Headache missed period: Headache And Missed Or Late Menstrual Period

26.08.202316.06.2023 by alexxlab

Hormone headaches – NHS

Many women experience headaches caused by changes in their hormones.

According to the National Migraine Centre, more than half of women who get migraines notice a link with their periods.

These so-called “menstrual migraines” tend to be particularly severe.

Migraine is most likely to develop in either the 2 days leading up to a period or the first 3 days during a period. This is because of the natural drop in oestrogen levels at these times.

The attacks are typically more severe than migraines at other times of the month and are more likely to come back the next day.

Periods are not the only trigger of hormone headaches.

Other causes include:

the combined pill (combined oral contraceptive pill) – some women find their headaches improve while they’re on the pill, but others report more frequent attacks, especially in the pill-free week, when oestrogen levels drop
the menopause – headaches usually worsen as you approach the menopause, partly because periods come more often and partly because the normal hormone cycle is disrupted
pregnancy – headaches can get worse in the first few weeks of pregnancy, but they usually improve or stop completely during the last 6 months; they do not harm the baby

Signs of hormone headaches

It’s worth keeping a diary for at least 3 menstrual cycles to help you check whether your migraines are linked to your periods.

If they’re linked, a diary can help to pinpoint at what stage in your cycle you get a migraine.

The Migraine Trust website has a downloadable headache diary, which may be a useful tool.

Self-help tips for hormone headaches

If keeping a diary reveals that your headaches develop just before your period, you can try these tips to help prevent a migraine:

Eat small, frequent snacks to keep your blood sugar level up. Missing meals or going too long without food can trigger attacks. Have a small snack before going to bed, and always eat breakfast. Here are some healthy breakfast recipes
Have a regular sleep pattern, and avoid too much or too little sleep. Get a good night’s sleep with 10 tips to beat insomnia
Avoid stress. If this proves difficult, find ways to deal with stress, such as taking regular exercise and using relaxation strategies. Use these 10 stress busters

Treatments for hormone headaches

Migraine treatments

Your doctor can also prescribe migraine medicines for you to take around the time of your period.

These do not contain hormones, but they can help stop the headaches developing.

They include tablets called triptans and a type of painkiller called mefenamic acid.

Continuous contraceptive pills

Talk to your doctor if you think your contraceptive pills are making your migraines worse.

If you have headaches during the days you do not take the pills, you can avoid the sudden fall in oestrogen by taking several packs continuously without a break.

Find out more about the combined contraceptive pill

Hormone replacement therapy

The hormone changes that happen as women approach the menopause mean that all types of headache, including migraines, become more common.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be helpful to treat hot flushes and sweats.

But if you have migraines, it’s best to use patches or a gel, as these types of HRT keep hormone levels more stable than tablets and are less likely to trigger migraines.

Oestrogen therapy

If you have regular periods, a doctor can prescribe an oestrogen gel or patch, which you use before your period is due and for a few days during your period.

But these are not commonly prescribed for hormone headaches.

Page last reviewed: 23 September 2021
Next review due: 23 September 2024

Cramps but No Period: Are You Pregnant?

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Medically reviewed by Kimberly Dishman, MSN, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB — By Jessica Timmons — Updated on February 24, 2023

If your period is late and you notice any of these symptoms, consider taking a home pregnancy test.

Your breasts are sore, you’re tired and cranky, and you’re craving carbs like crazy. You also may be experiencing uncomfortable cramping.

Sounds like you’re about to start your period, right? It may surprise you to learn that these symptoms could all be early signs that you’re pregnant, not premenstrual.

Here are seven common early pregnancy symptoms.

Every woman and every pregnancy are different. But many moms-to-be experience early pregnancy symptoms. The majority of these symptoms are related to surging hormones. It’s important to understand that all of these symptoms aren’t exclusive to pregnancy. That means there are other reasons that you could be experiencing them.

According to a poll from the American Pregnancy Association, 29 percent of the women surveyed noted that a missed period was their first sign of pregnancy. Often, there are other common symptoms of early pregnancy.

Cramps are a typical part of your monthly menstrual cycle, but did you know they could be experienced in early pregnancy, too? Some women notice mild uterine cramps in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Breasts that are tender, sore, or swollen can be a sign of an impending period. But these same symptoms can also indicate that you’re pregnant. Hormonal changes during early pregnancy can cause breasts to feel sensitive or sore. They can also feel heavier or more full. You may notice that your areolas, or the skin around your nipples, are becoming darker.

Morning sickness is a classic symptom of early pregnancy. It can persist into later trimesters, too. Despite the name, moms-to-be may feel nauseated at any time of the day or night, not just in the morning. Morning sickness can sometimes begin as early as three weeks after conception.

Blame this symptom on those early pregnancy hormones and an increase in the volume of your blood. Together, they can mean more frequent headaches. If you suffer from migraines, you may experience more of them during pregnancy. Some women also experience fewer migraines.

Fatigue is another by-product of soaring hormones at the beginning of a pregnancy. Progesterone in particular is the culprit here: It can make you feel very tired.

Food cravings and aversions are another classic sign of pregnancy. Again, blame this on hormones.

You may notice feelings of dizziness or lightheadedness if you move quickly from a reclined to a seated position, or if you stand up suddenly. During pregnancy, your blood vessels dilate and your blood pressure drops. Together, they can make you feel lightheaded.

There are other symptoms of early pregnancy you might experience, including:

You’re bleeding, but only slightly. For some women, an early symptom of pregnancy is spotting. It’s called implantation bleeding, and it happens about 10 to 14 days after conception when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining. This kind of bleeding doesn’t last long, and it usually happens around the time you’d normally have a period. This can be misleading. The difference is that implantation bleeding isn’t typically as heavy as menstrual bleeding.
You’re having mood swings. If you’re feeling particularly emotional or find yourself bursting into tears, it can be a result of pregnancy hormones.
You’re constipated. It’s not comfortable, but a sluggish digestive system is another hormone-related issue that some women experience during pregnancy.
You’re experiencing backaches. While lower back pain can be a problem for the length of a pregnancy, some women notice it very early on.
You need to use the bathroom more frequently. Somewhere between six to eight weeks after conceiving, you may find that you have an increased need to urinate, but don’t feel any pain or urgency.

While all of these symptoms can be signs of early pregnancy, they can also mean something else altogether. The reverse is also true: You may have none of these symptoms, but be pregnant.

A missed period can also be unrelated to a pregnancy. It could be due to:

stress
illness
a change in your birth control
fatigue
excessive changes in your weight
a hormonal imbalance

Even so, if you miss a period, or if you notice any of these symptoms, it’s not a bad idea to take a home pregnancy test. A positive test means you should schedule an appointment with your doctor.

Last medically reviewed on June 9, 2016

Parenthood
Pregnancy
Getting Pregnant

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2013, July 13). Symptoms of pregnancy: what happens right away
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/in-depth/symptoms-of-pregnancy/art-20043853
Pregnancy and headaches. (2015, July)
americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/headaches-and-pregnancy/
Pregnancy symptom alternatives. (n.d.)
americanpregnancy.org/getting-pregnant/pregnancy-symptom-alternatives/
Pregnancy symptoms – early signs of pregnancy. (2015, December)
americanpregnancy.org/getting-pregnant/early-pregnancy-symptoms/

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Feb 24, 2023

Written By

Jessica Timmons

Edited By

Frank Crooks

Jun 9, 2016

Written By

Jessica Timmons

Edited By

Frank Crooks

Medically Reviewed By

Kimberly Dishman, MSN, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB

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Medically reviewed by Kimberly Dishman, MSN, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB — By Jessica Timmons — Updated on February 24, 2023

Neurologist from SM-Clinic told about how to get rid of headaches without pills

Expert approves material

Olga Skorokhodova

neurologist “SM-Clinic”

Relieve stress
Change contraceptive method
Check eyesight
Primary or secondary headache?
Sources

Headache can be caused by stress, overwork, taking oral contraceptives, overexertion of the eye muscles due to incorrectly selected glasses or lenses, a jump in blood pressure, dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint, which in turn leads to secondary tension of the cervico-occipital muscles causing tension of the aponeurosis, and many other reasons.

One of the most common headache triggers is anemia, which leads to a chronic pain syndrome.

It happens that painkillers are not available or cannot be used: the pain is caused by a side effect of another drug, the patient avoids taking pills on principle, the medicine cannot be taken due to pregnancy or lactation. How to remove a headache in this case?

Relieve stress

Tension headache is a common problem for people whose work involves high concentration, responsibility and stress. The prevalence of this type of pain in the world ranges from 46 to 78%. Statistically, it is tension headache that leads to more missed work days than migraine.

There are three categories of tension headache: infrequent episodic, frequent episodic, and chronic. Usually doctors advise to remove the headache with over-the-counter analgesics. However, with frequent and chronic pain, medicines soon cease to help.

Massage helps treat headaches. Scientists conducted an experiment: within 4 weeks they conducted four treatment sessions for participants in two groups. For the first group, the therapy included massage and manipulations with the cervical spine, for the second – only massage. 8 weeks after the experiment, participants in both groups showed a significant improvement in performance.

A course of relaxing massage, gentle manual practices, osteopathic techniques can be an effective method to reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. But if this is not possible, then an independent head massage will help relieve the spasm that causes the problem.

Cervical gymnastics can also help situationally: tilting and turning the neck will improve blood circulation and reduce the intensity of pain.

But with circular movements you should be careful, they can provoke a spinal clamp.

If the pain is caused by mild stress or overwork, you can use breathing practices, meditation and other methods that reduce arousal.

Change contraceptive method

In some cases, if the head hurts, then it should be treated not by prescribing drugs, but, on the contrary, by stopping the intake. So, for example, patients suffering from migraine with aura, it is better to refuse to take combined oral contraceptives because of the high risk of ischemic stroke due to their ability to provoke thrombogenesis.

For women with severe headaches and migraines without aura, the risks are lower, but exogenous hormones and estrogen withdrawal can also be triggers.

Therefore, if you notice that headaches become more frequent and intense after starting oral contraception, this is a reason to think about changing the way you prevent pregnancy.

Eye test

Headache can be caused by overexertion of the optic muscle due to decreased vision. Therefore, in some cases, treatment does not involve taking painkillers, but the appointment of glasses.

Seeing an ophthalmologist is also important for another reason: neurological causes of headaches are often accompanied by eye pain and visual impairment. If the specialist does not see the reasons of an ophthalmic nature, this may be an occasion to undergo an examination by a neurologist.

Primary or secondary headache?

Headaches are divided into primary and secondary. Primary headaches do not have a structural or metabolic cause. It is the non-intense pains of this type that can be removed with the help of relaxation, massage, walking in the fresh air, and so on. This includes tension headache, migraine, cluster headache, and analgesic rebound headache.

Secondary headaches are caused by conditions such as increased intracranial pressure, brain pseudotumor, subdural or intracerebral hematomas, hypertension, meningitis, temporal arteritis, Lyme disease, and brain tumors.

An accurate diagnosis and identification of the causes of headaches largely determine the success of its treatment.

Therefore, if you experience frequent, intense or chronic headaches, you need to see a specialist. In this case, it is better to start with a visit to a neurologist and an ophthalmologist.

Sources:

Scripter C.