When Is the Right Time to Visit the Doctor for Period Migraines?

The right time to visit your doctor is when:

• You get sudden, severe headaches with or without your period
• The number or severity of your migraines increases, or your headache pattern changes
• You’re experiencing new or different side effects
• Medications to treat migraines no longer seem to be working, or they affect your quality of life
• Development of migraines with aura

When Is It an Emergency As per Guidelines?

While period migraines are manageable, there are times when it is hard to bear the pain of the headaches. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed below in relation to your period migraines, it's time you should take it seriously and consider it as an emergency situation.

Symptoms:

• Change in headache pattern or ‘worst headache ever’
• Neurological signs/seizure
• New onset at 50+ years
• Persistent after exercise or Valsalva maneuver
• Progressively increasing severity
• Systemic symptoms like fever, hypertension, myalgia, weight loss
• Thunderclap onset (max severity at onset)

Non-migraine headaches like:

• Tension headache
• Cluster headache
• Thunderclap headache
• Secondary headaches (caused by another underlying condition)

Red flags:

• Menstrual migraine with aura
• Migraine with aura accompanied by hypertension [1]

Medically reviewed by: Dr Yash Bahuguna

Researched by: Dr Inara Isani

Written by: Avantika Sukhia

References

1. Mayans L, Walling A. Acute migraine headache: treatment strategies. American family physician. 2018 Feb 15;97(4):243-51.