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Why do migraines strike just before your period and what can you do to prevent and abort them
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without more medications? Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers who've
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seen countless doctors with no results. Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without
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endless medications or constant sacrifices. Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500
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people break free from migraine, even after suffering for up to 60 years. My mission in life?
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To bring this relief to a million people using a unique blend of eastern medicine and western
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science. In this episode, you will learn what triggers premenstrual migraines, also called
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PMS migraines, what western science completely misses on premenstrual migraines, and prevention
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and abortion techniques to cut short these PMS migraine attacks without relying on more medications.
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If you notice that your migraines always hit right before your period, you're not alone.
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Research shows that up to 70% of women with migraines experience attacks linked to hormonal
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fluctuations, particularly just before menstruation. A landmark study published in Neurology
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found that migraine attacks are two and a half times more likely to occur during the two days
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before menstruation compared to non-menstrual days. To truly understand this phenomenon and
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know exactly how to reduce these migraines effectively, we need to look at it through both
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a western and an eastern lens. From a western science point of view, migraines before your
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menstruation are triggered by rapid drops in oestrogen that occur just before menstruation
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begins. Research published in Neurology in 2016 found that oestrogen levels begin to decline
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about two days before a period starts, which can set off a cascade of neurological changes
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that lead to migraine attacks. The first cascade of neurological changes involves oestrogen and
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serotonin. Oestrogen plays a key regulatory role in serotonin pathways, which are central to both
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mood and pain perception. When oestrogen drops, particularly before menstruation,
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serotonin synthesis, receptor expression, and reuptake are all reduced, leading to
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heightened pain sensitivity and vascular reactivity. This connection is well documented
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in a study by Betha et al. published in Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology in 2002, which outlines
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how oestrogen modulates the serotonin system at multiple levels. The second cascade relates to
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vascular changes. Oestrogen is known to promote vasodilation and maintain endothelial function,
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helping to keep blood vessels flexible and stable. As oestrogen levels decline, however,
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vessels become more prone to constriction and inflammation, conditions that set the stage for
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migraine attacks. This mechanism is supported by a study in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
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by Sedir et al. in 1996, which highlights oestrogen's productive effects on vascular tone
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and integrity. The third cascade of events involve prostaglandin release and inflammation.
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Just before menstruation, the body produces a surge in prostaglandins, hormone-like chemicals
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that stimulate uterine contractions. Elevated prostaglandin levels not only intensify menstrual
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cramps, they also promote systemic inflammation and sensitize blood vessel and pain pathways.
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A 2006 article in the Journal of Headache and Pain explains how the surge contributes to
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trigeminal vascular sensitization, increasing the likelihood and intensity of menstrual migraines.
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Finally, the fourth cascade of neurological changes that lead to migraine attacks
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concerns magnesium depletion. Oestrogen fluctuations influence magnesium regulation
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in the body, with lower oestrogen levels correlating with reduced serum magnesium.
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Magnesium is essential for neuromuscular stability, neurotransmitter balance,
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and vascular tone, all factors implicated in migraine pathophysiology. A 1991 study published
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in Magnesium Research found that women with menstrual migraines often exhibit intracellular
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magnesium deficiency. Furthermore, progesterone may help stabilize magnesium level, suggesting
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that the interplay between oestrogen and progesterone significantly impacts migraine
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vulnerability during the menstrual cycle. While oestrogen takes a center stage in the
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discussions of hormonal migraines, progesterone also plays a role, particularly in the days
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leading up to menstruation. During the luteal phase of the migraine cycle, progesterone levels
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peak, helping to stabilize the nervous system. However, just before menstruation, progesterone
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drops sharply, an abrupt hormonal shift that has been linked to increased cortical excitability
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and a heightened risk of migraine onset. A study published in Cephalgia by McGregor et al.
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in 2006 supports the suggesting that the withdrawal of progesterone alongside oestrogen
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contributes to migraine susceptibility by altering neuronal sensitivity and pain threshold
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in the premenstrual period. Let's go now to the east and see what we can dig out there as well.
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In traditional Chinese medicine, premenstrual migraines aren't seen as a problem of oestrogen
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drops or progesterone withdrawal. Instead, they are viewed as a surge of liver chi stagnation
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and the rise of liver fire, a build-up of internal heat and toxins in the liver system
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that disrupts the body's balance right before menstruation. And while that energetic turbulence
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is something many women experience, if you have a genetic predisposition for migraine disease,
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traditional Chinese medicine believes that imbalance will specifically manifest as migraine
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pain during that sensitive phase of your cycle. In traditional Chinese medicine, the liver is
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closely linked to the brain. In fact, among all systems that govern the body, like the lung system,
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the heart system, the kidney system, the liver system is the most hyperlinked to your brain,
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namely connecting to your temples right and left, above your ears right and left, on top of your head,
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across your eyebrows, and linked to your eyes and your vision. And when the liver is overburdened
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with toxins, this stagnation can manifest as migraines, namely in those specific locations.
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Just before your period, your body prepares to release build-up toxins through your menstruation.
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If the liver is overloaded, these toxins will accumulate instead of evacuating smoothly,
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leading to excessive internal heat, what is called liver fire, that rises to the head
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and triggers migraines through the vagus nerve. So imagine your vagus nerve, I don't know if you've
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ever heard about it, like a massive tree, a massive tree that plants its roots and wraps
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the root around your main organs like your liver, but also your heart, your lung, your small and
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large intestine, connecting the hundred billion nerve cells of your body, making a big trunk in
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your neck and plugging in in your brain through the trigeminal nerve. You have inflammation in
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your liver organ that will be felt in your brain through the vagus nerve. Your menstruation offers
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this extraordinary possibility of removing toxins from the body through your menstruation. Once your
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menstruation hits, that load of toxicity then is able to decrease and exit the body. Now,
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important, note that while some of you may experience relief at that stage of having
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the menstruation, others may experience migraine pain in menstruation as well, okay,
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and sometimes even stronger. That migraine pain during menstruation is completely different as
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a migraine, at least how we see it and how we solve it inside the Migraine Heroes app.
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The migraines yet after your menstruation mean something completely different as well. So even
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if it looks like a big uninterrupted block, these are different things that come from different root
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causes. Here, I'm only talking about the migraines before menstruation. So back to PMS migraine,
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although it might seem like there's a divide between the East and Western medicine on these
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PMS migraines, the West seeing it as a hormonal problem and the East seeing it as a liver issue,
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they actually tell two versions of a similar story, but one of these stories is a lot more
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actionable and designates the root cause problem of the other one. In traditional Chinese medicine,
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the liver system is pivotal in producing and regulating female hormones. When the liver is
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going to experience stagnation or an overload of toxins, this vital process is disrupted,
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leading to imbalances, namely hormonal imbalances. So while Western medicine often focuses on
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observing hormonal changes, Eastern medicine goes a step further by exploring the underlying
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disturbance affecting these hormones. So while adding synthetic hormones might offer temporary
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relief, it's a short-sighted approach, the most effective solution to address the root cause of
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these imbalances, and the East would suggest to do so by tackling the liver system and not going
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for hormones per se. By taking a closer look, it now becomes clear that Eastern and Western
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medical philosophies, though seemingly different, are starting to converge, even though from the
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surface, it doesn't seem so. The major challenge, and this is super important, is that the West is
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going to tell you to medicate and that those medications will build up your liver toxins and
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give you PMS migraines, but then the hormones, your hormones, will be blamed for it, and that's a big
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difference. So how to outsmart PMS migraines without more medications? Since the underlying
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cause of PMS migraines is liver imbalances and hormonal fluctuations, the key to preventing them
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is to balance those without medications. Now chances are you're going to need to do all of
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the advice below if you have stubborn PMS migraines, so take a pen and note down or turn on your memory
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part of your brain and let's power through those. First of all, to abort a PMS migraine, there's only
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one way, only one way, with infusions. In the Migraine Heroes app, we're all about that. In absence of that,
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in your home, you can do today, you can try chamomile, chrysanthemum, feverfew before your
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menstruation to stimulate and detox your liver. Note that these might need to be paired with
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something else to be respectful and more efficient for your body type. This is really important.
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More on that in our free guide migraineheroes.com slash feverfew from a former episode. I really
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insist on that because there's a lot of implications with these infusions themselves. Okay.
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Everyone's body is different. Now, in order to prevent them from happening, there's six ways
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to do so. Okay. Because they are gentle, I'm going to try to ask you to do a maximum number of them.
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Number one, stimulate your liver naturally by putting a warm bottle on your liver at night.
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Your liver operates best at 40 degrees Celsius. Help it detox by putting a warm bottle on your
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tummy at night to facilitate the detox process. Put a compress of castor oil on your liver.
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That will help it detox faster. And then do some diaphragm breathing to help stimulate your liver
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by moving your diaphragm that is going to pump your liver system. And by pumping and stimulating,
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we don't harshly detox, but we make the liver do its job. Number two, reduce inflammation.
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Since inflammation can amplify migraine pain, reducing systematic inflammation is completely key.
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Try omega-3 fatty acids found in wild caught fish, flax seeds, and omega-3s help lower
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inflammation and support brain health. Hydrate. Dehydration can worsen PMS symptoms in migraines.
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Drink at least two liters of water per day, especially in the days leading up to your
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menstruation. And please, please, please drink warm if you can. Neuroscience proves that neurons
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go faster with increased temperature. Warm water here will be a lot more efficient to detox and
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stimulate your liver. Number four, if you are in perimenopause, do consider HRT, hormone replacement
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therapy. If and if well-dosed, it can help massively with estrogen and progesterone levels.
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If it's not well-dosed, then it can come with a lot of complications. If that's you, go back to
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a better health practitioner. Number five, support stable blood sugar levels. Blood sugar spikes and
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crashes can make your liver system more imbalanced and hormones fluctuate in a worse way and trigger
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more migraines. To stabilize your levels, eat protein and healthy fats with every meal to slow
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sugar absorption. Avoid processed carbs and refined sugar, which cause rapid blood sugar cravings.
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Avoid processed carbs and refined sugar, which cause rapid blood sugar swings. Incorporate
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magnesium-rich foods like spinach, pumpkin seeds, and almonds, which help regulate blood sugar and
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support nerve function. Please rehydrate anything that is dry overnight. Number six, prioritize sleep
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and stress reduction. Lack of sleep and chronic stress worsen liver and hormonal imbalances
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and increase migraine frequency. So focus on getting those seven to nine hours of crazy sleep.
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Now, I'm really conscious this is a really hard one. It can be a bit of a chicken and egg.
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We make people sleep better. This is a tough one. Do your best here. And yes, a chamomile infusion
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might help if you can tolerate it. And to continue in that vein, please manage your stress with
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meditation, deep breathing, or gentle exercise. High stress levels increase cortisol, which can
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further disrupt hormones. Now, last but not least, please be considerate when you consider
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medications. If you feel you have too many and you have medications that are not serving you well,
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go back to your doctor to reassess the need for those not effective medications.
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Found this episode helpful? Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode with the powerful insights
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and practical tips for real migraine relief.
