I've read about all the side effects on the Internet, and I'm concerned about them. I am young and do not want to cause more problems than just headaches. Everything that I read on this medication states that it should not be taken on a long-term basis. Please give me more information on this medication. This preponderance of women sufferers is thought to be due to the cycling of estrogen, a female sex hormone, that occurs during a woman's menstrual cycle.
Some women have regular attacks of migraine at the time of their periods.
Birth control pills, which also involve cycling levels of estrogen, may also stimulate migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are usually described as moderate to severely painful, one sided, becoming worse with exertion, and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light, sounds or smells. There is no test that specifically diagnoses migraine. The diagnosis must be made based on a careful history taken by the doctor. Tests that may be done, such as scans of the brain, are ordered to exclude other causes of headache, but cannot themselves diagnose migraines.