Migraine

Hi, Has anyone been given progesterone for the treatment of perimenopause symptoms (migraine included) and found that it helped?
I am seeing my OB Dr. tomorrow and I'm considering asking for treatment as I suspect I'm low in this hormone but I'm worried because of my migraines. Some literature says it could help but others say hormone treatment of any kind could worsen symptoms, so I thought I'd put a shout out to you all to see if anyone has tried this.

I am having more migraines due to perimenapause too. I would like to know what your OB's response was. I have chosen to stay away from the hormonal replacement route for now but there has been some discussion on bio identical hormones on this site, try a search.

blessings,
lisa

I wish I could help, but I have no experience with this.

Hi there,
Yes, I've tried it, but I'm not sure how much help I'll be because it turns out the head pain that I was trying to help at the time was NDPH and not migraines - most of the time - I have both. I had a hysterectomy due to adenomyosis 3 months prior to my NDPH hit, so the first thing I thought of when I began having daily intense head pain was a perimenapause/migraine connection even though I kept my ovaries. Long story short, it wasn't my ovaries and progesterone didn't help. Although, my neuro did say that progesterone shouldn't worsen migraines, that usually it is high estrogen that triggers them. Women on the hysterectomy website disagreed with my neurologist though, for whatever that's worth

A couple more cents if you do decide to go with progesterone. I have used both Prometrium and prescription strength progesterone cream compounded by a pharmacist, so I'll share my experiences with those with you. In my experience the compounded cream had very few side effects, and Prometrium made me nauseous. One of the first evenings I applied the cream I told my husband it felt like someone had buttered my brain, because the intense pain died down a little, but I think that was due to the slight sedative effect progesterone can have and wasn't a lasting result.

Turns out my OB dismissed my migraines being related to hormone fluctuations or perimenopause. She said women only experience migraines before their periods if they are hormonally driven. And if I'm getting them all the time (which I am) then it is probably not being fueled by hormones. So I left without progesterone. And since I have to try something I went ahead and took the topamax that my neuro prescribed awhile back. I am praying it works!

Praying the topamax works for you too. But I was told by my migraine specialist and my gyne that migraines do increase in frequency during perimenapause because of the hormonal changes. So I don't think you are completely off base.

I have an appt next week and will bring this quesion up and will let you know here what my doc says.

blessings,
lisa

Hi! I'm jumping in on this kind of late, but I just saw my OB/GYN today and have been prescribed Prometrium to regulate my periods due to perimenopause. (I switched to a woman doctor this summer because I felt my regular male doctor just wasn't "in tune" with my female issues.)

Anyway, in the course of the conversation I mentioned my menstrual migraines. She explained that the drop in progesterone just before you start your period is thought to be a trigger in some women and that the Prometrium sometimes helps with that too...

So, I'm to start taking the pills on Nov 1st and am anxious to see if it vanquishes that nasty period head pain as well!