Perimenopause and Migraine Disease

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Perimenopause and Migraine Disease

Find out how perimenopause symptoms can change your migraine attacks 

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Perimenopause can affect how you experience migraine disease

You may have a migraine attack for the first time 

Your symptoms could get worse

Your symptoms could get better 

There might be no change in your symptoms

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Hormonal upheaval

During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone go up and down. 

These hormonal changes can trigger worse pain or more frequent migraine attacks.  

For some women, when hormone levels even out during postmenopause, their migraine attacks happen less often or stop completely. 

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Sleep matters

Perimenopause symptoms such as hot flashes, waking up often, anxiety or depression can affect sleep quality. 

Poor sleep can trigger migraine attacks. 

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Menstrual migraine

Some women experience heavier and/or more frequent periods than usual during perimenopause, which can trigger more attacks and more severe migraine symptoms. 

2 out of 3 women with migraine disease experience attacks during their periods.

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Take note

Keeping track of your perimenopause symptoms and how they affect your migraine attacks can help you and your healthcare provider (HCP) come up with a treatment plan that works for you. 

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Write down your perimenopause symptoms  

Track whether any of the following symptoms affect how often you get migraine attacks and how bad they are.

Anxiety

Depression

Difficulty concentrating

Hot flashes

Insomnia

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Options for relief

There are many treatment options that can help manage migraine disease during perimenopause:

Oral medications

Triptans taken with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)

CGRP blockers

Injectable medications 

Nasal sprays 

Magnesium

Hormone therapy 

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Hormone therapy may help

Hormone therapy:

Replaces estrogen that’s lost during perimenopause

May help stop migraine attacks that are triggered by hormonal changes

Is safe and effective

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Involve your HCP 

If you’re in perimenopause and your migraine symptoms are changing, talk to your HCP about what treatment options might help. 

This educational resource was created with support from Pfizer.