Hi John,

I'm sorry to hear your wife is having so much trouble with Migraines. You mentioned that your wife has tracked her Migraines and avoids food triggers. Unfortunatey, there are other things besides foods and allergies that can trigger a Migraine attack. Hormones being just one.

Any hormone variations can be a Migraine trigger for some people. These hormones include but are not limited to: estrogen, cortisol, testosterone, thyroid stimulating hormone and progesterone. Some women have significantly fewer Migraines after menopause, while others aren't so lucky. Starting hormone therapy is a very personal decision and Migraine prevention shouldn't be the reason for it. Here is some information for you: Role of hormones in causing Migraines? and more on this topic: Migraine Disease, Menstrual Migraines, and Hysterectomy. Has your wife had her thyroid checked lately?

Light bulbs, weather changes, dehydration, waking too early or sleeping too late, can all trigger a Migraine attack. You may want to try our Migraine diary. It may give your wife a better picture of what's going on throughout the month. You can get our free diary on our Migraine trigger page HERE.  

A Migraine specialist may be the way to go now since your wife hasn't seen any improvment with her current doctor. Migraine specialists are experts treating patients in one area - headache disorders and Migraines. Neurologist are fine doctors, but aren't usually experts in one area because they treat so many different conditions like stroke, epilepsy and MS. We have a list of patient recommended specialists you can see by clicking HERE.  This article: Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? is very good too.

Good luck

Nancy