Estrogen or progesterone.

Hi guys I'm new here I was wondering if anyone has had success with progesterone cream as I'm pretty desperate now, I'm 52 I've had migraines for 35 years every single month that last for approximately 5 days a time I am peri menopausal and on the depo jab so don't know when my period would start but know exactly when it finishes, I'm on amitriptyline 20mg which some months may shorten or reduce the severity, I've tried Triptans but make me ill and beta blockers, I was reading about progesterone and estrogen but got confused as to which one was best Thanks guys any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Cally01]

Mydogdaisy1 i wrote a long reply to this but can't see it now 😔 do you see it?

[Hidden in reply to Cally01]

Hi Cally01, nothing has come through except for the message I'm replying to, oops I wonder where it's gone but Thankyou 🐶

[Cally01 in reply to Hidden]

Ok I'll redo. I defo relate to your symptoms. I'm 51, have no period to speak of, can't nail down dates which would help when trying to get migraines under control. I do get cramps so i tried using eostra gel for 6 days but didn't help, made my headaches worse. Tried patches, again it was terrible migraines. I have marina coil because it balances progesterone.

I started taking monocol plus tablets, they've helped sort the anxiety feeling you can get and the heat and migraines don't knock me out for 5-7 days anymore.

I get 2 types of migraine, jaw and hormone.

Nearly nailed the jaw ones and have an improvement with hormone ones.

I take sumatriptan injection which helps.

Every morning i have a bit of toast then the following :-

2 monocol plus, 400 vit b2, 1 magnesium, 1 vitC, 1 Q10 and 4 sprays of B12. Something in this lot helps keep me as normal as possible. Helps with confusion too.

Welcome 😆 good luck

[Moon_Struck]

Hi MyDogDaisy - the whole world of hormones is so complicated and we're all so different, so can only relay my experience, hope it may be of some help.

I had migraine from approx ages 10 to 20 that returned when my periods stopped at 44 - which all points to migraine connected to hormone fluctuation / imbalance. Puberty and menopause - similar as in fluctuation, increase, loss, then balancing of hormones - or not as the case may be depending on the individual.

When the migraines returned at 44 they were crippling - and all docs I saw said it was due to the drop in ESTROGEN. Low estrogen was the culprit.

I'm now 54 and have seen many specialists over the years. In my case I am severely progesterone intolerant so find it extremely difficult to take any form of progesterone, synthetic or bioidentical. I would not survive on the Depo.

Progesterone makes my migraine worse as it depletes the good, protective effects of estrogen on the brain and serotonin levels.

I take the low dose 25 Estraderm (estrogen) patch and Utrogestan (bioidentical progestrone) 100mg x 12 nights (as a vaginal pessary) every six weeks to protect the endometrium and prevent hyperplasia - this is a specific, personal, tailored regime monitored by a Menopause Clinic at a London hospital - with yearly vaginal scans.

I would say in general that ESTROGEN is the protector. With thousands of estrogen receptor sites around the body, including the brain, for some women it's an essential supplement. I hope/plan to stay on low dose HRT for life as without it, my migraines would be so much worse and life wouldn't be worth living.

Maybe you could try stopping the depo jab and go back to baseline to see where you're at - have some blood tests taken to see what your estrogen / progesterone / testosterone levels are - and at what stage of peri meno / menopause you are now at. You may have transitioned from peri to meno. Armed with that information, maybe think about some HRT to replace depleted estrogen levels.

I found it all to be very much trial and error, try this, try that - give it at least 3 months with each change to take effect.

I can't now tolerate Triptan, also it says on the instructions not to use post-meno due to the artery narrowing effect not just in the brain but around the heart vessels too.

Good Luck with it all, hope you find a way forward.

[Bestbefore in reply to Moon_Struck]

Moon_struck

I found your post resonated with my particular situation and helpful. Especially the trial and error and giving it 3 months before assessing the real effect- all very wearing with near present migraines every day. Thankyou.

If you are still visiting the forum,

Could you advise which migraine /menopause specialist you saw in London.

Thanks

Bestbefore

[Moon_Struck in reply to Bestbefore]

Hi BestBefore

3 years on and things have changed for me - I'm now trialling a period without HRT (5 months off) as I found over the years that the fluctuations of creating an unnatural cycle worsened the migraine - and the progesterone intolerance worsened too so I could never take progesterone on a conti (no bleed) basis. I've had a return of flushes/night sweats/insomnia, very low mood etc etc and trying alternatives, acupuncture etc etc, hoping that symptoms will settle given time.

I was referred via GP to Menopause Clinic at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.

What is your current HRT regime, BB?

This website is very useful: menopausematters.co.uk

Moon_Struck

[Hidden]

Hi Moon_struck,

Thankyou so much for you reply I asked my doctors last week to refer me to a migraine clinic as I've had enough and her reply was there's nothing they can do what we can't ( which is nothing ),I also came off HRT as doc reckons it was tricking my body into thinking I still have periods, that never worked, my next step is to stop the depo but I've been putting it off because I was put on that to stop me ovulating because when I ovulate I get another five days of debilitating pain,( in my lower stomach) which did work and I'm a bit scared of getting them back, but Thankyou for the advise of getting my estrogen, progesterone checked I will do that, no more depo for me Thankyou.

[kiwi1964]

Our hormones are extremely complex and there are many different types of oestrogen.Make sure you go to a specialist who really knows their stuff about hormones etc.Everyone has their own expertise so don't neccessarily treat as gospel what one Dr says.Good luck.

[Meggietye]

Hi mydogdaisy, I am so sorry you suffer so badly, my heart is with you. I am 61 and until recently had suffered for 22 yrs of chronic migraine plus having them as a kid on and off. I was so desperate for some relief I accepted an appointment for a consultation regarding Botox.

The day after the appointment was made for me through my neurologist's office I was online trying to find something 'natural' to manage with..think actually this was on my Faceboook feed?? Like I said, I was desperate and had so many cognitive symptoms, I was a mess :(. I found a scientist named Dr Angela Stanton, Ph. D in neuroscience and she has a protocol which uses Food and is all about balancing carbohydrates (low carb)..potassium foods and sodium. I have been doing this since July and belong to the Facebook group and have her book...this balancing has given me the BEST summer I have had in 22 yrs!! I am still on 1 preventative drug but off all other migraine meds..my family doc is floored at how well I am doing. I am back to driving and going out with my family & some friends & I am actually making plans for the future (which shocked me!). I am pain free.

I am not 100% yet but I think I am 75% better from June when I began, which is amazing to me ....and I never did get the Botox hahaha when I cancelled the appointment and told them what I was doing instead they thought I was insane. I had been taking so many drugs I was actually in rebound and I was GETTING migraine every time I withdrew from the drugs. The program I am doing is called, The Stanton Protocol ( google it ) and her book is called, Fighting the Migraine Epidemic, How to Treat and Prevent Migraines Without Medicines. She was a sufferer as well as family members - and they are all fine now!

Hopefully you get this book and see what it is about, mydogdaisy. Thousands of folks in Europe and North America and elsewhere are benefiting from her research. I am one of them. Make the change and change your life

MT

[Cally01]

Hey meggietye, i got this book and find it really difficult to follow. Not easy trying to balance potassium /sodium and uping water intake. Removing all sugar.

Glad your getting there though 😆

[magirose]

If you have migraine like this ongoing and unexplained please consider auto immune disorders as a possible culprit.

I had these symptoms and was diagnosed 12 years ago with an auto immune disorder. That was the cause of very severe migraine syndrome which nothing seemed to help.

With proper disease control I am now symptom free and have been for around 3 years.

[Hidden in reply to magirose]

I have got an underactive thyroid but have only had that for 20 years my migraines have been 30 or so years, I will look into other auto immune disorders thank you for the advice it's much appreciated 🐶

[magirose]

Oh yes please do because thyroid issues can also have an underlying auto immune cause. Please have a look at vasculitis. I have a form of it and there are several. I have various symptoms which may seem unconnected. My thyroid has been borderline once or twice but never consistently. Good luck. X

[Hidden in reply to magirose]

Thankyou Magirose x

[magirose]

Ps I have had auto immune disorder all of my life but migraine only developed about 11 or 12 years ago. I am 53. The symptoms of my disease change over the years. X