Secret #: Get Rid Of Your Rebound Headache
Rebound headaches come from the overuse of over the counter pain meds. These headaches are intense but are very dull. If you suffer from frequent headaches and take these pain relievers frequently you could be adding to your headache problem rather than stopping it.
Unfortunately, the only way to stop rebound headaches is to stop the cause: pain medications. You need to stop taking pain killers to prevent rebound headaches and find out what the root cause is of the headache you are taking medication for.
Your chiropractor can help you find natural alternatives, so you can avoid headaches, and rebound headaches, in the future.
What Is Menstrual Migraine
First, letâs make sure weâre all on the same page about what âmenstrual migraineâ actually means. Menstrual migraine is a type of migraine that always happens just before or at the beginning of your period. Apart from that, theyâre no different from any other migraine attacks, although they can be longer and more painful than non-menstrual attacks .
What Can Help If I Have Pms
You can try these things if you have PMS symptoms:
- To help with food cravings: Eat a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
- To ease bloating: Lower salt in your diet.
- To ease crankiness or anxiety: Avoid caffeine and get plenty of exercise.
- To help with backache, headache, or sore breasts: Try a warm heating pad or acetaminophen , ibuprofen , or naproxen .
- To relax: Try yoga or meditation.
- To prevent and treat pimples: Work with a dermatologist .
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Breaking Down Three Main Treatment Strategies For Menstrual Migraine And How To Pick The Best Option For You
For nearly two out of three women with migraine, attacks occur around the same time as their period. By definition, if you have migraine attacks that start between the two days before your period and the third day of flow, you likely have menstrual migraine. These attacks are often more severe, longer, and cause greater light sensitivity than attacks occurring other times of the month.
Menstrual migraine is caused by the rapid drop in estrogen levels that occurs just prior to your period. I have patients that tell me, Arent headaches a part of having a menstrual cycle? says Dr. Paru David, an internist who works in the division of womens health internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. I educate them that not all women have headaches during their menstrual cycles.
Migraine attacks occurring just before and during a womans period can be the most challenging kind to treat. They do not always respond to the same medicines that work on migraine attacks happening at other times. The reason medications dont work the same is not entirely clear. But its likely related to estrogens effects on other chemicals.
What Else Should I Know
When your child has a splitting headache, itâs easy to worry. But headaches rarely are a symptom of something serious.
- are happening a lot more than usual
- donât go away easily
- are very painful
- happen mostly in the morning
Also note whether other symptoms happen with the headaches. This can help the doctor find what might be causing them. Call the doctor if your child has a headache and:
- seems less alert than usual
- got the headache after a head injury or loss of consciousness
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When To See A Doctor About Headaches
Dont power through regular head pain solo. See a doctor if youre experiencing headaches once per week or more or if they interfere with your everyday life. Not only can healthcare providers prescribe you medication, but they can also identify a potential underlying medical condition. Major red flags include:
- Headaches with an explosive onset
- Headaches that come on during certain activities
- Headaches with fever or stiff neck
- Headaches associated with changes in cognition
- Headaches with weakness or numbness
- Headaches that start after age 50
Play it safe and always seek out professional help if you have any concern about your health. The American Migraine Foundation offers resources for how to talk to your practitioner about headaches in order to help you find the best plan of action.
Can Periods Cause Migraine Attacks
Theres no one culprit to blame for menstrual migraine, but doctors believe the main issue is fluctuating hormones around your period. A few days before you bleed, theres a drop in estrogen that can trigger a migraine, Dr. Ailani explains. On top of that, the shedding of the uterine lining releases substances called prostaglandins, which may also play a role.
Its thought that the drop in estrogen may cause contractions in blood vessels that lead to intense pain, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. Its also possible that estrogen activates calcitonin gene-related peptide , a protein in the brain that can trigger a migraine attack, Dr. Ailani says.
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Why Do Menstrual Migraines Occur
Migraines occur due to changes in hormone levels during the menstrual cycle. The hormones that are responsible for triggering migraines are, relaxin during the premenstrual period, and estrogen and progesterone during menstruation. Relaxin makes the blood vessels dilate and allow blood to flow into the body thus causing stretching. Estrogen and progesterone control the flow of blood in the body by constricting the blood vessels. If a woman has a history of migraines, then the migraines usually occur during the premenstrual period, when the level of estrogen is still high..
How Are Menstrual Migraines Treated What Medicines Can I Use
A menstrual migraine is usually treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications . The NSAIDs most often used for menstrual migraine include:
- Corticosteroids.
These drugs should also be started two to three days before your period starts. Continue taking them throughout your menstrual flow.
Because fluid retention often occurs at the same time as your menses, diuretics have been used to prevent menstrual migraines. Some healthcare providers may recommend that you follow a low-salt diet immediately before the start of your menses.
Leuprolide is a medication that affects your hormone levels. Its used only when all other treatment methods have been tried and havent worked.
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Acute Treatment For Migraine
Acute treatment is when youre trying to stop a migraine in progress . Acute treatments vary, as every migraine sufferer is different, but may include over-the-counter drugs or prescription ones.
Regardless of the type of drug, your doctor may recommend that acute treatment be taken right away, when symptoms first begin. In fact, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Qualitys guidelines for primary care of headaches advises that patients take medication early in a migraine attack to improve effectiveness. 2
Be sure to work with your doctor to find the right treatment for your migraines.
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Secret #: Get Rid Of Your Sinus Headache
Hopefully, your sinus headache isnt caused by a sinus infection. If you have pain in your upper teeth, a fever, and a yellow or green nasal discharge, you might have an infection. See your doctor for antibiotics.
However, if you regularly get sinus headaches due to changes in air pressure or other reasons, you can try some of the following remedies:
- Try a Hot Shower You want your sinuses to drain and steam usually does the trick. Try taking a hot shower or holding your head over a pot of steaming water. Be careful not to burn your face!
- Neti Pot This ancient remedy comes to us from India. These little teapot looking items have a long spout that goes inside one nostril. The water solution will go through the sinuses and come out the other nostril, removing mucus.
- Hot and Cold Compresses Many people find relief by alternating between hot and cold compresses placed on their forehead. This reduces swelling and allows the sinuses to drain.
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil This powerful smelling oil from Eucalyptus leaves really works to clear up sinuses. Try smelling a few drops placed on a cloth for 10 minutes or put a drop or two in hot water and breathe in the steam.
If you think your sinus headache might be due to an allergy, be sure to read secret #3.
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What Can Trigger A Migraine Attack
Those who suffer from reoccurring migraines often become familiar with their particular triggers. While not every migraine sufferer experiences the same triggers, some are more common than others. Migraines can occur during times of heightened stress or if a person experiences a change in sleep patterns. Spending hours in front of the computer or another blue light device can trigger a migraine too. Significant stress at work has also been shown to cause migraines.
Drinking too much caffeine or indulging in too much alcohol can also cause migraines. Recent studies have shown a correlation between red wine and migraines. A change in seasons or barometric pressure can also affect migraines, which is why many migraine sufferers tend to report more episodes during the spring and summer seasons.
How To Identify A Period Headache
Migraines are easily misdiagnosed as a common headache. Because of this, the American Migraine Foundation reports that less than 5% of migraines are seen, diagnosed, and appropriately treated by a health care provider. Here are some ways to identify menstrual migraines.
Pavlovic emphasizes that migraines are more severe than the common headache. It’s a chronic neurological disorder. “Though headache is generally the most disabling symptom of migraine, migraines are disorders of brain hyperexcitability that encompasses many other features,” she says.
Unlike migraines, headaches cause throbbing pressure that differs in intensity based on where the pain is on your head. The average headache goes away by itself and may last from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. This is a short amount of time compared to menstrual migraines, which can last for days.
Migraines may also be thought of as a PMS symptom. However, menstrual migraines have more severe symptoms that set them apart from the average period. Pavlovic says difficulty sleeping is also associated with menstrual migraines.
Sensitivity to movement, including vertigo and balance issues, is another notable symptom of menstrual migraine. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports women are more vulnerable to this symptom around the time of their period.
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Does Caffeine Help Headache
A good answer to this question should clarify whether caffeine helps headache or not, how much caffeine is needed as well as how long does it take for caffeine to be effective. The answer should also include possible side effects of caffeine and whether it is safe to take caffeine while pregnant..
How To Cope With Long
Even if its not a medical emergency, a headache that persists can take a real toll on your quality of life. For example, people with migraine know that when their headache begins they may lose a sizable chunk of productive work or family time. Arranging for strategies to cope for one day might be bearable, but being out of commission for two or even three days can be more difficult. Even the worry over an impending migraine, especially for those whose headaches are long or severe, can interfere with daily life.
Here are some ways to cope with a longer-lasting headache.
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Reducing Or Stopping Your Period
Youve already had a rundown on birth control. Now its time to talk about menstrual suppression. Hormonal options may reduce menstrual bleeding or stop it completely.
This may be particularly important if youre living with bleeding disorders such asvon Willebrand disease and thrombocytopenia. Hormonal options are also a common intervention for those with uterine fibroids,endometriosis, or naturally heavy menstrual flows.
Heres what you need to know.
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Seek Help From A Chiropractor
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Complementary Menstrual Migraine Treatments
There are many different approaches to help manage menstrual migraine some involve medicinal treatments and others do not. Often it may involve a combination.
Rest assure that it is possible to reduce and in some cases eliminate menstrual migraine. But it may involve working with a specialist and some trial and error.
Complementary approaches for those with menstrual migraine include:
- Dietary changes
- Other natural therapies
Most women with menstrual migraine have a healthy hormonal balance. However, if there is an imbalance of estrogen in relation to progesterone then a healthy diet is the first step . What we eat plays a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing.
Nothing else affects our health more than what we eat.
If you experience migraine attacks then your diet can be important.
We hear all the time from the health community something like eat a varied and well-balanced diet to help prevent disease. Its been said so many times we can become numb to this important advice.
To complicate things, some healthy foods may also act as triggers. Finding out which foods trigger attacks is not always easy.
Menstrual Migraine Vs Menstrually Related Migraine
There are several types of migraine, and a subset of migraine is menstrual migraine, which, simply stated, is when a person has migraine attacks only around menstruation, says Dr. Hindiyeh.
There is also menstrually related migraine, which means that although you certainly get migraine around your monthly cycle, youll also get migraine attacks at other times of the month, Hindiyeh says.
Most women who have migraine attacks around the time of menstruation have menstrually related migraine, according to Hindiyeh. Their menstrual cycle will certainly be a trigger, but they also have other triggers or other times when theyll get migraine , says Hindiyeh.
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Do You Suffer From Pms Headaches Or Menstrual Migraines Weve Pulled Together 4 Natural Remedies To Help You Relieve Tension And Discomfort
According to stats, 60% of women experience menstrual migraines. So, if youre prone to getting a headache on the build-up to your period, youre not alone! For some people, a throbbing head can also be accompanied by nausea, fatigue and other pains in the body. Whilst severe symptoms should always be checked up on with a trip to the GP, there are also natural ways to ease this PMS related pain.
Reach For An Ice Pack Or Hot Pack
Which one you prefer is up to you, but they both can help with migraines and headaches. Ice packs work because they basically numb the area, Dr. Newman says. Hot packs work because they increase the blood flow to that area. If youre at home, try stepping in the shower and letting the warm water hit your head.
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Medicines That Prevent Menstrual Migraine
Talk to your doctor about whether these medications might help you stop your headaches before they start.
If your periods don’t come on schedule or you also get migraine headaches at other times in your menstrual cycle, you can take preventive medicine every day. Drugs that prevent migraine headaches include:
- Some types of antidepressants
- Some types of antiseizure medicines
- Blood pressure medicines such as beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers
- CGRP inhibitors, these are a new class of preventive medicine
Devices which may be used for treatment or prevention include:.
- Cefaly, a small headband device that sends electrical pulses through the forehead to stimulate a nerve linked with migraines
- Spring TMS or eNeura sTM, a device for people who have an aura before migraine headaches. You hold it at the back of your head at the first sign of a headache, and it gives off a magnetic pulse that stimulates part of the brain.
- Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulator gammaCore is a hand-held portable device placed over the vagus nerve in the neck. It releases a mild electrical stimulation to the nerve’s fibers to relieve pain.
Heres What To Do When Youre Dealing With Persistent Headache During Your Period
If you get a PMS headache or migraine every time you have your period or are getting close to having it, it gives you nothing to look forward to during this whole week of the month. Thats a bit sad but this article is here to give you hope and relief.
In some ways, having a headache before, during or after menstruation is similar to being a man and having a headache. Thats because there are anatomical and physiological reasons why people get headaches. As examples, some potential causes are the following: forward head position , low blood sugar, low protein levels, trigger points in the neck, back and shoulder muscles, and hormone imbalances).
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Menstrual Migrainemigraine Before A Period
Menstrual migraine attacks occur in the two days before a womans period and the first three days of flow. These are times when estrogen levels drop. These attacks are generally more intense and longer than attacks at other times of the month. Attacks can also happen during and after a period.
Keep a headache and cycle diary if you think your migraine attacks are related to your menstrual cycle. Note the timing and specific symptoms, as this may help your doctor determine whether you have menstrual migraine and which treatment is best for you.