Good Bc Pill For Migraine Sufferers? Posted: 04-23-07 11:48am
Hi:
I get occasional monthly migraines and i
think my birth control pill is making it
worse. Has anyone else experienced this
problem, and which pill would be best for
people who have had migraines?
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Tylanas
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 12985
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Posted: 04-23-07 12:44pm
I don't know. Most pills are similar in
their make up, though there are
progestin-only pills.
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Georgia59
Supporter
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5557 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
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Posted: 04-24-07 14:46pm
I have been dealing with this issue a lot
lately. Did you have migraines before the
birth control? Do you get migraines with
visual symptoms or without?
If your migraines are getting worse or
they are accompanied by the visual
symptoms, you need to get checked out.
People who get migraines with visual
symptoms (like tunnel vision, partial
blindness, spotty vision, seeing sparkles,
etc.) are at a higher risk for stroke,
especially if you are on a birth control
that is making this worse. A doctor should
be monitoring your condition. It would be
safer to be on a progesterone only method,
because the estrogen is what causes the
higher stroke risk.
I have a history of awful migraines (with
tunnel vision), and I had a doctor who
wouldn't even prescribe me with an
estrogen containing pill (most have both
estrogen and progesterone). I am now on
lo-estrin (which obviously has estrogen)
but my doc has told me if my migraines get
worse than I will have to get off of it.
If you are getting true migraines with an
aura you should be checked neurologically
anyways to rule out certain causes.
However, some pills may simply make
headaches worse or better just because
hormones affect your body in weird ways.
Talk to a doctor who knows about this
stuff. And if your migraines aren't
accompanied by visual symptoms, you should
be ok, but you might want to try a birth
control anyway because different kinds
will make your headaches better.
Good luck!!
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jkelly817
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 4
Posted: 05-15-07 19:36pm
I have the same problem with migraines. I
get auras associated with them (vision
problems and tingly and clammy feeling in
the arms). I started taking a progestin
only pill, definitely more annoying than
the combination pill but i rarely have
migraines since i have been on it. I say
this method is more annoying because it
causes acne (or doesn't control it like
estrogen containing pills do) and i think
it causes weight gain (very slight, i
think through an increased appetite. But
hey, it's alot better than having a
stroke.
If i were you, i would switch to a
progestin only method, migraines suck!
