Survey study, 2010
What treatments work for migraine during the menstrual cycle?
Triptans (migraine medicines) work well for stopping menstrual migraines. Medicines like naproxen and estrogen can help prevent migraines that mainly occur during the period or are hard to treat with other options.
What they did
The authors reviewed published research on medicines used to stop and prevent migraines related to the menstrual cycle.
What they found
After menstruation starts, women have more migraine than men. Migraines happen more often during the menstrual period and are more severe at that time. Triptans work well for stopping menstrual migraine attacks. For preventing migraines that happen mainly during the period or are particularly hard to treat, intermittent preventive medicines including naproxen, estrogens, and triptans can be used and have shown how well they work.
What it means for you
There are medicines available to both stop menstrual migraines when they happen and try to prevent them during the period. However, this is a review of published research, and how well these work may vary for each person.
About the study
- Original title
- Management of menstrual migraine: a review of current abortive and prophylactic therapies
- Authors
- Sullivan E, Bushnell C
- Journal
- Current pain and headache reports
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Survey study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s11916-010-0138-2
Topics
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