248-SYNCPodcast_MenstrualMigraineFINAL

[00:00:00] Jenny Swisher: Welcome friends to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. Today we’re diving into menstrual and hormonal migraines. Now this is a subject very near and dear to my heart as I myself suffer from these. It started for me at the age of 14 when my periods began and in my 20s when I came off of oral contraceptives, my migraines took a turn for the worse for over five years.

[00:01:18] Jenny Swisher: Chronic migraine was my diagnosis in my 20s, but it wasn’t until I started seeing a functional medicine doctor and taking that type of approach to my headaches that I realized that they were actually hormonally triggered. Thanks to bioidentical progesterone, proper supplementation, and working with functional doctors in my journey, I’ve been able to make great strides toward a better quality of life despite the headaches.

[00:01:39] Jenny Swisher: Now I just turned 40 this past December and wouldn’t you know that these migraines are rearing their ugly head yet again for me and perimenopause. But here’s the thing, I’m on it this time my friends. I have a clue as to what’s going on now that I know that they’re hormonally triggered and so I’m working with a team of functional and naturopathic doctors And I’m well on my way to tweaking my supplementation in a way that’s helping me.

[00:02:00] Jenny Swisher: Now I get a lot of questions about hormonal migraines, probably because I suffer for them myself. And I truly believe it’s because many women are suffering from them silently, whether they’re days before their period begins or around ovulation, fluctuations in hormone levels can trigger headaches in migraineurs.

[00:02:15] Jenny Swisher: Now this isn’t to say that there aren’t other factors at play. Things like food sensitivities, high histamine, lack of sleep. Being dehydrated, there’s so many things that can play a role with headaches, but it’s oftentimes the hormonal trigger that can flood the bucket. So you have heard of the bucket, right?

[00:02:32] Jenny Swisher: I swear if another doctor tells me about the migraine bucket, I’m going to go insane. But basically the idea is that your body has a threshold of triggers, which you can think of as a bucket. And once the bucket is full, migraine occurs. So let’s talk about the different types of migraines and how they’re classified by medical doctors as it pertains to hormonally triggered migraines.

[00:02:52] Jenny Swisher: So. The modern medicine world defines pure menstrual migraine as when you have a migraine exclusively on days one and two of your menstrual period. So your bleed begins, you have a headache that corresponds with the bleed that is considered pure menstrual migraine. Menstrually related migraine is the same, but it can also occur at other points around your cycle as well, including ovulation.

[00:03:13] Jenny Swisher: Now, this is the case for me. I tend to have a migraine around ovulation that is much shorter, and then I typically will get up to a week of migraines around my period. According to Dr. Lara Bryden, quote, high fluctuating estrogen promotes migraines by one, stimulating immune cells to produce more prostaglandins and histamine, and two, leading to steep estrogen withdrawal, which disrupts the neurotransmitters serotonin and glutamate, end quote.

[00:03:39] Jenny Swisher: Oftentimes hormonal migraines are triggered by a fluctuation, most notably a drop in estrogen. Estrogen falls dramatically after ovulation. It rises again for a second luteal phase rise. And then it drops off again for the menstrual period. So twice in one month for some women like me, low progesterone or low progesterone in relation to estrogen, also known as estrogen dominance, can also be a trigger in the luteal phase of the cycle.

[00:04:06] Jenny Swisher: Migraines can be experienced in a variety of ways. So for some women, they have what’s called an aura beforehand. This can be yawning, dizziness, flashing lights, nausea, a general off feeling, um, ringing in the ears and even more weird symptoms. Others like me get no warning. Instead, the pain just hits me hard.

[00:04:26] Jenny Swisher: Sometimes I wake up with it. Sometimes it hits in the middle of the afternoon. Oftentimes migraines are classified as being more one sided on the head than all over with light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, and general fatigue. I know for me, since I entered my late thirties, vertigo and dizziness also often accompany the pain, which is very much not fun.

[00:04:47] Jenny Swisher: So it’s important to understand how migraines are treated, both classically through modern medicine and through naturopathic integrative methods. You guys know I’m a fan of both. I know in my case, everything that I just mentioned is needed to cope with the pain. So I need modern medicine to help abort the pain.

[00:05:04] Jenny Swisher: And I also use supplements and natural methods to help as well. From a medicinal side of things, triptans tend to be the go to abortive medication. So in the world of migraine, at least in my experience, Neurologists and specialists in this area will always tell you that step number one is to have an abortive medication, something that will help you abort the pain in a crisis.

[00:05:23] Jenny Swisher: These are drugs like sumatriptan, rizatriptan, frovatriptan. I mean, there’s a lot of triptans. Oftentimes these triptans are suggested to be accompanied by an NSAID like naproxen or ibuprofen because those types of drugs have anti inflammatory benefit. So the triptan is addressing the blood vessel dilation in the brain.

[00:05:41] Jenny Swisher: While the inset is addressing the inflammation of that trigeminal nerve. Now, this is the abortive plan, but let’s be clear. There’s also several options for preventative methods. CGRPs are a newer method of treating migraine, and actually, I did a solo round exclusively on this topic that I’ll link up for you in the show notes, as are the RigiPants.

[00:06:01] Jenny Swisher: For some, things like Botox can be considered as well. Never really worked for me, nor did nerve ablations in my neck, but everyone’s different and different things work for different people. Blood pressure medications and anti seizure medications and other preventatives out there have also been prescribed for migraine sufferers to help prevent attacks.

[00:06:18] Jenny Swisher: In a recent placebo controlled study, they found that actually three milligrams of melatonin taken nightly was as effective as amitriptyline, which is an antidepressant medication that is often given for migraine prevention. From a naturopathic angle, we look at root cause, right?

[00:06:33] Jenny Swisher: We want to know what’s causing the migraine and are all of your nutritional gaps being filled.

[00:06:39] Jenny Swisher: Most migraine sufferers should be taking supplements like magnesium, B2 vitamins, omega threes, and even things like CoQ10, along with anything else that’s indicated for them on lab work and advised by their doctor. I will link up an article by Dr. Laura Bryden on this subject so that you can dig a little deeper on her suggestions for supplementation.

[00:06:57] Jenny Swisher: So what would I tell a fellow female suffering from menstrual migraines? Well, first I would give her a giant hug. I am with your sister and it sucks. Okay. Nothing is more debilitating than piercing, nauseating head pain. Many women suffering from this are moms or they’re working full time or both. And trust me when I say that it often seems like nobody gets it.

[00:07:16] Jenny Swisher: Many women I talked to have had them their entire lives, and they’ve just learned to live with them or push through them with various medications. This saddens me because at the end of the day, it feels like yet again, another under researched area for women. So I would hug her and I would let her know that she’s not alone.

[00:07:32] Jenny Swisher: I would then ask her if she’s seeing a functional medicine doctor and I would make that recommendation. I would discuss magnesium and other supplements, and I would also likely suggest speaking to her functional medicine doctor about bioidentical progesterone. While I’m finding myself re navigating progesterone in my 40s,

[00:07:48] Jenny Swisher: I know it was game changing for me for 13 years, and it still is. It’s helping me dramatically with the pain. And just to clarify, this is not the same as synthetic progestin. I’m not talking about birth control or synthetics here. I’m talking about bioidentical plant based progesterone Sleep inducing, anxiety calming, headache relieving progesterone.

[00:08:09] Jenny Swisher: I’ll also link up episodes that I’ve done on this as well So in addition to the magnesium, vitamin B2, CoQ10, omega 3s, progesterone, and proper sleep habits I would also tell her to consider ginger capsules in one study, ginger was as effective as triptans at relieving migraine during the pain cycle.

[00:08:27] Jenny Swisher: Other things that some women find helpful include acupuncture, craniosacral massage, I’m a huge fan of this, essential oils, I’ll link up my favorite relax roller from Campo Beauty, and of course, rest and relaxation. I know for me, when migraines hit hard, it’s almost never convenient. Vacations, speaking engagements, school events, all the bad timing.

[00:08:48] Jenny Swisher: but it’s almost always a sign for my body to slow down to take the rest day or to take a nap. When I get them before my period, it’s my sign to slow down and let up the gas on things like home projects, work projects, and intense workouts. It’s a signal from my body that it needs extra rest and I’ve got to listen.

[00:09:06] Jenny Swisher: If I don’t listen, it’ll result in a much longer migraine. I recently started using two different supplements from human grace that I absolutely believe are making a difference for me with my hormonal migraines. One is called Hydrate Detox. It is an electrolyte mix comprised of sea salt, magnesium, and potassium combined with gut health benefiting pre and probiotics and glutathione for liver detox.

[00:09:28] Jenny Swisher: As both a POTS diagnosed girl and a migraine sufferer, the electrolytes are key for me in preventing and recovering from migraine attacks. the Hydrate Detox is awesome for me personally and helping me detox on the daily. I recently did a genetic test where I found that I have MTHFR gene mutation as well as COM T, which means that my body doesn’t methylate well in the liver.

[00:09:49] Jenny Swisher: So having that extra detox is very, very vital for me. Similarly, the PM supplement is also a game changer. It includes magnesium and L theanine and both of those things have GABA boosting benefits and can aid in relaxation and sleep. I’ll make sure that I link a special link for you in the show notes that will have a discount code for you in case you want to try them for yourself.

[00:10:09] Jenny Swisher: The thing is having a period should be enough of an inconvenience. Throw in hormonal migraine. And a lot of us are out there shouting, make it stop. It’s not fun. And it’s a thousand percent connected to being female. There’s a reason that the majority of migraine sufferers are women and it has to do with this hormonal tie in.

[00:10:27] Jenny Swisher: So hug your migraine suffering friend, send her this podcast, encourage her to start a functional wellness journey and inquire about the supplements and the HRT that I mentioned here. Tell her about my course so that she can become hormone literate about her own body and understand her patterns.

[00:10:41] Jenny Swisher: Through journaling and understanding her menstrual cycle on a deeper level, she may just be able to make drastic strides in overcoming menstrual migraine herself. So thank you so much, my friends, for tuning in. Like I said, this is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. It’s not a single week goes by that I don’t hear from a woman out there and asking what I’m doing for my migraines because she too is suffering.

[00:11:01] Jenny Swisher: So I knew I needed to cover this topic. I knew I needed to, um, to, to make sure everybody’s aware that even though this can happen and there’s really not a solid way out there to avoid hormonal triggers and hormonal drops in estrogen, you know, there are things that we can be doing from a lifestyle perspective.

[00:11:17] Jenny Swisher: So thank you my friends. As always, I hope you will share this out with any friends suffering from hormonal migraine. Give her a hug for me. Uh, and as always my friends until next time, we’ll talk soon. Bye bye.