Managing Migraines: Support for Women from Home

Migraines are more than just headaches. They are a complex condition that can cause severe, throbbing pain along with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound.¹ For many people, particularly women, migraines are disruptive and can interfere with daily life, work, and relationships.

In this article, we’ll answer common questions about migraines, share practical management strategies, and explain how a telehealth nurse practitioner can support you in managing migraines from the comfort of your home.

What causes migraines?

Migraines are thought to involve temporary changes in brain blood vessels and chemicals, making the brain more sensitive to personal triggers.¹

Some of the most common triggers include¹:

• Hormonal fluctuations including around menstruation or menopause
• Skipping or delaying meals
• Certain foods such as cheeses, chocolate, citrus, alcohol, coffee and MSG
• Disrupted sleep patterns – too much or too little sleep
• Shifts in the weather
• Extended screen time, exposure to bright lights, loud sounds or strong smells
• High stress levels or intense emotions

Understanding your own triggers is key. A migraine diary can help track when attacks occur, what you ate, your stress levels, and sleep patterns.¹ Sharing this with a Nurse Practitioner or doctor can guide a more personalised care plan.

What are the stages and symptoms of migraine?

Migraines often progress in stages, though not everyone experiences them all¹:

• Warning phase: Early signs such as irritability, tiredness, mood changes, or brain fog.
• Aura: Visual changes (flashes, blind spots, zigzag lines) or sensory symptoms like numbness, dizziness, or speech difficulties. This affects about one in three people and usually resolves on its own.
• Headache phase: Intense, throbbing pain, often on one side of the head, lasting 4–72 hours. It may worsen with activity and be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light, noise, or smells.
• Resolution phase: The pain eases, either suddenly or gradually, and you may feel a strong need to rest or sleep. Some people experience brief euphoria.
• Postdrome: Sometimes called a “migraine hangover,” this stage can leave you with fatigue, brain fog, low mood, or difficulty concentrating.

Not all migraines follow the same pattern. Keeping a migraine diary and working with your healthcare team can help you recognise your triggers and personal symptom patterns. Acting early when symptoms begin can make attacks shorter and easier to manage¹. A nurse practitioner can also help you develop a clear treatment plan so you feel more prepared and in control.

Hormonal migraines

Hormone changes can trigger migraine for many women.² These changes can occur at puberty, during periods, around menopause, or with health conditions such as endometriosis.² More research is needed, but hormonal migraines are often more frequent, longer-lasting, and harder to treat.² It can be easy to dismiss these symptoms as “normal” or something to put up with, especially if female family members also experience migraines at similar times. But support and treatment are available.

How do migraines affect women?

In Australia, about 70% of people living with migraine are women, yet migraine often goes undiagnosed and untreated.³ Data from the 2025 National Women’s Health Survey, conducted by Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, revealed that 30% of women in Australia live with migraine and a further 13% are likely to have recently experienced undiagnosed migraine.⁴

After puberty, migraines become much more common in women than in men.² Hormonal changes play a key role, which is why many women notice their migraines becoming worse around the menstrual cycle, during perimenopause, or after pregnancy.²

Migraines are the leading cause of disability for Australian women aged 18 to 49. These are often the years when women are building careers, raising families, and managing household responsibilities, which makes the impact particularly significant. Despite this, symptoms are frequently overlooked or dismissed, leaving many women without the care and support they need.⁴

Understanding how migraines uniquely affect women is an important step toward better diagnosis and support. Working with your healthcare team can help you find the right treatment options and ongoing care to manage their impact.  

What are the treatment options?

There is no cure for migraines, but effective treatments and prevention strategies are available. 

Lifestyle and self-care

Lifestyle measures may help prevent migraine attacks.¹ Helpful strategies include¹:

• Avoid known triggers
• Consistently get enough sleep
• Maintain a healthy weight and eat a balanced diet
• Exercise regularly
• Acupuncture
• Use relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, or yoga to manage stress

Treatment & Medications

When an attack starts, rest in a quiet dark room and try to sleep.¹ If you feel symptoms starting, taking pain relief early may help stop the attack.¹ There are a range of medicines available including¹:

• Acute treatment: Over-the-counter pain relief, prescription medicines including triptans and other medicines that can help manage attacks.
• Preventive treatment: For frequent migraines, your healthcare provider may recommend daily preventive medicines. There are some supplements that can offer preventative benefits.

Managing migraines usually involves a combination of strategies tailored to your needs, and our nurse practitioners are available via telehealth to work with you to find what’s most effective.

When should you seek help?

If you get severe headaches, it is important to see a doctor to work out what is causing them and how best to treat them.¹ If you have already been diagnosed with migraine, book a review if your headaches change or become worse over time.¹

Our nurse practitioners are also available via telehealth to support you with everyday migraine management. They can help you find effective strategies and know when a referral to your doctor is needed.

Occasionally, headaches can be a symptom of something more serious. Seek medical attention immediately if you experience a¹:

• sudden, severe headache that comes on unexpectedly
• headache that worsens over several weeks
• morning headache with nausea that does not go away
• headache that begins after a head injury

You should also see a doctor straight away if your headache is accompanied by fever, neck stiffness, confusion or personality changes, blurred or double vision, loss of balance, or a seizure.¹

How a telehealth nurse practitioner can help

A telehealth nurse practitioner can support you in managing migraines as part of your healthcare team.

Nurse practitioners can:

• Review your history and progress to adapt treatment over time.
• Prescribe or adjust medications, both for immediate relief and prevention
• Provide education and strategies for managing lifestyle triggers
• Guide you on when to seek further care from a GP or specialist
• Write certificates for leave from work or study if migraines are interfering with your daily responsibilities

We offer telehealth appointments with nurse practitioners to make migraine care accessible and convenient, helping you prioritise your health.

Putting your health first

Migraines may be part of your life, but they do not need to define it. By recognising your symptoms, acting early, and working with your healthcare team, you can reduce attacks, manage triggers, and regain control of your daily routine. Our nurse practitioners are available via telehealth to provide tailored treatment and guide you on when further care from a GP or specialist may be needed.

Telehealth makes migraine care easier to access from home, helping you prioritise your health and focus on the things that matter most.

Book your appointment today and take the first step toward fewer migraines and a better quality of life.

References:

1. Health Direct. Migraine. www.healthdirect.gov.au. Published June 2023. Accessed August 26, 2025. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/migraine
2. Jean Hailes for Women's Health. What is hormonal migraine? Jean Hailes. Published August 4, 2025. Accessed August 26, 2025. https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/migraine/what-is-hormonal-migraine
3. Jean Hailes for Women's Health. Migraine. Jean Hailes. Published 2025. Accessed August 26, 2025. https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/migraine
4. Jean Hailes for Women's Health. “Worse than we thought”: New data reveals 1 in 3 women live with…. Jean Hailes. Published August 5, 2025. Accessed August 26, 2025. https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/news/worse-than-we-thought-new-data-reveals-1-in-3-women-live-with-migraine

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