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[louloo]

hi

im 37 and had a full hysterectomy in 2012, kept my ovarys. first year after op felt great full of energy and felt really well. then i suffred a ruptured ovarian cyst 1 year after. my th in total. then the migraines started and got worse. then my energy levels fell and i stopped wanting to go out. felt anxious and tearful over silly thing. i started to get acne as well. over the past 18 months had numerous blood test and saw a lovely doctor last week who said  i was going through the menopause after looking out my blood test result. she said go away and have a think and get some info on hrt as she would like to start me on it. my question is which one is better for migraine sufferers? anybody out  there suffer from them? if so which hrt is better.

thanks ladies 

[Hurdity]

Hi louloo

 

Sorry to hear about your symptoms.

Your doctor sounds great - it is so important for you to take HRT at your young age to protect heart and bones and for your general health.

In terms of migraines - transdermal HRT is recommended ( ie patch or gel) as it doesn't have to go through the sytem. This is what it says on this site (menu up top):

Migraine   
    Migraine is often triggered by hormonal fluctuations and therefore may occur around the time of a period. Such migraine may improve at the time of the menopause. Some women find that migraine may be triggered by the daily hormone fluctuations which can occur with oral (tablet) HRT so the transdermal (patch or gel) route is usually preferred with a history of migraine.
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/atoz.php#GlossM

I started getting migraines (without aura) when I became peri-menopausal - the headaches were persistent and nagging, but not usually throbbing, and lasted for three days - but the exhaustion and persistent nausea, and heavy head contributed to how debilitating they were. Fortunately for me they weren't usually the confining to bed type  - although sometimes for a short while. They continued through menopause and on certain types of HRT. I still get them now and again but not so badly.

I have always used transdermal HRT so I would start there. Fortunately, because you don't have a uterus you don't need to take a progestogen and it is the fluctuations in this and some of the synthetic types which can cause headaches.

Whether to use patch or gel is a personal preference - gel has to be applied daily and patches usually twcie a week. I use Estradot which are very small and stick well but as you are young you might not like the outlines they leave on your buttock (which is where I stick them!).

Hope this helps and I'm sure someone will be along later with their experiences 

Hurdity  x

[louloo]

 

yes those headaches sound like mine had a very bad one last week but i was also quite stressed as well. i am thinking gel as i wondering if the patches will make my skin sore as plasters do and dressings.

this site has been great. and i'm lucky my doctor is being understanding i saw her because my normal doctor was unavailable and this was a blessing.

quite nervous about starting hrt and its good to read other peoples experiences. hoping to come off the nortriptyline that another doctor put meon to help with my migraines and low mood even though i said i didnt feel depressed.

xx

[Briony]

Hi,
I know we're all different, but just wanted to reassure you that I get migraines with aura and these were made no worse by HRT. My GP recommended the patches and going 'up' through the doses slowly - and certainly, the migraines were no more frequent (perhaps slightly less in fact). I have recently switched from HRT to Qlaira. Usually you can't have the COC pill with migraines, but they will make exceptions  with this one. Some people have reported an improvement in headaches on Qlaira, others the opposite, so I can only wait and see.

Hope it works out for you xx

[louloo]

thanks Briony

have my doctors appoitment tomorrow so i think i might try a gel hrt and see how i go.  thanks

[Briony]

For what it's worth, I found the side effects of Nortriptiline and Amtriptyline much worse than starting HRT. 

[louloo]

hi yes Nortriptiline make me dopy and give me a terrible dry mouth. after taking to my doctor today i have been precribed sandrena 0.5 start with a low dose. pharmacy also was very helpful and knows i suffer from migraines and said patch or gel better and a small dose of hrt can help with hormone headaches. fingers crossed. will apply in morning after my shower and see how it goes.

thanks

[Briony]

Good luck - and remember that it takes a while to work. I'd expected immediate results and then panicked when I thought it wasn't working. You'll need to give it at least a month and probably nearer three x

[louloo]

i will thanks i'll check back here in a few weeks and let you know how i'm getting on