Menstrual Migraines Hit Hard

Migraines can attack with a vengeance during menstruation, but taking medication before your period begins may help stave off these excruciating headaches.

One study sought to confirm the association between migraine and menstruation that many women already report to their doctors. The British researchers found that, indeed, such an association does exist: Women are 2.5 times more likely to have a migraine during the first three days of menstruation, and they're more than three times as likely to report the migraine as severe.

The other study looked for a way to relieve menstrual migraines. Researchers compared the preventative use of the migraine medication frovatriptan to a placebo. They found that by starting frovatriptan therapy two days before menstruation begins and continuing treatment for six days, the occurrence of menstrual migraines could be reduced by as much as 26 percent.

The researchers found that women were 2.1 times more likely to have a migraine in the two days before a period, and that number increased to 2.5 times more likely during the first three days of menstruation. Women were 3.4 times more likely to report that migraines that occurred during menstruation were severe.

In the treatment study, 443 women with migraines were recruited from 36 centers across the United States. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups during each of three menstrual cycles. One group took a placebo; one group took 2.5 milligrams of frovatriptan once daily; and the other took 2.5 milligrams of frovatriptan twice a day. All took the treatments for six days, beginning two days before the expected start of menstruation.

Sixty-seven percent of the women taking the placebo reported having migraines, while only 52 percent of those taking frovatriptan did. The group taking frovatriptan twice a day had the best results, with only 41 percent experiencing a migraine.

sumber : http://www.healtharticles.org/menstrual_migrains_081204.html