Hi Robyn,
Thanks for the reply. I just woke up with one, and I noticed I was dreaming right before - again! That's usually the case; I wonder if there's a connection? Hmmmm.
Take care,
Sue

I started having headaches similar to what you describe during the 2-3 nights before the start of my period. I would wake at almost 4 on the dot with an awful headache that would linger all day. Sometimes I would vomit but most times just nauseated and achy. I thought it was coffee withdrawal, or medication related, or even allergies. But it persisted and I finally noticed the pattern. When I mentioned it to my dr she says peri-menopause. UGGG!! I am seeing a dr who treats with bio-identical hormones tomorrow and pray for good results.

Hi ciarichic,
A few years ago I went to a neurologist who specialized in headaches. I kept a headache diary for a few months, and it was determined they were hormonal in nature. I'm 50 and knee deep in peri-menopause; I have a history of a stroke so I can't do any type of hormone therapy. It's exercise and extra B vitamins for me. (The B's have helped me with hot flashes; as long as I'm taking them regularly I don't get them at all!!)
I noticed your nickname; do you have a chiari malformation?? (My cousin does, and was diagnosed after she got fed up with her morning headaches.)
Take care!!
Sue

Hi, I to am knee deep in perimenopause. I was already on Neurontin for Trigeminal neuralgia and it is also used off label for hot flashes so I haven't had those. The waking up at 4am? Oh yeah I am so there!!!!! It is just awful it ruins my whole day! My gyno put me on birth control pills and it has helped with the sleeping some. I still have to take 2 benadryl and an xanax to sleep at nite. You would think that would keep me down and out but nope! My headaches start in the late morning right before I wake up for the second time, that's when I do my dreaming so I wake up then with my headache and sweating from my dream. If I don't dream then everything is great. Just don't get it.

Hi Robyn,

Neurontin and Lyrica didn't help me at all. (Post-stroke nerve pain.)

I don't understand the dream/headache connection either!

I'm on day #3 of a headache,, and I started my period yesterday. I wonder when this "fun" finally ends, and my hormones aren't on the peri-menopausal rollercoaster, if the headaches will stop?

Take care!!
Sue

Eve and that darn apple......but seriously, yes I do have a Chiari and had decompression surgery in 2004. I have been fairly headache free except for the monthly woes. I went from severe explosive daily headaches to 2-3 days of that dull roar behind my eye. But in the last year or so, I have noticed an increase in frequency and severity, so am looking for new neuro doc.
What I have learned about Chiari or any type of neuro issue, is that it makes us much more sensitive to all the usual migraine/headache triggers and throw in the XX gene combo and it is even more complicated. MSG might cause a crippling headache for me when I am on my period but may not even notice it in the middle of my cycle, for instance.

And yes, I was waking up with headaches, but I was also nearly passing out from the pressure and pain when I laughed really hard, coughed really hard, or even with straining to lift something heavy. Childbirth nearly killed me because I was undiagnosed and had epidurals each time.

I guess what I am trying to say is you don't have to suffer. I am going to see a nurse practioner who prescribes bioidentical hormones. Since my decompression surgery, my hormones have been askew. I now have hypothyroid, low adrenal function and irregular periods. If I forget to take my thyroid meds, I get a horrible headache and it is gone within an hour of my taking my missed dose. When you think it is 1 thing causing that headache, it could be something else entirely.

Believe in yourself, if it doesn't feel right, it probably is not right, and you need treatment!!

I wake up with headaches also--some days they are debilitating. My doc figured out they're caused by my neck. Next we have to figure out what's going on with that--I had a nasty whiplash many years ago that is the likely culprit.

The only thing that helps right now is an ice pack on my neck. I do this first thing in the am these days whether I have a headache or not, my neck is always bothering me.

I'm sure my hormones are involved as well, too.

Have you heard of CADASIL?