of progesterone and estrogen in the female body provokes migraine attacks.

Depending on the condition of women, different types of such headaches are distinguished.

2 Menstrual migraine

There are two forms of such migraines:

• True menstrual migraine without an aura. Observed on the first or second day of the cycle, plus or minus two days. Attacks occur exclusively during menstruation.
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• Menstrual-associated migraine. It can be observed not only during menstruation, but also on other days of the cycle.

Menstrual migraine is associated with a sharp drop in the level of female hormones in the late luteal phase.

Most often, menstrual migraines happen without an aura. An attack in the absence of treatment can last up to seventy-two hours. In order to be diagnosed with a menstrual migraine, it is necessary that the number of attacks is not less than five, and there were no other reasons for such violations. Attacks of menstrual migraines are much longer, intensive and difficult to treat, than with other types of migraine.

Treatment of menstrual migraine:

• with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meloxicam, ketorolac, diclofenac, nimesulide;
• stimulants of motility of housing and communal services: metoclopramide, domperidone, which are prescribed in the event that the attack is accompanied by nausea and vomiting;
• preparations of ergotamine and dihydroergotamine: ergotamine, ergotoxin, syncaptone;
• triptans: zomig, rapimed, amigrenin, sumamogren, amigrene.

To prevent female migraine, which is associated with a change in the hormonal background, oral contraceptives are prescribed. With extreme caution, they are selected for migraines with aura or smoking women, since in this case there is a high risk of stroke.

3 Headache in menopause

In the climacteric, the ovaries suspend the secretion of female sex hormones, and this changes the course of the migraine. In about seventy percent of women, the number of migraine attacks is reduced by about half, ten percent are worse, and twenty percent are not affected.

The relief of seizures during menopause is no different, from therapy for other types of migraine. The difference can only be in the appointment of hormonal drugs for the prevention of migraine.

4 Appearance of pathology during pregnancy

During pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimesters, the amount of migraine attack and their intensity decrease, due to the fact that the synthesis of the female hormone estrogen is stabilized.

There is a clear correlation between the increase in the amount of estrogen in the body of a pregnant woman and the decrease in the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. Nearly eighty percent of women in the third trimester completely stop migraine attacks.

But migraine with aura, pregnancy does not affect. During pregnancy, special attention is paid to the prevention of seizures, since taking most medications can harm a child. For this, a pregnant woman should always observe sleep and rest, and eat right and avoid physical exertion. Useful training in the elements of psychotherapy.

If the migraine attack could not be avoided, then the appointment of the drugs must necessarily be agreed with the doctor.

But, as a rule:

• in the first trimester appoint: paracetamol, no-shpu, metoclopramide;
• in the second trimester: paracetamol, ibuprofen, verapamil, metoclopramide;
• in the third trimester: paracetamol, metoclopramide.

Severe forms of migraine in women, this is not only a medical, but also a social problem, as the quick temper, irritability and increased aggression that accompany the disease affect the relationships with surrounding people. Therefore, you need to contact the doctor in time, because self-medication can lead to poor health.