PMS and Migraine

There is, of course, a well-known correlation between PMS and migraine headaches. Nobody knows exactly why more women than men get migraines, but we know that many migraines are triggered by hormonal shifts, and one of the most common of those cyclic shifts happens during PMS, so many of us dread that monthly week or so when we're most prone to migraine headaches.

I'm no exception. Even if I'm used to having headaches 15-20 days a month, or even more, I know that I'm almost predestined to having them for the few days before my period and during it, and they will be worse than usual. Something nasty to look forward to while I'm already in a great mood.

And I guess it makes a kind of sense. That's when my estrogen levels are at their lowest. By contrast, when I was pregnant, both times, I never had a single migraine headache. I threw up all day, every day, for the whole 7-8.5 months I was pregnant, starting four days after conception. That wasn't much fun, and it's a good indicator that my estrogen upturns hit me fast and furious. But with it came a total reprieve from migraines. Almost, but not quite, makes me long for pregnancy. When I remember the sciatica too, though, I come to my senses.

And no, I can't just do hormone therapy to keep the migraines at bay. In the first place, it's counter-indicated for lupus patients. In the second, even the tiniest mini-pill causes the same morning sickness I have almost immediately after I get pregnant, and that isn't either a comfortable or a socially acceptable alternative. I've baptized every offramp in town and had to assure more than one nice highway patrolman that I haven't been drinking and I really am ok. Funny in retrospect, but not when you're in danger of soiling the man's highly polished boots. He's also more likely to believe me when I look six months pregnant than he would now when I merely look overly thin. The last thing I need is to spend time proving I'm not a DUI.

So my apologies to everyone who crosses my path for another, oh, two to three days.

Have a nice day.