Headache? Blame it on Your Hormones...

As you may have guessed, only women have 'hormone headaches'. And yet hormones are responsible for both men and women suffering headaches at all. It is the hormones that cause the painful response which you recognize as a headache.

Hormones can be a pain

The word 'hormone' is derived from Greek and means 'to begin, or set into motion'. Hormones begin and then regulate a lot of the functions of your body. They are made by your endocrine glands. The endocrine system works together with your nervous system. Together, they keep your body's systems running consistently even though the environment around you is constantly changing.

Your endocrine and nervous systems dictate the many thousands of automatic responses that keep your bodily functions regulated. One of their decisions is whether your body will respond to a headache trigger, with a very real sensation of pain.

There are seven types of hormone headaches, all suffered by women at various stages of their lives - great huh?

· Menstrual migraine

· Pre-menstrual syndrome headaches

· Pregnancy headaches

· Postnatal and postpartum headaches

· Headaches from oral contraceptives

· Menopause

· Hormone replacement headaches

Let's take them one by one.

Menstrual migraine

Menstrual migraines can occur before, during or after the period of whilst ovulating. The main cause is estrogen. This is the hormone that controls the menstrual cycle. At the times where levels of estrogen and progesterone alter, women will be more likely to get a headache. Menstrual migraines are often heralded by an aura, or warning sign. The person may see bright lights or be aware of an odor for which there is no logical explanation. This sort of migraine usually begins on one side of the head. They are throbbing headaches, often with a feeling of sickness and sometimes actually vomiting. The person may find bright lights and noise very uncomfortable.

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome Headache

This occurs before a period and has quite different symptoms from the menstrual migraine.

PMS headaches are often joined by the following

· Tiredness