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migraine with aura during pregnancy

Hello,

I'm new here, sorry for my english, I'm not a native speaker. So, my migraine started 10 years ago, when I was 19 years old. My neurologyst is convinded that the reason for my migraines are oral contraceptives. I quit using them, but my migraines show up 3 to 4 times in year. One year and a half I've been without my migraine. I also noticed that aura shows up but there's no headache. I am very stressful, depressed, I don't know how this is gonna be in my pregnacy.I've heard that during pregnancy migraine with aura can be worse. So has anyobody experienced migraine with aura during pregnancy? Was it worse? Are there any complications if for example you get this aura almost every day? So, a higher risk for stroke?🙁

  1. Hi barbie86,

    Welcome to the Migraine.com discussion forum - we're happy you found us! Let me see what information I can give you to help.

    Migraine can be depressing, stressful, exhausting and frustrating, but you're not alone! There are over 37 million American's that have migraine, and its helpful to connect with others who understand the impact migraine can have on one's life.

    While its true some women experience an increase in migraine frequency, others feel better which may be due to the influx of hormones. I don't have migraine with aura, but can tell you I did have an increase in my migraines during my third trimesters. Let me give you information on migraine and pregnancy in this article; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-pregnancy-expect/. We also have an entire section devoted to women and migraine you can find here; https://migraine.com/living-with-migraine/hormonal-migraine-the-basics/.

    Migraine with aura can increase our risk of stroke. We do have a number of articles on this topic which will help; https://migraine.com/blog/stroke-migraine-with-aura-prevention/ and https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-aura-medication-stroke-assessing-risk/.

    Migraine is thought to be a genetic neurological disorder and may be triggered by many things such as certain foods, changes in the barometric pressure, dehydration, irregular sleeping patterns and many other things. It's not that oral contraception is 'caused' by migraine, but it may trigger them. During pregnancy it's a good idea to have your OB/GYN and neurologist on the same treatment page.

    Let me know how you make out,
    Nancy

    1. Hello,

      thanks for your answer. I've already made some exams, MRI and Ultrasound of my heart. I hope that with the ultrasound of the heart, doctor can see if you have PFO. MRI was nothing special. I wonder if there's any other exam that I have to do? CT for example? But I am a little bit scared because of the contrast (I do not know if I have any allergies).

      1. I did have some bad migraines when I was pregnant. I tried homeopatheics, relaxation tech., accupunture and when that didn't break I took fioricet (minimally). It was a very difficult pregnancy for me. Many people said oh your migraines will get better or go away. But mine didn't and I was off my preventative because I couldn't take it for harm to the baby so every day was uncertain. Keep your fluid intake up, rest when you can and try to remember there is something special in a few months!!
        Hang in there!

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