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For
the thousands of women who suffer from migraine headaches, there's
good news. Several treatment methods are available.
There are steps you can take before the migraine, and even if you
don't catch the symptoms in time, steps you can take after its onset.Fortunately,
in most cases, medications that work in halting non-menstrual migraines
also work at halting menstrual migraines.
To halt a menstrual
migraine, take your medication right after the menstrual migraine's
onset. To prevent it from striking in the first place, take
the medication right before menstruation and then keep taking it
during the period of the anticipated headache. Studies have
found that taking hormones like estrogen or estrogen-based medicines
an also help to prevent the attacks. In order to reduce the
duration and frequency of a menstrual migraine, you can take prophylactic
drugs such as calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, anticonvulsants,
or tricyclic antidepressants.
Some other drugs
to consider, which have proven effective in aborting menstrual migraines,
include naproxen sodium (found in Aleve), and ibuprofen (found in
Advil and Motrin). These are known as NSAIDs.Some patients
have also found good results using a combination analgesic combining
aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine. Women whose menstrual
migraines occur in a predictable pattern may use any of these 24
hours before the anticipated beginning of a menstrual migraine,
and may keep using it throughout the duration of the headache. Because
NSAIDs normally inhibit prostaglandis, they can also relieve a woman's
menstrual cramps.
Triptans
such as rizatriptan, naratriptan, zolmitriptan and sumatriptan have
also been found effective in halting a woman's menstrual migraines. They can also control the vomiting and nausea often associated
with them. Sumatriptan especially, when given two or three
days before the headache, and continued during its duration, was
found to help reduce the severity and frequency of menstrual migraines.
Dihydroergotamine
(or DHE) is medicine which can be used either as a nasal spray
or it can be given intravenously. It works to halt a migraine
already in progress. Ergotamine is a medication that can be
taken orally, intra-nasally or rectally and is used a few days before
the headache and around the woman's time of menstruation; it is
used to prevent a migraine.
When
the above medications are found to be ineffective, doctors sometimes
prescribe daily preventative medications like anticonvulsants, beta-blockers,
tricyclic antidepressants, and calcium channel blockers, in order
to reduce the severity and frequency of menstrual migraines. The
doctor's choice of which to use is solely based on his personal
experience and preference along with potential side effects and
the woman's other medical conditions.
If you're a female
and you already take preventative medications but you still get
migraines, ask your doctor about increasing the amount about the
time of menstruation. Or you can talk to him about hormone
treatment.Finally, keep in mind that some women who have hard-to-treat
menstrual migraines are often helped by the use of low-dose oral
contraceptives.These reduce estrogen fluctuations thus providing
relief. |