Chronic Headaches
The depletion of sex hormones when paired with certain stimuli, such as stress and too much coffee, can cause a reaction in the brain that produces headaches and migraines. As hormone levels continue to wildly vacillate, headaches and migraines can intensify. You may have never experienced a migraine until perimenopause, but suddenly you are affected by noise, bright lights, and stress more than ever.
Unfortunately, an increase in headaches can also be caused by hormone replacement therapy. Women who are at risk of migraines need to consider the pros and cons of taking hormones during perimenopause, especially if their migraines are debilitating. The plus side is that most women who get chronic headaches during perimenopause will stop experiencing migraines once they reach menopause, since hormone levels have finally bottomed out.
