02 Nov, 2011 - 7:42 pm |
To my amazement I had no headaches whatsoever during my pregnancy but I got a cluster within 3 weeks of delivering my son. I wondered what protective factors the raised hormone levels during pregnancy might be affording me and reflected on male predominance in cluster headache sufferers. My obstetrician told me the predominant hormone in pregnancy is progesterone. I went onto a progestogenic contraceptive pill(.I had been on a number of contraceptives previously but they had more oestrogen than progesterone). I found that if I remained on it continuously - without the customary 7 day period off it - I remained free of the headaches.This kept me headache free for 10 years. I then thought I would try and see if I could have a brief break from the pill - but the headaches immediately recurred and one they started the cycle of daily headaches ran its course for 4-6 weeks. So I went back on uninterrupted progesterone medication. I am now on hormone replacement - both progesterone and oestrogen as I am postmenopausal. I thought my cluster headaches were behind me but earlier this year I was started on anew antidepressant which works on the melatonin system and I had a cluster headache. I immediately treated myself with 2-3 times my usual dose of progesterone which I think halted the headache cluster.I stayed on this for about 10 days before returning to my usual dose.
So the take home message is that continuous progesterone based contraceptive treatment may offer you the miraculous help it afforded me - without it my life would have been terrible. You will need to talk to your own doctor about the potential negative effects for you - I had none fortunately. Obviously giving men progesterone is not straightforward and may well be out of the question.
I really hope this helps some-one out there.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
Penny
0 people like this |