Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

caret icon Back to all discussions

Pregnancy and postpartum migraine

Hi I hav been trying to find somewhere to talk about my migraine issues during and after pregnancy and this seems lik a great place.

A brief history of my migraine is that I suffered wi migraine wi aura before I hit puberty and taking my periods and then once I started my periods at 13 they went away... The symptoms wud hav been visual disturbance lik broken vision missing letters in words and jagged coloured light moving also it could hav been numbness down my one side going into my mouth hands and sometimes leg...

Then when I was 24 I was preg and in my last trimester I got one of these episodes wi aura and then again when I had my son this happened again at the same time wi my second pregnancy but was much worse as my speech eat affected and I cudnt reminder what my tongue was called and it came out as gobbled nonsense also I couldn't remember names and words for other thing I then had another one after I gave birth.. My third pregnancy I had one and then had a cluster of them after having him and they went on for a few weeks sometimes two or three aura episodes in a day..

My fourth pregnancy was by far my worst I was constantly plagued wi aura for the whole last month of pregnancy sometimes coming every other day and not necessarily getting a bad headache afterwards. I am not 6 weeks postpartum and hav had 7 dsince he was born but there starting to space out now about once a week to 9 days between.

What I really want to know is strictly these just purely hormonal and when my periods return will they stop as I find them very hard to deal wi they really scare me and I just can't cope wi all the visual disturbance I hav been taking 50mg of sumatriptan but as it's not the headache that's the problem the don't seem to reduce the length of the aura which when it's full gone can be up to an hour...

Any insight wud b great even just to make me stop worrying about the frequency of them To know it's not abnormal wud Def put my mind at ease

Thank u for reading xx

  1. What kind of doctor is treating you now? Have you seen a headache specialist? The thing that pops out for me is that you are having symptoms consistent with subtypes of migraine for which Imitrex (and all triptans) are not recommended. It is critical that you get the right diagnosis.

    Take a look at these links and discuss them with your doctor.
    https://migraine.com/migraine-types/hemiplegic-migraine/
    https://migraine.com/migraine-types/basilar-migraine/
    https://migraine.com/blog/complex-complicated-migraine/
    https://migraine.com/living-with-migraine/migraine-during-pregnancy-after-childbirth/
    https://migraine.com/blog/how-are-migraine-specialists-different/
    https://migraine.com/blog/the-mrf-directory-of-headache-and-migraine-specialists/

    Tammy

    1. Thank u for ur advise tammy 😀 I'm gonna speak to my gp at my post natal check coz to b honest I was hoping after I had him they wud go away as they always hav but they seem to b quite persistent this time.. Is it possible I cud b left permanently wi them? Or will it ease when my periods return also what type of medication actually helps shorten the aura phase as hats the part that I hate I suffer from bad headaches which I never call migraines as they're not preceded wi the auras and they're worse than the mild headache I sometimes get after these auras x

      1. Dear Angelone,

        I want to echo Tammy's feedback and urge you to find a migraine specialists. As wonderful as our GPs are, most do not have expertise in migraine disease.

        If you are able to meet with a health practitioner who is knowledgeable about migraine disease, it's highly likely you will find a way to get your attacks under control. For most women, a fluctuation in hormone levels is one of the most severe migraine triggers. Maybe once your hormones level out your migraines will, too.

        In the meantime, please do consider seeking out a migraine specialist in order to get the best migraine care possible. Congratulations on your little one.

        Take care,
        Janet G.
        "The Migraine Girl"

    Please read our rules before posting.