Description
This article is from the Natural Migraine
Cures FAQ, by an588@freenet.carleton.ca (Catherine Woodgold)
with numerous contributions by others.
10) Sex hormones
Apparently sex hormones are among the hormones that can be
involved in migraines. For both men and women, it's common for
migraines to begin around puberty. [8]. Women often notice
headaches corresponding to certain times of the menstrual cycle.
Menopause can mean fewer or no headaches for some lucky women
or the onset of migraines for others). Someone whose headaches
stopped at menopause got headaches when taking Premarin.
Sexual intercourse can make a headache go away ... but
brings on headaches for other people. Nutritional treatments
can help reduce symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS),
including headaches. ([13],[15]).
Birth-control pills contain artificial hormone-like chemicals
which are different molecules from the hormones normally present
in the body. They have some of the same effects as real hormones,
and some different effects -- they have long lists of side effects
which vary from one brand to another and include migraines. Women
who get migraines are advised not to take these pills.
The modern processed diet tends to be deficient in omega-3
essential fatty acids. These EFA's are used by the body to
make prostaglandins, which in turn are converted into some
hormones. Supplementation of omega-3 and/or omega-6 EFA's
is helpful for some people.
It's normal during breast-feeding for a woman to have no
menstrual periods for a time which can be 3 months, 2 years or
more, averaging about 14 months. [10] For some, this is a welcome
rest from a range of symptoms which can include PMS and
headaches. Unfortunately, breast-feeding is often disrupted,
resulting in increased health risks to both mother and baby
and the inconvenience of early return of menstrual
cycles, along with the familiar accompanying symptoms. The
return of menstruation is an individual thing; a slight
reduction of nursing may bring it on in one woman, while another
may be nursing only a few times a day and still not
menstruate. Early return of menstruation can be caused by:
Things to avoid, if you don't want to start menstruating soon:)
-- early weaning
-- use of bottles or pacifiers
-- mother-baby separations, e.g. use of babysitters
-- other foods given to baby before about 6 months of age
-- encouraging baby to "sleep through the night"
-- limiting breast-feeding, based on clocks and calendars
Speculation: It is known that pollutants such as pesticides,
PCB's and by-products of chlorine bleaching can act as hormone
mimics, disrupting the development of animals and humans.
Chemicals which mimic estrogen have been most extensively
studied, but pollutants mimic other hormones as well. [3]
Hormones are involved in migraines. Are migraines more common
these days than they used to be? Could migraines sometimes be
partly caused by hormone-disrupting pollutants?
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