Our hormones are really quite incredible. But sometimes we just wish they would not cause such havoc in our bodies!

If we look at the natural 28 day menstrual cycle you can see that oestrogen and progesterone rise and fall throughout the cycle.

When it comes to menstrual migraine, it is thought that oestrogen and progesterone are though to be the main players (although we can't forget other hormones such as testosterone, cortisol and insulin).

There is so much I wish I knew when I first started experiencing regular migraine attacks. Here is what I would tell my 17-year old self:…

The migraine personality type.

Is there such a thing? Well, according to some studies – plus also my personal and clinical experience – there is.

If you Google supplements and migraine, and chances are you will come across articles on the effectiveness of nutritionals and herbal medicines such as magnesium, vitamin B2, ginger, CoQ10 and many others to help prevent or treat migraine attacks.

And these can be a great starting point when it comes to creating your own migraine management plan.

To be honest though, they are not enough.

A quick guide to understanding the connection between your migraine, histamine and oestrogen.

And what to do about it to reduce migraine attacks and other symptoms.

There can be an over reliance on just treating the symptoms – with medications, painkillers or supplements. Medications and supplements can be great in helping us get through a migraine by managing pain, nausea and other symptoms, but they don’t really address the cause.

The balloons started to randomly burst. Not just one or two, but at least five balloons popped in ten minutes. Looking out the window, I found the answer. A storm was coming in, pressure in the air had changed, and now balloons were popping all over the place.

For migraineurs, our heads can be a bit like those balloons at times, with many linking a change in weather to a migraine.

But why?

One of the first physical pain symptoms of a migraine attack for me was a painful, stiff neck. And then I can almost feel that pain slowly creep up to the jaw, temple and behind the eye. And boom! A migraine attack had arrived.

Sometimes it can be difficult to describe how I support my patients with migraine, as naturopaths often work very differently to other healthcare providers you may have seen before.

But the simple answer is, that as a naturopathy client, we make it all about YOU.

My appointments with patients are in-depth and comprehensive. We can end up talking about everything from digestion to stress to your favourite food to life goals.

Anyone who experiences migraines (or is close to someone that does) knows that migraine is so much more than a headache. We all know about nausea and vomiting, and sensitivity to light, noise and smell – but there are many, many other migraine symptoms which are often overlooked.

The concept of food as medicine – particularly when combined with individualised medicine – looks at the possibility of a tailored or special diet to promote health or reduce illness. In addition to the overall diet, you can look at foods with medicinal properties from nutrients and plant compounds.

In my experience as a naturopath with a special interest in migraine (as well as being a migraineur myself), there is no single diet which works best for all people with migraine. But there sure are a few key nutritional programs with which my clients have had great success.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is one of the major neurotransmitters in our brain – and is a chemical that our brain cells use to communicate with each other.

It is a naturally occurring chemical that calms the mind and puts the brakes on brain activity when needed.

One of the questions I am asked most as a naturopath, who also lives with migraine, is what I do personally to keep my own migraine attacks at bay.

I’ve lived with migraine for 30 years now, and I’m grateful to have been able to manage them to the point where they rarely affect my day-to-day life – something which feels like a miracle as I approach the “danger time” for migraine - approaching menopause.

I wanted to share a case study today of a real-life client of mine from last year, as it demonstrates a point I often make about Naturopathy: when we address the causes of one condition, we often clear up other issues at the same time.

Mandy (not her real name but she has provided permission to share her case here) was 37 when she came to see me about her worsening migraine attacks. She told me that she previously used to get a migraine once a month – just before her period – but now she was getting 3 or 4 migraines a month.