Pregnancy and Menopause: How Do They Affect Your Headaches and Migraines?
A lot of women link headaches and migraines to pregnancy and menopause. But what is the truth behind experiencing headaches and migraines during periods of pregnancy and menopause?
There had been a lot of confusion surrounding the effects of pregnancy and menopause on headaches and migraines. That’s what we are going to make clear. According to Dr. Beth, when women go through pregnancy or menopause, there are many hormonal changes that the body experiences and that is how they affect headaches and migraines. When you go through these periods, things tend to fluctuate up and down and three possible things could happen: (1) your headaches and migraines disappear; (2) they will get worse; or (3) they won’t change at all.
You want the first possibility to occur, but headaches and migraines have different effects on women.
Like any other part of your body, both pregnancy and menopause and their associated pains and symptoms vary from one woman to another. The two most common signs of pregnancy in women include sleep disruption and changes in appetite and nausea. While women during pregnancy experience more headaches than their post-menopausal counterparts — sometimes in addition to breastfeeding issues — it’s not necessarily from an increase in the number of headaches or an increase in frequency. Instead, concerns may stem from a change in the way the body is operating and corresponding changes in hormone levels.
Within the body, estrogen and progesterone regulate the menstrual cycle and many bodily functions. That connection includes the way that the body works during pregnancy and menopause, including how your heartbeat, the building and, development of your bones and, neurological function.
A hormone imbalance between the two hormones — estrogen and progesterone— can cause headaches. Because each hormone is out of balance, your migraines and other period-related problems are also in line with a hormonal imbalance.
Although recent research hasn’t backed up the theory that period-related headaches and migraines are simply part of the body adjusting to the menstrual cycle, it’s worth noting the relationship between both signs of stress and periods. Influenza season, lack of sleep and, muscle soreness can host persistent headaches and mood changes due to stress, which are signs of a hormonal imbalance.
So, if you’re experiencing more headaches or worse, migraines during or after pregnancy and menopause, it may be due to something the body is adapting to during these stressful periods, not something to worry about.
Why Getting Help Helps
While hard work is essential, there are some things you can do in addition to traditional headache pills or some sleep aids. For example, getting regular exercise, boosting blood pressure, and seeing a doctor with a history of headaches can be helpful.
Though just taking a headache medicine might not be helpful right now, you should schedule a visit with your doctor to see if they’ll give you some options.
As mentioned earlier, headaches and migraines can result to one in three things during pregnancy and menopause—it will make you better, it will make you worse or it won’t have any change at all.
In pregnancy and menopause, your hormones are basically not the cause of headaches and migraines. They are just the things that trigger you off like food, stress, or alcohol.
What needs to be done is to treat the underlying cause to prevent the triggers from setting you off. The underlying disorder needs to be determined and treated to get long-term changes.
