PMS headaches and sinus problems

i am 47 and have experienced headaches, nausea, fatigue, sinus problems and crawlly skin, increased appetite,my immune system seem to drop 1 week prior to my peroid, poor sleep may not help, all the stress of pms, and entering menopause has made my pms/period hell. i am taking a herbal supplement, i find they stop working after two months of use,

Yes I also get these headaches I suffer from sinus anyway but guaranteed to get a 3 day headache when I have my period. It's always on the left side of my forehead and if I stand up too fast or just turn too quickly it really trobbes. I also get a very sick tummy and unable to eat for at least one day. Ok girls I'm going to do some research into this and hopefully get a solution. I do know dairy product are detremental to anyone who suffers from sinuses and should be avoided at all costs.

I get sinus headaches and migraines.  With treatment from an allergist, I am down from having headaches all the time to only a few just before and during my period.  They feel like sinus headaches sometimes and then sometimes feel like the "knife behind one eye" migraine.  I also get migraines sometimes with a weather front coming in.

I like this explanation of how sinuses and migraine are related from migrainesurvival.com.

"Here's how that works: the sinus cavities are lined by sensitive tissues whose nerves are fed mostly by a branch of the trigeminal nerve. This is the same nerve responsible for migraine headaches. When you have sinus congestion, it can confuse the nerves and cause what is called referred pain, sending pain to distant areas in the face and head, away from the sinuses themselves. So, sinus headaches may cause pain that is not in the sinus region, and migraines can cause pain that is in the sinus region. Just to make things even more confusing, some migraine sufferers experience nasal congestion or watery eyes with their migraine attacks. This is because the trigeminal nerves can release neurotransmitter chemicals that cause blood vessels to dilate, which is why your eyes get red and watery and your nose gets congested.It isn't clear why this happens more to some people and not to others with migraine".

Allergies can be a migraine trigger-- so I guess you could have both at one time. 

Thank you Guest. I agree the explanation you quoted from migrainesurvival.com is very informative. I used to believe the pain was due to a build up of pressure in my sinus cavities. The fact that the trigeminal nerve is involved makes a lot of sense.

I am so happy I found this site. Like other posters I thought I was along with these 3 day (almost to the hour) debilitating headaches just prior to or when my period starts. Debilitating as in I am in bed for 3 full days. Every month. After tracking them for the last year I figured hormone related -after trying OTC pill cocktail, prescription strength Advil and migraine meds, none of which worked, my Gynocologist suggested estrogen due to the drop in hormones before menstration. It's worked the last 2 months thankfully but I have heard about estrogen linked to cancer so..not sure about the long term. I highly recommend speaking with your gyno!

Absolutely!  This is a recent development for me (I'm 45), so it's reassuring to know I'm not alone.  Mine lasts around three days during which my sleep suffers badly as I can't get comfortable.  The eye pain, sinus sensitivity and headache are all intermittent but very debilitating. I also experience discomfort at the top of my spine.  It's not unusual for me to spend at least one half day in bed, not that I can sleep because it's too hard to relax.  I've been met with blank looks by friends but instinctively I knew this was menstrual-related.  I'm also prone to migraine and have been recovering from a neck injury, both of which seem to worsen in the run up to my period.  Lavender oil helps to lull me to sleep.  The relief when my period starts, along with the energy burst, is nothing short of euphoric!  I'm a lucky girl; I've never suffered cramps the way some do but heavy legs, headaches, and tears at the drop of the hat, you bet.  All tips and advice gratefully received. 

i have headaches,neckpain,burning and pressures behind my eyes, feel heat waves in legs n back,have nausea few days. before having my periods.n get relaxed after starting.what should i do?

I have also had the same type of sinus headache the rest of you describe, but  mine started when I started on birth control pills and then HRT after menopause (I went thru a very early menopause at around age 40).  Recently, at age 53 I have been taking Evening Primrose Oil (1000 mg daily) to help with anxiety, and have developed the awful sinus headaches again!  EPO is also related to estrogen (I think I read it attaches to the same cell receptors), so these sinus symptoms must be due to fluctuations and/or increases in estrogen level.  My symptoms are pressure and pain in back of the nose, mucous drainage, sometimes leading to body aches and fatigue.  Really awful.  So I'm stopping the EPO to see if it goes away.  So weird, because I thought for years I was sensitive to hair products!

I get such bad headaches either before or during my menstral cycle and every month I am nauseated and bed ridden for at least 24-48 hours.  One month it was so bad that I was scared and had a catscan of my head.  Turned out to be sinus pressure.  I am already on birth control and have tried taking tension headache pills but they don't really work.  Over the past year they have gotten worse and my menstrual flow has increased dramatically.  I am going to the doctor in a few weeks to see if I can get answers but I have heard that some women get a hysteractomy to deal with this issue.  I am going to speak with my doctor about this option too.

This is great I thought I was the only one having this, sinus headaches, sore throat, neck pain and nausea and really dry throat for some reason, usually 1 or 2 days before period and day 3 and 4 of period, sometime the whole week. I have been having this for two years, my Dr. Says that I might be into peri-menopause. I am 39.

This site at least makes me feel better that I am not alone.

 

Thank you all!

 

I talked to my doctor about this last year and she suggested that I start doing twice daily sinus rinses, and just before my period, increase the number of packets I use from one to two once a day. I used to get these explosive headaches and then become sick with flu like symptoms, including occasionally fever which would last the first three days of my period. Since I started the sinus rinse my headaches have dramatically decreased, and when they do come, I can usually do a sinus rinse and they will reduce to be minimally debilitating, if not completely erradicated. I also do a daily progesterone cream which has helped my other very severe pms symptoms like cramps, irritability and insomnia.

Everyone - please try "Migranal" nasal spray!  (generic name: dihydroergotamine mesylate).  It is prescription only.

OR if you can find it in your area  - I CAN'T, very unfortunately, as there is a national shortage of it - :( !!!  -  try Cafergot tablets or I think they also come in sublingual tablets (that dissolve under your tongue). (generic name: ergotamine tartrate with caffeine)  Also prescription only.

 

I've NEVER written into one of these before, but I HAD to because I could have written practically any of these posts - I've suffered with this issue for YEARS - I've had MRI's, CT scans, tried vicodin (makes me nauseated - on top of the migraine nausea, and DOESN'T stop the excruciating headache pain!), Fioricet (which is butalbital with caffeine and acetaminophen) - my headache practically laughs at this stuff - MAYBE my pain goes from a 16 out of 10, to a 15.5 out of 10 when I take this :), and I've tried sumatriptan (brand name: Imitrex) (kind of works, but makes me feel REALLY weird making it hard to do things during the day and also makes me feel like I'm in a 3G turn in an aircraft or something, if anyone knows what I mean).  I once had one of these "PMS/temple/sinus Headaches from H*ll"  (TRULY, i call them headaches from H*ll, because that's exactly what they feel like!!!!) for 5 days straight!  Was up puking 2 nights in a row (and this was the week before my finals week!!!!!!!!! I was devastated that I was losing so much study time - I am in pharmacy school), and I eventually got rid of it by going to my doctor and having her give me two shots in the butt :(!!   The shots were basically a hard core anti-inflammatory and antiemetic (for nausea) - and they just knocked me out.  So I slept for like 2 days.  (which i COULDN'T afford to do with finals coming up - but i had no choice!).    So please, if you haven't looked into either dihydroergotamine mesylate nasal spray or ergotamine tartrate tablets - please try them - they are the ONLY thing that works for me - and THEY WORK!!!!  My headaches will go away in like 30 min - 1 hr when I take either of these.  I'm actually tearing up writting this, because i know how important it is to find relief from these - and I am thanking GOD that Migranal is still on the market and isn't on shortage like ergotamine tartrate is!   

 

When ergotamine tartrate went on shortage about 1.5-2 yrs ago now I think, maybe it hasn't been quite that long, I was DEVASTATED and went back to excruciating headaches "from h*ll" :)! BTW -  I'm still not done giving up on finding out if the shortage will end or why it is occurring - I recently got a phone number for Sandoz (company that manufactures ergotamine tartrate) that I can call to ask them about the details of the shortage - so I'm going to do this!  I also thought there were no other meds that were in the "Ergot Alkaloid" family on the market, and neither did my doctors!!!! agh!   So i've been suffering for the past 2 years - but since I'm in pharmacy school, I had access to some databases to do some research and I was able to find this other "ergot alkaloid" - dihydroergotamine mesylate!  I called a pharmacy in my town to see if they carry it and they said it only comes as an injection.  At the time, I hadn't looked into the "ways it is supplied", so I didn't KNOW what forms it came in, so when the pharmacy told me that I said "oh, ok, thanks...."  and hung up feeling very sad!   :)  HOWEVER, then i looked up in Micromedex (a database I have access to as a student) and found it comes as a nasal spray too!!!!!  So DON'T believe someone if they tell you dihydroergotamine mesylate comes only as an injectable - it doesn't - it ALSO comes as a nasal spray and is called "Migranal"  :). 

 

FYI - often drugs go on shortage because there is not enough demand and so the manufacturer stops making it because they aren't seeing enough profit from sales to continue making it!!!!  So if you all try to buy either Cafergot - the generic name is ergotamine tartrate with caffeine- (Sandoz makes the generic of this) and/or Migranal - the generic name is dihydroergotamine mesylate, but I don't think it comes in generic at this point -  (Migranal is manufactured by MiPharm and distributed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals) we may together increase the demand so they will continue to make these!!!!!!!   I MAY sound like some sort of a sales person - believe me, I am not - if I were, I'm not sure who I'd be a sales person for - Sandoz, MiPharm, Valeant Pharmaceuticals???..... :)  TRULY, I'm definitely NOT a sales person - I am a student - (actually in my third year, out of 4 years, of pharmacy school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.  So in about 1.5 yrs I will have my doctorate in pharmacy and will be a pharmacist. :) )  And so my ONLY motivation for writing to you all is to help because I absolutely know how you all feel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good luck, ladies!!  I hope either of these two meds can be helpful for you!

-Liz C. , Fort Collins, Colorado

Try probotics..good ones. Whole foods, it wil help

I can't believe that I have found people with the same symptoms that I suffer from each month; sometimes briefly when I suspect I am ovulating and then again about the third day in my cycle. They are destroying my quality of life, nothing seems to help them go away. I want some help and relief. kjames symptoms are almost identical to mine, and I also have facial/upper teeth pain. If this is sinus why does it act up at certain times during a menstrual cycle? Or does it have to do with hormones? if that's the case why does it coincide with a menstrual cycle? Please answer.

Anyone here smokes? I quit smoking recently after 24 years and this is my second month with no sinus symptoms before period...wonder if it is related?