Hipnic Headaches

I attended a talk a while back on migraines and the topic of hipnic headaches was mentioned.

So what are Hipnic Headaches?

If you are:

• postmenopausal?
• woken from your slumber at the same time and regularly thanks to a headache?

The headache lasts 15 minutes to 4 hours? Then it may be a Hipnic headache. It is also known as the Alarm Clock headache, for obvious reasons. It mainly affects men and women over 60 but mostly women over 60. (Migraine Trust)

Can’t mention that without mentioning Migraines

As you enter perimenopause there is a chance migraines might lessen in this menopausal transition. However they can worsen as other factors besides hormones.

Did you know that migraines are ranked 6th as one of the most disabling diseases in the world according to the World Health Organisation and 4th for women in a 2017 study by WHO. Also there are 12-15% of people in Ireland dealing with migraines (Migraine.ie).

Above are two types, there are other headaches such as chronic headaches, cluster headaches, headaches from medications, tension headaches and more.

Next steps

Chat with your GP. They will diagnose your pain and/or refer your on to a consultant or clinic and discuss options on how to manage your headaches and migraines.

Migraine.ie is a not-for-profit organisation and has a ton of resources including a booklet called the Migraine Diary. This diary is very useful as it helps you to keep a note of your medications, time of headaches, symptoms, what headache type, possible triggers etc. It is worth getting this diary posted to you so you have it on hand and completed as much as possible for your doctors visit.

Keeping a simple food diary and noting trigger foods and stress levels is useful while you’re being a detective in the initial stages too.

If you’re struggling with making the necessary lifestyle and nutrition changes feel free to DM me to have a chat and see, if together, we can help you make the shift. Get your diagnosis first if you can so you know what you’re dealing with.