No MAM

There are so many reasons to dread the onset of menstruation--crabby, irritable, teary ones. For many women who suffer from migraines, those plummeting estrogen levels associated with the start of the flow also bring on a menstrually associated migraine or MAM.

One strategy to duck the MAMs has been to use birth control pills continuously over three cycles, cutting a year's load of periods from 12 to 4. Several pill types are currently available specifically designed for this purpose, including Seasonique which includes a small amount of estrogen in the pills taken during the quarterly week off.

Endo Pharmaceuticals has just completed another Phase III clinical trial on Frova, an Imitrex-like drug typically used to rout a migraine in the early stages. When Frova is taken twice daily beginning three days before the usual onset of a MAM and continued for six days total, study subjects experienced less intense MAMs, or no MAMs at all!