Weaning and Monthly Cycle

Updated on February 01, 2010
D.N. asks from Atlanta, GA
4 answers

I recently (four months ago) weaned my daughter after breastfeeding her for a year. Prior to my pregnancy my periods were very irregular and I would usually get a migraine headache on the first day of my period. After weaning, my period came back immediately and along with the migraines on the first day of my cycle I have also been getting a migraine during ovulation. The ovulation migraines have been worse than the others. Along with this I have been feeling very depressed (crying fits, lack of energy, not motivated etc.) ever since I stopped breastfeeding. I have nothing else going on in my life that should be making me feel this way so I really believe all of this is hormonal however I would not have expected it to go on for so long after weaning. I saw my regular doctor about the depression and he wanted to prescribe antidepressants however I really would rather not take them if this is a hormonal issue plus my husband and I plan on getting pregnant in the near future so birth control pills (which my doctor also said may help) are also out of the question. I have my yearly appointment with my Obgyn next month and will talk to her about it but I was wondering if anyone has every heard or experienced something like this?

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C.G.

answers from Atlanta on

Fortunately, I did not have the same experience as you with migraines related to your cycle. But I have suffered from depression. And one time it hit when my first child was about 18 months old. Even thought she was so old, I felt like I had all the classic symptoms of post partem depression.
If your depression is consistent, and not related to your cycle, then I think it's not hormonal and you need to try an antidepressent. I have been on Zoloft and it worked great for me. It was safe to take while pregnant and nursing. You can double check that with your OBGYN.
I highly recommend getting yourself feeling better before getting pregnant again.
Good luck! Don't be afraid to keep asking for help or of taking medicines.

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B.W.

answers from Myrtle Beach on

I had Migraines from the time I was about 16. They were obviously hormonal, I would get them either right before my period or when ovulating. I didn't usually have many when breastfeeding and that was nice. lol. But I assume that is because your hormones stay pretty level while b'feeding. After my fourth, I started taking B complex daily for something else completely. After a couple months it hit me that I hadn't had any migraines. I read up and found that this had been reported with some people taking B-Complex. It's a good and simple thing to try. B-Complex helps give you extra energy, which pretty much al moms could use a little more of!

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J.S.

answers from Atlanta on

Two things you may consider. Migranes have a trigger, yours may be hormonal, or they may be responding to something that happens at the same time.
1) Begin seeing a chiropractor. You will need to plan to see them for a period of at least three months, I believe, to really tell the difference. Some people get things lining up right, the inflamation goes down, and the miracle happens. Your period my be adding to the inflamation and thus, triggering them.
2) Have an IGG (allergy) test called in for you by your primary, or your obgyn. they won't like and it will poo-poo it, but you are the one iwth the headaches. Food sensitivities are often the culprit.
3) consider eliminating gluten (wheat) from your diet. There is lots of info on gluten intolerance and how that is a big trigger.
4) If all else fails, find an complementary or alternative medicine doc to run a hormone panel. You may be low in progesterone and perhaps even others that are causing it.
Good luck, J.

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J.K.

answers from Atlanta on

I didn't have migraines, but was really affected by the hormonal changes the first year of my baby's lives and after breastfeeding. I knew I was just dumping hormones, but taking better vitamins, keeping a journal for all the good things that were happening in mine and my family's lives (and venting of course:), and getting outside EACH DAY to do ANYTHING really helped me connect with the world and all the good there as well.

Good luck with the migraines!

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