Is It Safe To Take Migraine Medication During Pregnancy?
Living with migraine can be tough. You may need to keep away from the triggers and every once in a while, you may also have to deal with the splitting headache.
Now that you’re pregnant, you probably are wondering about using your regular migraine pain medication. To explain that and much more, here is something to help you ease migraine during pregnancy.
Is Migraine Medication During Pregnancy Safe?
No. Migraine medications, or any other medications for that matter, are not safe for use during pregnancy.
Pregnancy is one of the stages where you are more vulnerable to the ill-effects of possibly anything harmful, and the use of migraine painkillers could be problematic.
What Causes Migraines During Pregnancy?
Handling migraines during pregnancy can be tough, since you’re already dealing with a lot of signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
- The exact cause of migraine headaches is not well known.
- It is speculated that the hormonal changes during pregnancy cause your brain blood vessels to get irritated and swell up, which generates a pain response.
- It is believed that the hormone estrogen, which fluctuates during pregnancy, could be linked to migraine headaches.
- It has been found that preeclampsia – a pregnancy complication – also triggers headaches.
[ Read: Flu Vaccine During Pregnancy ]
Migraine Medications – A Brief Overview:
Many migraine medications are thought to have negative impacts on growing babies’ health. It is recommended to avoid using pain medications during the first and last trimester of pregnancy, as they are the most crucial stages of your baby’s development.
- It is believed that narcotics paired with Tylenol are much safer to use during pregnancy. However, most other drugs used as painkillers are thought to cause tightening of fetal blood vessels, which may cause rupturing of the arteries linked to the spine, which may leave your baby paralyzed.
- Beta blockers are also thought to cause neonatal hypoglycemia if used during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, and may slow down your baby’s growth and heartbeat.
- It is also believed that the use of Depakote may lead to neural tube defects if used during pregnancy.
- Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is also thought to cause an increased risk of heart defects in the fetus.
How To Deal With Migraine During Pregnancy?
Don’t panic if the thought of being without migraine painkillers alarms you. There are several effective ways to deal with migraine headache during pregnancy.
- Maintain a migraine diary. Every time you feel a headache come up, note down what you ate or what you did. This will help you notice a pattern, and will help you identify your trigger.
- Mention any particular approaches that helped you deal with the headache- lying down, taking a bath or sleeping.
- Certain foods are known to trigger migraine headaches in a lot of people. Chocolate, caffeine, processed foods (especially those that contain monosodium glutamate and aspartame) are thought to trigger headaches, so it’s best to stay away from these.
- Keep yourself hydrated. Lack of water is also thought to trigger headaches.
- If you are using certain herbs or natural foods to curb pain during a migraine headache, let your doctor know about it.
If you experiencing migraines during your pregnancy, for the first time, you may need to visit your doctor immediately and get some tests done.
[ Read: Sleeping Pills During Pregnancy ]
The Verdict:
The best way to deal with migraine headaches during pregnancy is to stay away from the triggers and handle pain the natural way. You can also have a talk with your doctor regarding the issue and find out which medicine is good for you to consume
We hope this article helps you make the right decision about the use of migraine medication during pregnancy. Do share your views with us.
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