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Strangely,
about 70 percent of women who get regular migraines report that
this condition improves during pregnancy, with migraine attacks
coming less often and being less severe. Thirty percent report
that the condition does not improve, but either gets worse or remains
the same. If you're one of the ones whose migraines are worse
during pregnancy, this is probably because of a higher level of
estrogen during the first trimester. You can usually improve
this condition under the correct care of a neurologist or OB/GYN.
Normally,
a migraine causes severe pain.But equally concerning for
the pregnant woman is the nausea and vomiting that often comes with
migraines.These should be treated in order to avoid placing
stress on the unborn baby.
During
the first trimester of pregnancy, Tylenol with codeine is the treatment
that most doctors recommend. It's to be taken immediately
when there are signs of an impending attack. During this time,
it's possible to also be on prophylactic medication, another treatment
option for migraines. Many doctors will place their patients
on propranolol low dose, with 10 to 20 milligrams taken a day. In
most cases, this low dose will work fine. In some instances
when the doctor sees that this medicine won't be appropriate, he
might suggest taking an anti-seizure drug. However, the risk
to the mother and baby must and is evaluated before recommending
an extreme treatment like that.
Of course,
the standard treatment for most with migraines are triptans (such
as Imitrex). Some pregnant women wonder if they can continue
taking these. Generally, this is not a good idea. The
option meantioned earlier, of Tylonol with codeine, is usually the
first treatment option once the doctor knows a woman is pregnant. If this doesn't work and the woman's headaches remain severe,
she should see a headache specialist.Please note that only a team
of a neurologist and OB/GYN are qualified to determine if a woman
can take triptan while she's pregnant.
In most
cases, women should not take medication during pregnancy. However,
with migraines, the extreme pain of the headache causes the woman's
adrenaline level to rise. This in turn could increase the
baby's heart rate as well as the mother's blood pressure.For
this reason, it's often a better medical choice to treat the migraines
than to let them continue unabated.Some doctors will even
prescribe daily medicine for pregnant moms with severe pain accompanied
by vomiting and nausea. This again is a decision that must
be left to your headache specialist in conjunction with your OB/GYN.
What
if you're not sure if your headaches are migraines? Is it
safe for a pregnant woman to get an MRI or CT scan? The decision
concerning the MRI should be left to the doctor. If he feels
it's necessary, you can usually safely have an MRI done of your
brain. However, a pregnant woman should never have a CT of
her done. This uses X-rays, which most doctors agree might
be unhealthy for the forming fetus
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