Headaches and Hormones

[Robin C.]

I've been on hormones for a little over a month now. Everything has been going great and I've been happy with each and every side-effect which is surprising even to me - only now I seem to have random headaches more frequently. I used to have headaches only when particularly malnourished but now they seem to spring up at random and nothing I've tried helps them go away.

I read online that hormones do contribute to female migraines as 70% of migraine sufferers are women. Have any of you experienced the "hormone headache" effect since starting? Somehow I understand why my mom can be so angry at random intervals sometimes - I really feel like the epitome of crap right now lol.

[pennyjane]

hi robin...no, i never experienced that...but if i had i'd have made it immediately known to my doc.....i hope you will too...soon.

[trbrink]

I've been on hormones for a little over a month now. Everything has been going great and I've been happy with each and every side-effect which is surprising even to me - only now I seem to have random headaches more frequently. I used to have headaches only when particularly malnourished but now they seem to spring up at random and nothing I've tried helps them go away.

I read online that hormones do contribute to female migraines as 70% of migraine sufferers are women. Have any of you experienced the "hormone headache" effect since starting? Somehow I understand why my mom can be so angry at random intervals sometimes - I really feel like the epitome of crap right now lol.

I second the fact that you should share this with your doctor. You should also start to keep a diary of when these occur.  Notate what you eating, what was going on in your life(ie were you or were you not under a lot of stress), and how long after you had taken your medication was the onset of the headache.  This will be very helpful for the doctor to diagnose why you are getting the headaches.  If you have a sudden change in vision, loss of feeling in you limbs, or can't go about normal activities(like you can't walk), accompanying the headache, you should go imediately to the Emergency Room at your local hospital. You don't want to take chances with headaches.  For what it is worth though, when I first went on hormones, I experienced some unexplained headaches, however they went away by the end of the second month.

[Jordan]

I HAVE THESE!!!

In fact I have a random, what seems like once every week.5 headache, and I never used to get headaches.

I dont know why either.

They feel like front of the head headaches...

Drinking water doesnt seem to help.

IDK. if you talk to a doc, could you post what they said?

[Imadique]

I get them too, I had assumed it was to do with stretching the interval between dosages out too far (or not far enough). It does seem to coincide with the times when I can't eat at a regular interval.

[Renate]

I'm not saying that it's low blood sugar, but that is something that can sneak up on you.
Headaches are one of the first signs, your brain needs a lot of sugar.

Eating often (5-6 times a day) and small doses of protein (cheese, etc) may help.
It is seemingly random, even with a good breakfast, you can get hit with it in the morning anyway.

I ran into low blood sugar before taking HRT.
I've had a few nasty espisodes (almost falling down) before I learned how to recognize it.

[Anonymouse]

I got very severe migraine type headaches during the first couple of years of HRT. I was also very depressed and not looking after myself so that may also be linked. I can't remember when they stopped but its been quite a few years and I just don't get them any more.

Ann

[Imadique]

I'm not saying that it's low blood sugar, but that is something that can sneak up on you.
Headaches are one of the first signs, your brain needs a lot of sugar.

Eating often (5-6 times a day) and small doses of protein (cheese, etc) may help.
It is seemingly random, even with a good breakfast, you can get hit with it in the morning anyway.

I ran into low blood sugar before taking HRT.
I've had a few nasty espisodes (almost falling down) before I learned how to recognize it.

That actually seems like quite a good explanation (for me, anyway) seeing as I've cut down drastically on sugar (soft drinks/chocolate/junk etc). Maybe I've gone too far 

[Inamorata]

Sometime when you are on long term HRT you can get bad headaches from higher prolactin levels usually caused by over use of HRT and anti - androgens.

[Just Mandy]

None for me. Are you sure you're not dehydrated?

Amanda

[Robin C.]

Update:

I read over all your responses, and I think based on what others have said, I came down to a few conclusions.

1 - Hormonal influx. I thought it would be more convenient if I took hormones at the evening rather than first thing in the morning. I started doing that right before having the headache episodes

2 - I haven't been eating enough sugars and proteins now that you mention it. I started on a more meat oriented regime and they started to become less frequent - and I started drinking a few glasses of soda here and there. It actually helps a lot. As for water, I drink plenty of water already so I don't think its that much of a problem.

3 - My doctor said to start using aspirin so I went out and got myself a box. It's supposed to help against blood clots and headaches - I think I've been feeling the effects as my arm cramps are becoming less frequent.

4 - I was told that 70% of women experience migraines and I think it runs in the family. I'm taking female hormones so I'm more vulnerable to being hit by them anyway so in a way I should get used to them appearing some of the time.


Thats about it.