Causes of headaches
Headache during or after menstruation - menstrual migraine is quite common, this condition is accompanied by pain in the temples or forehead, dizziness, nausea and spots in the eyes. There are several reasons for this problem:
- influence of estrogen;
- testosterone surge;
- diseases of the nervous system;
- problems with the cardiovascular system;
- kidney diseases.
Effect of estrogen
Estrogen is one of the main hormones of the female reproductive system; during menstruation, it regulates the separation of the uterine mucosa - the endometrium, causing bleeding; this active substance also performs many other functions.
If during ovulation the egg is not fertilized by a sperm, the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the blood rise, and menstruation begins. Hormones of the estrogen group have one unpleasant feature - they impair the outflow of fluid from cells. It is because of this that a few days before and during menstruation, when a surge and release of a large amount of estrogen occurs, many girls notice swelling of the face, legs and abdomen.
Edema has not only aesthetic disadvantages, it also causes an increase in pressure in the vessels, because more fluid begins to circulate through them. Hypertension most acutely affects the blood vessels of the brain, because in this case it is accompanied by severe headaches and dizziness.
Testosterone surge
Due to the surge in testosterone after menstruation, nausea and headaches occur. An increase in testosterone levels is due to the fact that at the end of menstruation, estrogen is not released as actively, so the first few days of a new cycle in the blood increase the level of androgens - male sex hormones.
Testosterone does not retain water, but it causes an increase in blood pressure, an active heartbeat, and the force of heart contractions increases. Hypertension causes nausea and migraines.
Nervous system diseases
Sometimes a person does not even notice that he has problems with the nervous system (neurosis, chronic fatigue and others) caused by lack of sleep, constant stress, depression and other factors. Typically, diseases of the nervous system (nervous system) cause headaches in the evening, reduce appetite, increase fatigue, are rarely accompanied by migraines, and a woman perceives this as ordinary fatigue.
Against the background of active hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, the symptoms of NS diseases worsen, accompanied by nervousness, irritability or tearfulness, and a severe headache begins.
Diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys
These problems appear more often in women over 30 years of age. Weak vessels, overgrown with cholesterol plaques, or having lost their elasticity due to varicose veins, cannot withstand the increase in pressure during the active release of estrogen; they send constant signals about stretching to the hypothalamus, the center in the brain that is responsible for maintaining health. In this case, a migraine begins, a feeling of pain behind the eyes or in the forehead, severe weakness and nausea.
Kidney diseases, due to which these organs cannot remove excess fluid accumulated due to estrogen, also cause a significant increase in blood pressure and headaches.
Symptoms of menstrual migraine
It is quite difficult to distinguish menstrual migraine from a regular headache, because its manifestations coincide with the symptoms of hypertension, fatigue, intoxication and some other conditions of the body.
The main signs of menstrual migraine:
- severe headache in the forehead and temples;
- painkillers do not help;
- painful sensations usually haunt a woman from the moment she awakens;
- they do not go away after a day's rest;
- migraine is accompanied by high blood pressure and nausea;
- significantly reduces performance due to decreased concentration and malaise.
If these symptoms appear at the end of your period and continue after them, then most likely they are caused by menstrual migraine.
Treatment
When choosing adequate conservative therapy, the specialist takes into account the form of dysmenorrhea (mild, moderate or severe), the nature of the pain syndrome, its causes and the individual characteristics of the patient. Surgical intervention is indicated only in cases of severe dysmenorrhea, which is accompanied by pathologies of the reproductive system (tumors, adhesions, etc.).
There are a number of general recommendations, the observance of which allows you to cope with the initial manifestations of painful menstruation without the use of medications:
- giving up bad habits: alcohol, smoking, caffeine;
- normalization of working and rest conditions;
- exclusion of stress factors;
- good sleep;
- healthy diet, excluding fatty, fried and hard-to-digest foods;
- normalization of weight (it has been proven that obese women are more likely than others to suffer from painful periods);
- moderate sports, water procedures.
Non-drug therapy is aimed at reducing the intensity of pain during menstruation and reducing the body's need for painkillers. Depending on the pathogenesis of dysmenorrhea, it includes the following methods of influence:
- acupuncture;
- electrophoresis;
- massage;
- manual therapy;
- breathing exercises;
- psychological help;
- auto-training.
Drug treatment of dysmenorrhea is based on the use of several groups of drugs that differ in their mechanism of action:
- gestagens;
- oral contraceptives (COCs);
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Gestagens affect secretory changes in the endometrium, but do not affect the ovulatory function of the ovaries. Progesterone and its derivatives, as well as testosterone, are actively used. They qualitatively reduce the contractile activity of the uterus, suppressing the production of prostaglandins. They also reduce the excitability of nerve fibers localized in the muscle layer of the uterus.
Oral contraceptives have a beneficial effect on a woman’s hormonal levels and normalize the menstrual cycle. They reduce blood loss during menstruation by suppressing the ovulation process. Also, birth control pills reduce nervous excitability and contractile activity of the uterus, which is why the pain that precedes taking COCs is significantly reduced. Read more about oral contraceptives →
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed to patients who, for whatever reason, do not want to use oral contraception. The effectiveness of NSAIDs is due to their analgesic properties, which are associated with a decrease in the production of prostaglandins.
The main disadvantage of these drugs is their short effect - from 2 to 6 hours. The advantage lies in the occasional rather than constant use of medications, as is the case with COCs and gestagens. It is enough to use NSAIDs for tension before the onset of menstruation and on its first day, that is, only at the time when it is really necessary. The drugs in this group are Ketoprofen, Diclofenac, Nimesil, Mig.
The groups of drugs listed above, at the discretion of the specialist, can be supplemented with drugs such as antispasmodics, tranquilizers, antioxidants, as well as vitamin complexes, herbal remedies and homeopathy.
What to do for menstrual migraine
Often menstrual migraine lasts 2-3 days after menstruation and goes away without the use of any medications. To speed up this process, it is necessary to exclude salty, sweet and fatty foods, because they contribute to even greater fluid accumulation and increased blood pressure, and also disrupt the functioning of the liver and kidneys.
Light physical activity: walking in the fresh air, swimming, slow running, yoga or dancing will speed up the removal of retained water from the body, and will also increase the release of the hormone oxytocin, one of the effects of which is pain relief.
Rest and good emotions cope well with menstrual migraines. The first allows the body to recover normally after menstruation, and the second, like sports, causes the release of oxytocin and relieves pain.
If headaches during and after menstruation are very strong, interfere with normal concentration and perform simple actions, migraine is accompanied by dizziness and nausea, then you need to visit a gynecologist and neurologist.
Diagnosis of menstrual migraine
First of all, if you have menstrual migraine, you should visit a gynecologist and get tested for hormonal status - measuring the level of certain hormones in the blood. This procedure will allow you to see deviations from the norm of any active substances, after which it is necessary to select therapy.
If you have a headache after your period, you should also consult a neurologist to check the health of your nervous system. Such monitoring will allow you to find the causes of non-hormonal menstrual migraine, which are usually easy to eliminate with the help of suitable sedatives.
If the first two examinations do not produce results, then it is necessary to visit a cardiologist and have an MRI of the head, because pain due to the appearance of tumors in the brain can worsen under the influence of hormonal changes.
Recommendations
A migraine appeared during menstrual bleeding or after it, it does not matter; in any situation, a number of rules should be followed so as not to aggravate the current situation.
So, if you have a severe headache, you should not drink alcohol, smoke, apply a heating pad with ice, or take a second painkiller tablet if the first one did not help.
What can you do first? At the first sign of a headache, you need to provide first aid to yourself. Ventilating the room, resting, and self-massage of the head will help with this.
