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Does pregnancy stop cluster headaches ??

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Migraine Headache
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Posted 1/8/2012 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
Im trying to find out if any women have had Cluster Headaches while pregnant. Going by what an other lady wrote on an other forum you don't get CH while pregnant.

I had a mate daughter at my place yesterday and she suffers with a type of Fibromyalgia she has suffered with this all her life except during pregnancy. When she is pregnant she gets on pain. This got me thinking thats why I asked Does pregnancy stop cluster headaches ??

In a quick google of this maybe it has something to do with higher levels of Progesteron
It might be worth checking out if you are a women. Progesteron if I read it right has anti inflammatory properties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progesterone
Please let me know as it might help lots of others. ALL THE BEST

This is what she wrote.

I have had cluster headaches for 30 years. I am a female medical practitioner and had access to very good care from neurologist colleagues. I was tried on all the preventative therapies - they would work for a while and then the headaches would break through.Oxygen was very helpful and I used Imigran IMI when I didn't have access to oxygen. In my early thirties I wanted to start a family but was very anxious about how I would cope with the cluster headaches during my pregnancy without being able to use both preventative and abortive medication.At that stage I was having clusters every 4 months that lasted between 4 and six weeks headaches occurring daily to twice daily. They made my life an absolute misery and I felt very neurotic and self obsessed when I was going through a bout of headaches.
To my amazement I had no headaches whatsoever during my pregnancy but I got a cluster within 3 weeks of delivering my son. I wondered what protective factors the raised hormone levels during pregnancy might be affording me and reflected on male predominance in cluster headache sufferers. My obstetrician told me the predominant hormone in pregnancy is progesterone. I went onto a progestogenic contraceptive pill(.I had been on a number of contraceptives previously but they had more oestrogen than progesterone). I found that if I remained on it continuously - without the customary 7 day period off it - I remained free of the headaches.This kept me headache free for 10 years. I then thought I would try and see if I could have a brief break from the pill - but the headaches immediately recurred and one they started the cycle of daily headaches ran its course for 4-6 weeks. So I went back on uninterrupted progesterone medication. I am now on hormone replacement - both progesterone and oestrogen as I am postmenopausal. I thought my cluster headaches were behind me but earlier this year I was started on anew antidepressant which works on the melatonin system and I had a cluster headache. I immediately treated myself with 2-3 times my usual dose of progesterone which I think halted the headache cluster.I stayed on this for about 10 days before returning to my usual dose.
So the take home message is that continuous progesterone based contraceptive treatment may offer you the miraculous help it afforded me - without it my life would have been terrible. You will need to talk to your own doctor about the potential negative effects for you - I had none fortunately. Obviously giving men progesterone is not straightforward and may well be out of the question.
I really hope this helps some-one out there.
Posted 1/9/2012 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys have a read of this that I wrote to Kate from an other site.

Hi Kate MANY THANKS for your info. Iv found one study the only study done on this and 26% of the women said the same thing no CH while pregnant and lot of women with CH only have one kid so you are not alone there. As CH effect so they say older women more maybe CH dose have some thing to do with hormones.When you google what hormones do it is very interesting. I see a lot of younger CH suffers get CH at an age where the hormones are very active so hormones must play a big part in CH. Progesteron Creams or tablets may help you out big time with CH but have a chat to your Dr about them first. The only other study I came across was on migraines suffers 64% of women while pregnant don't get them.

While Iv been writing back to you Iv been researching and Iv found out some thing very interesting for me. In my last cycle (Nov just gone) I was looking for some thing to clean my lymph nodes I came across castor oil so I covered my body in it and went to bed fully expecting to wake up 1-2 hours later with a attack but I didn't wake up for about 6 hours later I had a little attack but I never had to get out of bed this hasn't happen with me in my 13 years with CH, And to my amazement it stopped my cycle half way through my CH cycle.

While researching I found out that castor oil can help hormone imbalance so maybe this is what stopped my cycle short of what it should have been.

( Just incases some one is reading this and thinking castor oil might work on them please do your research and chat with your DR as I wasn't on any meds at all ( help fix's one thing wreck an other) and I was drinking 3Lts of water a day and eating healthy food, women have to be more careful then men)

MANY THANKS KATE for taking the time on me much appreciated. ALL THE BEST TO YOU.

Dose any one have any thing they can add to this please do so as I need help ALL THE BEST
Posted 11/18/2013 6:40 AM (GMT 0)
I have been suffering from Cluster Headaches now for 13 years. They started at 15 years of age. I always wondered the connection between CH and hormones because for 3 of my pregnancies, I haven't had a CH at all! Though, they do come a couple months after the birth.
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