hormonial migraines

hi guys.i would like to get some ideas on behalf of my twin sister who is extremely sick with chronic migraines.she is trying to look after a very active 2 year old boy and she has a 16 year old daughter to run around.when she gets her period,her migraines blow up so badly she is in tears 24/7.she gets these severe migraines one week before her period,during her period and one week after.she has seen 2 neurologists in the past and tried so many drugs.

my sister is bed bound all the time which makes it hard for her to look after her family.no pain killers help her and the injections do nothing.she is 43 years old.she is under a lot of stress due to her hypo toddler and i believe she suffers bad tension headaches everday as well as migraines.i went through all of this myself for years before i had a hystorectomy which stopped the hormonial migraines in their tracts.

no specialist will even consider this option for her and she is on a long waiting list to see a gynocologist at the public hospital which is free.she is stopping her periods by taking the pill so she only has it every 4 months but it is not helping.i can't stand seeing her suffer so much because i know exactly what she is going through.

i still suffer chronic headaches everyday but i don't get migraines as much as i once did.i need some advice desperately.please help if you have any ideas.thanks.

thanks flyakite.what gets me is that there must be a lot of women out there in this position so i don't understand why gynocologists are not prepared to to hystorectomys.i will check out that book you mentioned.i think she is too young to be going through pre-menopause.i looked into this recently because i thought i might be going through it but i am not and my sister and i are the same age.
thanks again for your input.have a nice day.

hi smurfyshadow.thanks for your advice.my sister has already been writing down her foods and drink intakes in the past but she did not find anything to set her off with her migraines.my sister has seen 2 neurologists and none can help her.that is like me seeing 4 neurologists and none can help me with my chronic migraines and headaches.

her migraines never stop so there is never a starting point.i strongly believe her stress levels are too high looking after her very naughty toddler son.this on top of her hormonial problems is causing these nasty migraines.wish i could help her.thanks again and take care.

hi notsosicklygirl.thanks for your advice about the hormonial migraines.i am sorry to hear that you had to go through having these awful migraines each month.in my sisters case and in my case years ago,the migraines never stopped.it is everyday and night,week in and week out,year in and year out.it does reduce the quality of life a lot.i am so glad you found something that helped you.funny enough,my sister has just been put on pristiq but she has only taken it for 3 weeks so far and of course no one can expect a drug to work wonders that quickly.i will mention what you said to her.as far as i am concerned,for people like myself and my sister who suffer chornic hormonial migraines,a hystorectomy is the only way they will stop.i am so grateful my hormonial migraines stopped when i had my hystorectomy 9 years ago.take care and good luck.

hi poor girl.sorry to hear you have suffered so badly with the hormonial migraines.i would put the pain on the same level as having a baby.it is really bad.i am glad that you have found something to help you along.i will mention this drug you are taking to my sister and see how it goes.take care and look after yourself.

Hi, I to used to suffer from hormonal migraines but it would only last 3 days. When I got a sever pain in the side of my head I knew it was going to be for the next 3 days. I also took topamax and it worked ok for several years except on those migraines. The only thing I can take that helps is tramadol I think I spelt that right. I am just to tired to get up and go see! Now I take inderal for my migraines 20mg twice a day and that has helped better than anything I have ever been on (except for those bad ones). Also Imetrex does not help those. I have gone through menopause but still get them on occasion.
I am so sorry your sister has to deal with this while trying to raise children. It is hard enough with just a dog that needs to go out. Our children are grown but were 10 and 15 when mine started so that helped allot.

Thanks for the heads up on the tramadol. I don't take it on a regular basis just occasionally so maybe I won't have any problem! Good luck to both you and your sister. :)