Is Hormone Therapy Safe For Women With Migraine?

Women undergo hormonal changes at different stages of their lives. Of all, undergoing hormonal changes during their pre-menopause and menopause can be a very painful experience for a few women.

Hormone therapy may be safe to treat menopausal symptoms in women who suffer from migraines, according to a new study.

Also if the women is suffering from migraine then the problem is likely to double. Well, if you one among this group then taking up hormone therapy may be safe to treat menopausal symptoms in women who suffer from migraines, as per the study.

So what exactly is a migraine? Migraine is a headache of varying intensity, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.

Hormones have often not been prescribed for migraine sufferers because of the association between exogenous oestrogen use and an increased risk of stroke in women who have migraines.

This led to the recommendation that combined oral contraceptives (better known as birth control pills) should be used cautiously or avoided entirely in women with a history of migraines, depending on whether or not the migraines were accompanied by an aura.

However, the study "brought further clarity to its safe use, especially in younger women (below 60) who are closer to the time of menopause (within 10 years of menopause)," said Peter F. Schnatz, from Thomas Jefferson University in the US.

"Since migraines affect one in every four women and they are often advised to avoid hormone therapy, the new findings may have significant public health implications," added Jelena Pavlovic, from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the New York, while presenting the findings during the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

For the study, the team analysed data for 67,903 participants to examine the relationship between migraines and cardiovascular disease events and their interaction with hormone therapy use.

It was discovered that women with migraines tend to drink and exercise less than those without migraines.

Importantly, researchers did not detect a significant risk of cardiovascular disease events associated with a history of migraines. Most significantly, from the treatment safety perspective, there was no impact from hormone therapy on this relationship.

Also learn about few of these common causes for migraine here. Check them out.

1. Stress:

Any kind of stress is dangerous. Stress leads to the release of peptides that leads to inflammation if the blood vessels. This in turn causes the nerve cells to become over-stimulated, causing pain and one thus develops symptoms of migraine.

2. Lack Of Sleep:

Sleep in very important for our overall health. Lack of proper sleep even for one night can cause severe headache in few people. When you are deprived of sleep it leads to increased expression of proteins p38 and PKA, which help regulate sensory response in facial nerves that plays a key role in migraines.

3. Skipping Meals:

Having meals everyday at the right time is very essential to stay healthy. When you skip your meals, it causes fluctuation in the blood sugar level. This triggers migraine headache.

4. Dehydration:

Dehydration is caused when the body is not able to maintain the required water level in the body. When the body loses its natural electrolytes it leads to migraine headache.