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Of these 68%, 80% did not replace their hormonal contraception with another effective method, directly resulting in 20% of the 3.5 million unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. Sixty-eight percent of women who stopped taking hormonal contraception cited side effects such as migraine as their main reason for stopping. Women experience migraine at the following rates during their reproductive years:Ĭan birth control cause headaches or migraines? Even after menopause is complete, hormone cycles will continue, so the potential for migraine triggered by hormones, although decreasing with age, is still present. However, women who enter perimenopause at an earlier age (average age of menopause is around 51 years) may also see an increased risk of migraine headaches after age 40 due to changes in estrogen production. Why do I get a headache when I have my period?ĭuring the time when women are starting families and perhaps also juggling a career, hormones kick in and begin to increase the likelihood of menstrual migraines. This can lead to an increase in menstrual migraines as a woman and her doctor work through their choices. To further complicate things, each type of contraception has different potential side effects, and it may take some time before an effective and safe method is chosen. Hormone-based contraception (e.g., birth control pills, implants, patches, shots, and rings) also add varying amounts of each hormone to a woman’s body. This increase and decrease in hormones affects the brain chemistry in women, potentially triggering menstrual migraines. Levels of estrogen and progesterone fluctuate naturally as women age, regulating menstrual cycles and reacting to pregnancy. Menstrual migraines can have the following symptoms: Menstrual-associated migraine is a type of migraine that occurs not only around a woman’s period but also at other times during the month. This is a migraine that is centered around a woman’s menstrual cycle. One in seven women who experience migraine experience what is known as menstrual migraines. There are some ways, however, that women can help prevent and treat their menstrual migraines. And, because birth control pills and other hormone-based contraception are so common during this time, researchers are also examining the relationship between contraception and headaches. This may explain why women of reproductive age who are menstruating are likely to experience menstrual migraines. One of the main identifiable causes of migraine is fluctuating hormones. Women are disproportionately affected by this, with 18% of women suffering from regular migraines (as opposed to 6% of men). suffer from migraine headaches, most commonly between the ages of 18 and 55. Approximately 36 million people in the U.S.
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