--- title: Do common migraine prevention drugs work as well for migraines around your period as other migraines? description: No. Two preventive drugs, anti-CGRP antibodies and botulinum toxin, significantly reduced regular migraines but had limited effect on perimenstrual migraines url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effectiveness-of-anti-cgrp-monoclonal-antibodies-and-onabotulinumtoxina-in-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do common migraine prevention drugs work as well for migraines around your period as other migraines? Non-randomised trial, 2025 # Do common migraine prevention drugs work as well for migraines around your period as other migraines? No. Two preventive drugs, anti-CGRP antibodies and botulinum toxin, significantly reduced regular migraines but had limited effect on perimenstrual migraines (those around the time of your period). This suggests perimenstrual migraine may need different treatment. Moderate study design 113 women with menstrually-related migraine, median age 39 years ## What they did 113 women with menstrual-related migraine were treated with either anti-CGRP antibodies or botulinum toxin. They recorded headache days for one month before treatment and three months after starting treatment, separating headaches that occurred around menstruation from those on other days. ## What they found Non-perimenstrual migraines fell significantly from 7 to 4 days per month. Perimenstrual migraines barely changed, remaining at approximately 2 days per month both before and after treatment. Non-perimenstrual migraine days dropped from 7 to 4, but perimenstrual migraine days showed no significant improvement. ## What it means for you These common migraine prevention drugs work well for migraines on regular days but not for migraines tied to menstruation. This suggests hormonal factors may play a bigger role in perimenstrual migraine, requiring different or additional treatment. The study was small and included only women already on these treatments, so results may not apply to all women with menstrual migraine. 113 Women studied 2.0 Period migraines per month 7 to 4 Regular migraines reduction ## About the study Original title Effectiveness of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies and onabotulinumtoxinA in menstrually-related migraine: The unmet need of perimenstrual headache days Authors Mas-de-Les-Valls R, Gómez-Dabó L, Caronna E et al. Journal Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache Year 2025 Study design Non-randomised trial Participants 113 What was tested Anti-CGRP antibodies or botulinum toxin Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1177/03331024251332519](https://doi.org/10.1177/03331024251332519) ## Topics [Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Migraine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-migraine/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2023 What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy? Cohort study, 2022 Can women accurately tell if they have period-related migraines, or do they need to track them? Guideline, 2021 How should migraine be managed in women, particularly menstrual migraine? Randomised trial, 2016 Does telcagepant prevent migraines during the menstrual period? Randomised trial, 2014 Does the combination of sumatriptan and naproxen sodium reduce menstrual symptoms and migraine? Randomised trial, 2005 Does sumatriptan work for migraines around the menstrual cycle? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗