Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Another night where I'm up, when I can't sleep for another bad headache.  My question for the post op gals... I stopped HRT for a month before my FFS so I wouldn't have any potential clotting complications during my surgery.  My headaches, however, returned in full force about a week after stopping.  I had GCS back in 2001.

Its basically going through menopause all over again, but has anyone else experienced terrible headaches from low hormone levels?

  Perhaps its just my brain responding to the stress I'm putting my body through.  I can tell you one certain thing however.. I will not be going off HRT for a VERY long time after this surgery, unless its for dire health reasons.

Headaches seem to be a common occurrence as a result of low sex hormones.

My wife started having migraines after she went on birth control; the consensus of all her doctors over the years is that changing estrogen levels abruptly can sometimes trigger migraines in someone who has the tendency already. (Apparently, it's not uncommon for girls at puberty to find that fluctuating hormone levels trigger migraines.) I've been lucky enough not to have this particular issue, but it's not unheard of to have sudden shifts in E cause migraines. Hopefully, in your case, going back on it will help!

But usually migraines occur when estrogen levels drop, just before menstruation. Birth control pills contain an estrogen that greatly impacts blood pressure (increases it) and tends to significantly increase water retention + the progestin component also may exacerbate this and cause migraines. Not exactly the same as the bio-identical hormones we take or those produced naturally by women.

Fluctuating estrogen levels of ANY kind (be it "bioidentical" or not) is a very well known migraine trigger. Women tend to have worsening migraines around their period and during menopause due to the drop in estrogen levels that occur during this time. There's even a migraine drug, Frova, specifically indicated for menstrual migraine.

Like you, if I try and stop or lower my estradiol prescription I get horrific migraines that barely respond to my usual migraine meds. For that reason I am sure I religiously take my HRT, and as I am on a transdermal product (compounded gel) I have no intention of stopping prior to my upcoming surgery. My doctors have suggested that I use a patch or even the implanted pellet for my HRT, as these have proven helpful in treating hormone-related migraines in cis women, but I've done okay with my gel for some years now and don't want to mess with a good thing.

Hope this helps. Migraine has been a huge issue for me for years, and I know how disabling they can be.

Kay, yes, I thinl we mostly agree; it's often a drop in estrogen that triggers migraines. I was also referring to a change in estrogen that makes someone have their *first* migraine, as happened to my wife; after that, they will of course be sensitive to certain things that can cause subsequent migraines. However, it is also true that changes in the estrogen levels of cis women (and it doesn't get more bioidentical than that) can trigger a migraine. It doesn't mean estrogen is bad, any more than caffeine or sleeping (variations in which are other common triggers) are bad, but it's a known issue for some susceptible people.

My wife has been off birth control for years, and she still gets migraines.