Cycler Story: Abby's Hormonal Headache

Disclaimer: This is one Natural Cycles user’s experience coming off hormonal birth control. Every woman’s experience is different and we encourage all women to talk to their healthcare provider when considering switching birth control.

I knew that if I found a way to balance my hormones from the inside out, rather than the outside in, I would be a happier and healthier version of myself. After discovering Natural Cycles, I couldn’t wait for my thermometer to arrive in the mail and to get started!

Anyone that has experienced migraines knows just how debilitating they can be. It can turn a great day into an awful one, ruin plans right before they happen, and can make you feel downright defeated. After all, there isn’t a cure, and for the most part, you feel like you’re silently suffering, because no one can see a migraine happening, and you usually can’t see it coming. 

I was a little nervous to change to Natural Cycles at first, I didn’t know how my body was going to adapt to the changes, and I received very skeptical opinions (coming from concern) if I told anyone about my new pregnancy prevention plan. But I was determined to see how my body really was in my natural state, and to use that as a starting point to get to the root cause of my migraines.

I typically would just track my temperature, sex, and period, but over the last six months, I started using the other tracking features (cramps, bloating, headache, backache, mood) to see if I could find a pattern to be able to lessen any of those symptoms. 

Months later, I had a lightbulb moment after looking back through my data. I saw that I recorded a migraine on the same day in my cycle (the day or two leading up to ovulation), every single month. I was stunned. How did I miss this all along? I had been more focused on my triggers, and thought they were more or less random, happening when I maybe indulged in too much red wine, my sleep was messed up, or had muscle tension from working out. 

As you can imagine, I went full Web MD trying to figure out the correlation, and if there was something I could do to stop these from happening each month. And I know, we shouldn’t ever self diagnose, but after a bunch of research, all signs were pointing to an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. I started taking a couple of different natural vitamins and supplements that are thought to help with estrogen dominance, and if they didn’t work, hey, I tried, and I feel like I’m that much more in tune with my body. 

It has been two full cycles since I made those changes, and I’m so thrilled to report I didn’t have to log a migraine day. I’ve also experienced way less bloating over the last two months, which was my other premenstrual headache (the figurative kind!) Could it be a fluke? Sure, but I know I would have never been on this path of trial, discovery, and healing, without Natural Cycles. It can be daunting to put your trust into a thermometer and an app, but all I can say it was the best decision I’ve ever made for myself and my health. 

A huge thanks to Abby for sharing her personal story with us! Millions of women worldwide have already made the switch to Natural Cycles. You can sign up today and get a free thermometer and 20% off our annual subscription using Abby’s sign up code. Natural Cycles can be used to both plan and prevent pregnancy, meaning it’s with you every step of your fertility journey.