To send a link and summary of this article to a friend, click here . The answer may be estrogen. Changes in estrogen levels that govern the ebb and flow of women's menstrual cycles can cause headaches. In addition to hormonal changes, headaches can be caused by triggers that are as individual as women are. According to Patricia Solbach, Ph.D., a headache specialist and director of the Center for Clinical Research at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, the pain of tension headaches is most commonly experienced as a steady, uncomfortable background pressure that doesn't disable you to the point of dysfunction.
Migraines can last a few hours or even a few days.
What Women Doctors Do Cues Herself to Relax Patricia Solbach, Ph.D. Headache specialist Patricia Solbach, Ph.D., had gotten only the occasional headache until she was fresh out of graduate school. I had steady headache pain daily, with tremendous pressure in my eyes and temples. It was awful. I couldn't think, much less work very well. There I was, a headache specialist, and I had to find out the hard way that too much stress could cause headache pain.