Migraine in young women: how to recognise it and what to do

Migraine in young women is common: women get migraine about three times as often as men, and it is most active in early adulthood. Hormonal changes around your period play a large part, but migraine is a genetic brain condition, not a hormonal disorder. It can be recognised, and it can be treated.

As a young woman you are often in the middle of everything: work, study, friends, perhaps a young family. So what if migraine regularly brings you to a halt? Here you can read how to recognise migraine and what you can do about it.

Why is migraine more common in women?

Migraine affects women three times as often as men, largely because of hormonal fluctuations. The risk of a migraine attack is higher around your period. But migraine is not a hormonal condition: it is a genetic brain condition that is most active in this stage of life.

How do you recognise migraine?

Migraine is much more than an ordinary headache. An attack often comes with:

• throbbing pain on one side of the head;
• nausea and/or vomiting;
• sensitivity to light and sound;
• tiredness and difficulty concentrating, also after the attack.

Some women have an aura before the headache, such as blurred or flickering vision or tingling.

What is hormonal migraine?

When attacks cluster around your period, this is often called hormonal or menstrual migraine. The trigger is the fall in oestrogen in the days before your period. Attacks at this time can be longer and harder to treat. Contraception can influence this pattern. Women who have migraine with aura should not usually take the combined pill because of a higher risk of blood clots, including stroke. We do not offer hormonal treatment, so discuss contraception with your GP or a sexual health clinic.

What can you do about migraine?

1. Keep a diary: it shows patterns in your symptoms, such as a link with your period, and helps you understand how your body reacts.
2. See a migraine specialist: you do not need a referral. You can book an intake online and see a migraine specialist by video. Talking to your GP first is fine, but it is not required, and you will not join a waiting list.
3. Make a treatment plan together: at The Migraine Clinic we help you with a personal treatment plan, tailored to your situation. This can include triptans for attacks, and preventive treatment such as the gepants atogepant and rimegepant or the monoclonal CGRP inhibitors erenumab, fremanezumab and galcanezumab.

When should you get help for migraine?

It is worth getting help if migraine makes you miss work, study or plans with friends, or if you take painkillers on many days. Taking painkillers or triptans too often can itself lead to more headaches, known as medication overuse headache. You do not have to wait until it gets that far: effective treatment exists, and the earlier it starts, the less migraine takes from you.

What if you are planning a pregnancy?

Many women have fewer migraine attacks during pregnancy, especially in the later months. Not every migraine medicine is suitable during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, so if you are planning a pregnancy, discuss your medicines with your migraine specialist or GP well in advance.

You come first

Migraine is not a choice, and it is certainly not your fault. Let us help you reduce its impact on your life. At The Migraine Clinic we understand that migraine is more than a headache. Together we take the step towards a life with less migraine.

Want to know whether your symptoms fit migraine? Take the migraine test, or see how to start.