Posted by Jim H (152.163.204.66) on July 28, 1999 at 23:06:09:
I apologize if this is a topic which has already been discussed here - I haven't done a search to check, and I'm still a relative newcomer to the site.
In light of the large number of men reporting cluster headaches and the relatively smaller number of women affected, one has to at least consider the possibility that the presence of male hormones enables CH episodes to occur (the way that testerone enables men who have the "baldness gene" to go bald, while administering estrogen to those same men will inhibit further balding) or that estrogen has a protective effect against the episodes (as has been posited as the reason women have a lower incidence of heart attacks prior to menopause). While it's always possible that some women are being misdiagnosed as having migraines instead of clusters, the large statistical disparity can't be accounted for by that alone. I was wondering whether women suffering from CH experience the onset of their first episodes most frequently before, during or after menopause. Is anyone familiar with any literature or studies on this? Can the women who frequent this board provide us with their own experiences? ( I understand that some of you may be reluctant to post sensitive information here, so if you would prefer to e-mail me in confidence, that's fine.)