Migraine headaches affect a lot of people around the world and especially women. The majority of migraine sufferers are women in a percentage of 70%. This is the reason that migraines are also known as the female headache. The main factor that makes women more vulnerable to migraine headaches is the changes in the hormone levels at every life stage women have to undergo. The most important stages being menstruation cycle, pregnancy and menopause. In this post we will concentrate on why women suffer from migraines during menopause. Migraines can be very disturbing to women experiencing the changes of menopause. They may occur in various levels of intensity and duration and the pain may range from mild to very intense. Women who suffered from migraines before this period may experience more frequent crisis, while women who did not experience migraines before may start during the menopause period. The symptoms of the migraines during menopause are no different than ‘normal’ migraine headaches.  These may include:

• Throbbing pain in one part of the head

• The pain to become more intensive with movement of the body and head

• Feelings of tiredness and sudden weakness

• The duration of the pain may be a couple of hours or couple of days

 • Sudden tendency for vomiting and feelings of nausea and dizziness

 • Extra sensitivity to bright light, sound, and strong smells

 • Sweating in the hands and feet

 What to do to get relief from the headaches?   Basically there are three ways to get relief from migraine headaches.  These are:

1. Lifestyle changes:   Changing your lifestyle to avoid or minimize triggers of migraines. This means that you should identify what are the major causes of migraines for your case and alter your lifestyle in order to prevent the emerge of a migraine crisis.

2. Alternative / Natural methods:   There are a lot of ways to get treatment from migraine headaches. These include the use of herbs and the adoption of natural ways for headache relief such as yoga, massage and relaxation exercises.  

3.   Medication:   Up to now there is no medication for the complete cure from migraines. The drugs available are mainly used for prevention purposes and to minimize the effects of migraine pain. The most common group of medicines is triptans and is only available after a prescription from a certified doctor.

If you are among the women who suffer regularly from migraine headaches then the best approach to follow is to visit a doctor that specializes on headaches and discuss your case with him. There are such kinds of doctors in all countries and they can give  better advice than the ordinary practitioners. Make sure that you go to the doctor with as much information as possible about your migraines. This may include the duration and frequency of the pain,  how much sleep you had the day before, what you eat, what other activities you did and generally everything that may help the doctor understand your lifestyle better.