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Headaches & Nausea with Menopause Answers, by Dr.
I am 49 years old and have been extremely sick now for 7 months with
constant headaches and nausea. My
quality of life is not very good, as I am sick most of the time. I have been to
several doctors, each one of them tells me something different. My
gynecologist prescribed an estrogen, but I have been afraid to take it
because of the cancer risks and the weight gain attributed to this hormone
replacement therapy. I have used progesterone cream. It seems to help
sometimes, but the terrible headaches and nausea return. Can you please help
me? Answer: It
is always a good idea to discuss symptoms such as chronic headaches and
nausea with your private physician. Nausea related to menopause is not widely
recognized, but I have seen and consulted on a number of such cases.
Headaches related to menopause appear to be more common. Unfortunately, the
connection between menopause and headaches is not widely recognized and they
are treated as two unrelated conditions. Women
experiencing increased pain, such as headaches, or increased agitation of any
body system, such as nausea may have a progesterone deficient menopause type.
In my experience, menopause related nausea and headaches are often related to
a progesterone deficiency. It
may be because progesterone opposes the action of prostaglandins, substances
that increase pain and inflammation symptoms such as headaches and nausea. Of
interest; estrogens increase prostaglandins, so may increase pain and
inflammation – balance is the goal. Some types of PMS respond well to
progesterone for this reason. As
well as opposing prostaglandins, progesterone is more calming or quiescent to
the nervous system. Progesterone and its metabolites can calm a body system
that is showing signs of agitation - there are increased irritable bowel
symptoms with progesterone deficiency. This calming effect is in sharp
contrast to the stimulating and agitating effects of estrogens. I have seen
progesterone stop menopause related nausea a number of times. The
progesterone metabolites that are more calming to the body include allopregnanolone. This metabolite is relaxing, reduces
anxiety and may have analgesic (pain relieving) properties. When progesterone
is taken by mouth more of it will become metabolized to allopregnanolone.
This may be why I have had better results with oral progesterone than with
progesterone cream when treating nausea related menopause. What can be done? A
woman experiencing nausea and or headaches relate to menopause should talk to
her physician, pharmacist of other healthcare professional about testing all
three hormones. Also, take the on-line questionnaire and use the study guide that is chooses for your
menopause type. If a progesterone imbalance is noted then oral progesterone
is the best choice. It
is important to remember that with oral progesterone there is increased
production of the mineralcorticoids (from 11-Deoxycorticosterone to aldosterone). This can be good if a
woman is predisposed towards low blood pressure and needs help holding on to
her minerals and water. But if a woman is predisposed to high blood pressure
or edema, she needs to use oral progesterone with caution - and cut back on
the salt. It is also a good idea to do what can be done to treat the
discomfort of headaches and nausea. Relief of nausea may be achieved by
taking ginger or mint teas. Headache relief may be found in homeopathic
remedies, as well as Chiropractic and Cranial Techniques. See the Resources for Women
page for a list of professional organizations that can help you find a
healthcare practitioner who is experienced in natural therapies and can help
with these choices. Dr. Joseph J. Collins
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YourMenopauseType.com, Inc. |
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