What Causes Migraine Headaches?
Menopause and headache disturbances can be some of the most painful and debilitating experiences that occur during this time of natural change in a woman’s life. A woman may have experienced headaches and migraines before the onset of menopause. Now, due to estrogen fluctuations, these can suddenly escalate and worsen.
This can be the result of other menopause symptoms like insomnia and night sweats. It has been recognized that there is a difference between a menopause migraine and a menopause headache. Understanding this can help women seek the right kind of treatment to minimize both of these conditions.
What are Menopause Migraines?
Migraines are the result of a condition that affects nerve and vascular tissues located in the brain. When the blood vessel walls in the brain and head begin to rapidly widen and narrow it causes pain and irritation to the walls themselves. During the severely intense and painful episodes of a migraine a sufferer may experience nausea and extreme sensitivity to light. Most of the time, migraines are brought on by certain triggers that vary from person to person. Seeing flashes of light can encourage the onset of a migraine. Another cause of migraine headache has been linked to sensing certain smells.
Food that Trigger Migraines?
Often these triggers have to do with food. Research suggests that migraines are similar in some ways to allergic reactions to food. You can try and minimize menopause migraines by avoiding the common foods that may contribute to them. Stay away from alcohol, MSG (fast food, processed meats), smoked and pickled food, milk, nuts, artificial sweeteners, and chocolate. It would be helpful to keep a food diary and headache record so that you can recognize any potential food triggers that could be affecting you.
What are Menopause Headaches?
A more generic description of pains in the head and face is a headache. They can range from mild pains to severe pulsating and throbbing sensations. They are most often brought on by stress and can take several different forms. One of the common headaches resulting from stress is called the tension headache. During a tension headache the muscles in the neck and scalp contract.
Generally the dull, pressure-like pain is localized to the temples, the back of the neck, and the shoulders but it can occur all over the head as well. Another type of headache is the cluster headache. These can begin suddenly and severely while a person is awake, but most commonly strikes at night about 2 to 3 hours after falling asleep. The pain can be sharp and constant and usually begins in, behind, or around one eye.
Night Sweats Headache during Menopause
Another common headache that can occur at night is a night sweats headache. Usually these can be attributed to the stress and frustration that follows a night sweat and can have similar symptoms severe headache. One tactic to combat stress related headaches is to try and get more quality sleep. If you’re experiencing insomnia and night sweats, other symptoms of menopause, you should take action to treat and minimize these also since sleeplessness creates tension that can aggravate headaches.
Menopause and headaches that result from it usually don’t affect everyday life and are just minor inconveniences. For some women, though, menopause and headache and migraines can interfere with normal activities like work and family time. This may not be dangerous in itself but it can have a dramatic impact on a woman’s quality of life and emotional health. When a woman is unable to care for her family and work responsibilities she can begin to feel frustrated and depressed. Differentiating between a menopause headache and a menopause migraine can put you on the right track to finding treatments for both that will bring relief.
Other Menopause Headache Related Article:
1- Why Menopausal Migraine Increase During Menopause?
