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[Luigi]

hi everyone
I'm a newbie
I've recently been getting headaches which start at the back of my neck and rise up( only one side though)!! I have never suffered with headaches up until a few months ago.
I'm 43 and definitely peri , period is just about to finish and for the last few months have been 19, 17, 20 days apart and have become so much shorter and lighter, oh my this peri is tough going, I just can't seem to pin point it but never feel completely well, anyone else having this?!!!

[Dorothy]

If it's a new symptom, I would get it checked out with your GP just to make sure it's nothing more serious - it's easy to assume every health problem is meno-related and they aren't always! 

But they do sound very like the headaches I got when I was starting peri.  The good news is that I don't get them very often now.  (The bad news is they've been replaced by lots of other lovely symptoms  )

[Taz2]

Hi Luigi - that not feeling completely well is very common so you are not alone.  I used to get horrible headaches when I was peri although I didn't realise that was what it was at the time!

Taz x 

[Hurdity]

Hi Luigi

 

Are your headaches related to your cycle and therefore hormonal? Like Taz I started getting bad headaches just before and during peri-menopause - about 3 days before my period which then turned into migraines ( never suffered from these previously). Unfortunately I now do still get migraines even though I am post-menopausal and take HRT .

I agree to get them checked out if they are not cyclical.

Hurdity x

[Luigi]

Thank you all for your replies,
I do get them around the time of my period, a bit before it and sometimes just after!
I can actually feel the muscles in my neck sore when I massage them, think I might need a visit to my physio , as I'm new to all this are there any supplements I should be taking to help my sleep and all my aches!? I feel like a 90 year old tonight!

[Hurdity]

That is exactly how mine feel. They start generalised but my neck muscles are painful to the touch, often on the left and towards the end (of the three days the migraine lasts) it goes to one side of my skull which is also painful to the touch and I can't lie down in a comfortable position because the pressure hurts. I just take normal pain-killers which sometimes work and sometimes do not. I had one recently Friday to Monday.

Sounds like they are hormonal in your case? The shorter cycle you describe is the last stage before peri - known as the late reproductive stage - because your ovaries are still working - but your hormones are beginning to go haywire hence the symptoms.

You need to make sure you have a really good diet, take lots of exercise, get out in the fresh air, reduce alcohol and caffeine, and have a good sleep routine. I never feel like exercise when I have a migraine but always feel better after a good walk - if i can drag myself out to do it!

Hurdity x

[Luigi]

Thank you hurdity, this forum is brilliant for reassuring isn't it, do your shoulders often feel tense as tonight mine are, I'm not sure if this is all due to my sleep disturbance from the last two nights, hoping tonight I will be able to sleep, have taken ibuprofen and now paracetamol so fingers crossed I might get some shut eye x

[Hellie68]

I have suffered with migraines my whole life and they got worse when I became peri. I did lots of research as migraines are so debilitating. Late last year I kept reading about daith piercings and how they have helped stop migraines. I was willing to give it a go and had it done on 30 Nove,bee. Since then I have only had one migraine. I don't take my preventative meds anymore. It's well worth giving it a try, I'm just grateful I did xx

[Luigi]

Thank you all, I have woken up this morning with no headache although feeling quite tense in the shoulders and neck, horrible feeling but slept a lot better last night so hopefully I will be able to cope today otherwise I will be reaching for the brufen and paracetamol again!! Maybe I should try some vitamins!
L x

[Taz2]

I found that physio was really good at alleviating this type of headache. I had around six sessions a couple of times a year on the NHS.

"There are numerous causes of headaches and often, the exact mechanism cannot be identified.  One very common cause of tension headaches is rooted in the neck, resulting from muscle tension and trigger points.
At the base of the skull there is a group of muscles, the suboccipital muscles, that can cause headache pain for many people. These four pairs of muscles are responsible for subtle movements between the skull and first and second vertebrae in the neck. The suboccipital muscles commonly become tense and tender due to factors such as eye strain, wearing new eyeglasses, poor ergonomics at a computer workstation, grinding the teeth, slouching posture, and trauma (such as a whiplash injury).
Pain from the suboccipital muscles commonly feels like a band wrapping around the head. Also, tension in these muscles may cause compression of a nerve that exits the base of the skull, and trigger pain that wraps over the head and above the eye
- See more at: http://healthhub.brighamandwomens.org/that-headache-may-be-a-pain-in-the-neck#sthash.AWPsoJAi.dpuf"

The Migraine Trust also has info on hormonal headaches https://www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/trigger-factors/menopause-and-midlife/. Neck tension is mentioned.

Taz x

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome Luigi
I suffer with headaches and they are hormone related.  During my peri meno stage the headaches were terrible.
I am now very post meno, still get nasty headaches, particularly when not on HRT. Recently I started using Magnesium spray and have rubbed this into my upper back, shoulders and legs after my shower before bed and I'm getting far fewer headaches.  Magnesium is a vital mineral that many of us are deficient in, there aren't that many foods that contain magnesium and supplements in pill form can upset the tummy.  Athletes have been using Magnesium spray for a long time because of the benefits for relaxing muscles but also for dietary reasons.  I bought mine online and it has bergamot and other botanicals that encourage relaxation and better sleep.  Dg x

[Luigi]

Well I have just ordered the magnesium spray! Hope this will help! Pain not so bad today but just a little muzzy, also going to cut down on my caffeine intake and see if this will help at all.
Thank you all for your advice it has been so reassuring that I'm not alone!
L x

[Hellie68]

Honestly it's not that bad, I didn't even flinch and it's better than a migraine. Xx

I had to Google that Hellie68 as I'd never heard of it!  Have to say you're very brave, that would be enough to give me a headache! 

S x

[CLKD]

 

Could it be a trapped nerve in the back of your neck, a cervical spine X-ray can confirm - or maybe the headaches are due to dehydration?

[Taz2]

Glad it's useful sparkle.  When I was getting mine there wasn't any internet though so it took ages trying to find out what the cause might be via the local library.

Taz x