Wondering how to stop a menstrual migraine? Frantically googling in the middle of the night, trying to find relief that your doctor can’t seem to give you? I’ve been there. And I always, always, always came up short. I’d try something and be filled with hope that *this* was the holy grail, the thing that would actually work for me…and I was constantly disappointed. Until now.
You see, I’ve finally found a way to stop my menstrual migraines. It’s simple, it’s inexpensive, and it’s actually kind of disgusting to think about. But I have to share it with you just in case you’re willing, like me, to try anything to get your menstrual migraines to go away and never come back.
I stopped my menstrual migraines with an adrenal cortex supplement that I found via the Amazon algorithm.
Obviously, the information contained in the article is not medical advice. This is just a synopsis of my personal experience. I am not a doctor. Please check in with your healthcare provider before starting any kind of supplement.
For more information, keep on reading!
What Are Menstrual Migraines?
These cycle-related migraine monsters are misery. They often come with nausea, extreme pain on one side of your head, little floaty things in your vision (menstrual migraine aura), and sensitivity to light and smells.
For some women, menstrual migraines show up in the middle of the cycle — when you’re ovulating. And for other women, they come a few days before your period starts or around day three of your period.
Some women suffer from migraines and don’t realize that their “period can cause migraine.” And they end up suffering for years as a result.
My headaches started when I was about 14 years old. I’m now 45. And the past 2 months have been the first in my life where I haven’t had a migraine. It took me until I was 40+ years old to actually get a doctor to refer me to a neurologist, who gave me migraine medication for the first time.
I’ve been told everything from “kids don’t get headaches” to “statistically, it’s probably just a stress headache because you work in front of the computer, not much I can do for you.”
Once I figured out that my headaches were, in fact, related to my cycle (thanks to research I was doing for a copywriting project!), my gynecologist gave me a referral…but that was over a quarter of a century that I suffered with this condition without so much as a triptan to help me cope.
How Long Does Menstrual Migraine Last?
Most doctors will tell you that menstrual migraines can last for a few hours to a few days.
Mine almost always lasted three full days, and I was one of the lucky ones who got a full-on migraine during ovulation and at my period, too. So for at least six full days every month for over 25 years, I felt horrible. Honestly, there were times when I would think “if someone broke into my house with a gun right now, it would be very hard not to ask them to shoot me.”
Menstrual Migraine Cause
Here’s the thing about menstrual migraines: doctors aren’t 100% sure what causes them. Which is pretty par for the course in women’s health, right?
The general consensus is that these menstrual migraines are caused by estrogen — either too much or too little of it. Since your estrogen levels fluctuate throughout the month, the theory is that drops or surges in estrogen are what cause the migraine to flare.
How To Treat Menstrual Migraine
The typical treatment for menstrual migraine is to put you on the pill. The theory is that if you can use hormonal contraception to erase ovulation — you won’t have the dips and spikes in estrogen levels throughout the month…and voila! No more migraines.
But, if you have migraine with aura, this is a very dangerous course of action.
Why?
Because women who suffer from migraine with aura are at higher risk of blood clots. And studies have shown that women who suffer from migraine with aura and take combined oral contraceptives are at higher risk of stroke.
Which is actually really scary!
I was lucky that my neurologist warned me of this, and told me not to take oral contraceptives…but many women are not warned of this contraindication. So please, spread the word!
Your doctor may also prescribe you a triptan medication to treat menstrual migraine. These helped me about 75% of the time to control my menstrual migraines. Sometimes, I’d take one and then feel so great I would forget to take another — and then the migraine would come back with a vengeance.
I also was only prescribed a few of these pills every month, so I would often wait until things were *really* going sideways before taking one because I didn’t want to “waste” them and be without when I really, really needed one. Ugh what a nightmare to deal with!
Menstrual Migraine Supplements
Once I started working as a women’s health copywriter, my eyes were opened to the world of supplements. And I was *sure* that I could find a supplement that would even out my hormones and stop my menstrual migraines naturally…but I tried.so.many. And I never hit the jackpot.
Until now.
This adrenal cortex supplement by Thorne that I was recommended by the Amazon algorithm has changed my life.
I’ve taken many “adrenal support” supplements throughout this journey, but none of them actually gave me relief.
Now, this menstrual migraine supplement is made from the adrenals of slaughtered cows. Not exactly the most pleasant thing to think about. And I honestly don’t know how this supplement is made or where exactly the cows come from. I don’t want to know. Just like Kim Kardashian said that she’d eat a bit of feces every day to stay young looking, I’d eat a little bit of bovine adrenal cortex every day to stop my menstrual migraines.
I have no idea if this will continue to work to stop my menstrual migraines forever (but menopause will come for me soon, and then they’ll likely go away then!)...but I have been ovulating and getting my period regularly for the past 14 months and I haven’t gotten so much as a hint of a headache.
Why Did An Adrenal Supplement Work To Get Rid Of Menstrual Migraine?
Just in case you’re not familiar with the adrenals, I’ll give you a quick run-down here.
Your adrenals act as a backup generator of your sex hormones. They’re an especially important source of progesterone and testosterone for women…especially if you’re not ovulating because you’re in perimenopause, you have PCOS, or amenorrhea (you’ve lost your period due to extreme stress or undereating). This is because progesterone is only produced by the ovaries when you ovulate.
So, in my particular situation, I suspect that my adrenals were compromised from a young age. Even as far back as elementary school, I was always on the go, and “resting” was never really part of my vocabulary. Things continued to get worse throughout the years, as I endured a pretty huge string of stressful events in my life.
And your adrenals do not like stress.
So, I believe that this particular supplement allowed my adrenals to finally start producing enough DHEA which then turned into progesterone which then counteracted my estrogen levels - which were causing my migraines.
Even though I’d tried every other natural method to boost my progesterone, I guess it was never quite enough until I borrowed a bit of adrenal cortex from a dearly departed bovine.
Why Is A Women’s Health Copywriter Blogging About Migraines?
I know that this is kind of an unusual blog for my site, but I was so very elated with this find that I just had to share it with the wider women’s health world just in case I could help one other woman find relief from this debilitating condition.
And I know that my experience with something that’s helped me for 14 months is far from a well-designed study…but…
This struggle was one of the reasons I originally started my women’s health copywriting business years ago — and this feels like a full-circle moment.
I can’t wait to see what big things I can accomplish when I’m not restricted by the coming and going of my menstrual cycle.
And isn’t that what all women’s health practitioners want for their patients?
Here’s the link for that adrenal cortex supplement again. If you try it and it helps you out (or even if doesn’t!) please let me know! Please email me amy@griffincopy.com
And just in case you’re here looking for an email marketing manager → here’s how to apply to work with me.