Complete hysterectomy & hormones
Has anyone dealt with having migraines after having a complete hysterectomy and you are unable to take hormones due to them causing you to have migraines.
Hi there
, Thanks for reaching out! I think you may find these two resources very helpful. Two of our contributors share their experiences having a hysterectomy and some members at the conclusion of the articles share some feedback as well in the comments. https://migraine.com/living-migraine/hormonal-hysterectomy/
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/recovering-hysterectomy/
Not sure how recent your hysterectomy was, but sure hope your recovery went well. As you wait for others to hopefully share some feedback in the meantime I hope these articles are helpful. Best of luck to you!My hysterectomy was in January 2013. I had stage 4 endometriosis and had already had 6 surgeries for it in from 2007-2012. My husband and I tried to have children and did 9 cycles of fertility medication with no luck. After the last surgery in 2012 i told the doctor that if the pain came back I was done. Even though I was only 27 I knew it was the best thing for me to do. I recovered pretty good except for being on the hormones. I did fine until 2015 I had a migraine for 24 weeks straight. The dr's did testing and couldn't find what was causing them so they put me on medication for them and it helped. I ended up having to have an abdominal CT scan due to pain like I had before my hysterectomy and I had to stop taking the hormones for the test. I decided that I wanted to detox off of all medication for a month and low and behold the migraines were gone. I started going back on the medications one at a time until I figured out it was the hormones that was causing them. So i stopped taking them again and i have been good until the last 2 weeks. I have had 5 migraines in the last 2 weeks.
Hello. I am on my last try with progestren birth control pills for the next 3 months to help my painful periods without making my migraines worse. I should mention that I also have an IUD that hadn't helped so far. The next step is probably a partial hysterectomy. I am 36 and a bit scared/intimidated. I've had painful periods since they started and am concerned endrometous may complicate things if they find that in there as well. I was told that estrogen can trigger migraines but I also read that progesterone can too. I am not sure what has helped other woman balance hormones after a hysterectomy.
Hi, Rachel! This is a good question for a tough situation. We can't give medical advice here for your own safety, but I do have two resources that might be helpful... First, here's a link about treating migraines when you're looking at a hysterectomy:
https://migraine.com/blog/hysterectomy-and-migraines
Also, we have a whole site like this one for people who have endometriosis. I wouldn't be surprised if people in their community were dealing with migraine as well, or at the very least could offer specific support to you if surgery does reveal endo. You can find them at www.endometriosis.net. Feel free to tell them we sent you.
Finally, in general, your gynecologist or midwife is the best resource for helping you to feel comfortable and manage menopause -- you are certainly not alone in going through this, and lining up and educated health care team (headache specialist, gynecologist, primary care, maybe endocrinologist if suggested) is never a bad idea.
I'm sorry if that's not the specific answer you were looking for -- everyone is so unique. We're happy to help in any way we can, especially if you have questions about your migraine triggers or symptoms. Keep us posted, okay? All the best to you! -Melissa, migraine.com team
Hi again. I did some more digging and found a couple women here have shared their experiences with hysterectomy. One of them, Amanda Workman, is still a part of our team.
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/recovering-hysterectomy
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/hormonal-hysterectomy
Hope that helps!! -Melissa, migraine.com team
Thank you for the links and extra info. I am mostly just collecting info at this point as a hysterectomy isnt scheduled or anything. It is reassuring that other woman with these complex medical stuff have gotten thru it. Thnak you again.
