Migraine Contraception

This is unfortunate as clearly at that time, migraine was poorly understood. Many women were denied a medication that could have prevented pregnancy.

At the present time, many hormonal headaches can be tied to the use of birth control pills. Sometimes when women first start the pill, their headaches will worsen and happen all throughout the month. If that is the case, the pill should be stopped immediately.

Another type of headache that occurs on the pill is one that is strictly menstrually related. Although you do not have a true period while on the pill (because there is no ovulation) there is a bleeding time at the end of three weeks of the pill. Some women will continue to get a migraine during that week, but many times it is less in intensity.

• Treatment of Migraine Contraception Headache

Many of my patients have worked with their OB/GYN's and been placed on a progesterone only pill (Mircette) or perhaps a 90 day cycling pill such as Seasonale, which decreases the headache occurring only during the bleeding week to only four per year. Rarely, a few patients are on the pill every single day to help prevent severe migraines.

At the present time I do not recommmend Depo-Provera which is the progesterone shot injected every 90 days. Why? Well how do you know whether or not you might be one of the few who gets progesterone related headaches? This actually does happen. If taking oral progesterone, it is easy to stop, but if on the shot, there is nothing to do but wait it out until the hormone is out of your system. Not th