Recently I’d suffered the effects of many months of ongoing frequent and severe migraines and believed it was a result of chronic sinusitis. Yet, through persistence and research I discovered this was a common misunderstanding. It was at this time I came across the work of Professor Anne MacGregor. She has over 35 years clinical experience across headache and women’s health, which means she is well equipped to help women who experience migraine and suspect hormones are playing a part in that. This was an area of medicine that had a huge impact on people’s lives but was rarely taken seriously and very under researched. She became particularly interested in how women’s hormones affected headaches and took up additional posts in menopause and contraception to complement her work in headache. Anne and I discuss such an interesting topic and chat about:

• The difference between headache and migraine.

• Chemical reactions, circadian rhythms, and how they contribute to migraine attacks.

• Migraine misdiagnosis and confusing factors, especially in midlife.

• HRT and hormonal contributions to migraine.

• Contributing factors such as genetics, brain awareness, hypervigilance, balance, glucose, and sleep.

• Myths when it comes to migraines and the importance for women to trust and listen to their bodies.

• Migraine thresholds and education to manage and acknowledge to lessen the impact of stress in our daily lives.

• How the role of oestrogen, progesterone, hot flushes, and cycles in perimenopause can be specific to your individual makeup.

This episode is jam packed with information and I have no doubt it will help all who listen. There are several resources mentioned in this episode including the link to Anne’s headache diary. 

CBT programmes for insomnia including Sleepio: https://www.bighealth.com/sleepio/ which is the app based programme

CBT-I: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia and others which are usually done with a therapist but there are apps available https://mobile.va.gov/app/cbt-i-coach

The book mentioned for self-guided CBT for menopause management include:

Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats: A Cognitive Behavioural Self-help Guide to the Menopause 

By Dr Myra Hunter and Melanie Smith

Published by Routledge 2020

Available from Amazon Australia 

The presentation which inspired me to lead to this podcast can be found at:

https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-professionals/webinars/migraine-menopause-and-mht

You can also find me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joclarkcoaching/ and Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenswellnesscollective1.

Here’s to redefining midlife and making our next half of life even better than the first.