The migraine at the end of the menstrual period could be due to low iron levels in the body, research studies show.
A considerable percentage of women complain of growing migraine pain during their menstrual period which is marked by changes in hormone levels. One of the reasons could be low iron levels.
Has it ever happened to you that you did not get any headaches during your menstrual period, but experienced migraine during the last days of the period? If your answer is “yes,” then your migraine may be due to low iron levels in your body.
Iron depletion is associated with symptoms such as fatigue, pale complexion, irregular heartbeat, vertigo, headache, listlessness and numbness in limbs (arms and legs). Anemia is defined as a drop in the number of red cells or levels of hemoglobin. Ferritin plays a key role in preventing anemia. Studies* show anxiety and/or depression, a lack of concentration and reluctance to establish social relationship is more prevalent among children suffering from anemia due to iron depletion (Iron Deficiency Anemia). It is also proven that among adults there is a link between ferritin levels in the serum fluid of blood and depression while there is no anemia.
So, if you are among those who experience migraine at the end of their menstrual period, you may reduce or even remove the pain by taking the ferritin supplement.
* Connor J, Menzies S. Relationship of iron to oligodendrocytes and myelination. Glia 1996; 17:89-93.
Wang W, Knovich M, Coffman L, Torti F, Torti S. Serum ferritin: Past, present and future. Biochimica et biophysica Acta 2010; 1800:760-9.
Lozoff B, Jimenez E, Hagen J, Mollen E, Wolf A. Poorer behavioral and developmental outcome more than 10 years after treatment for iron deficiency in infancy. Pediatrics 2000;105.
Shariatpanaahi V, Shariatpanaahi Z, Moshtaaghi M, Shahbaazi S, Abadi A. The relationship between depression and serum ferritin level. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007; 61:532-5.
Calhoun A, Gill N. Presenting a New, Non-Hormonally Mediated Cyclic Headache in Women: End-Menstrual Migraine. Headache 2016.