I’ve always had headaches, at least from high school on. I saw a post recently that said the average person gets 2 headaches per year and I was shocked. I can have 2 headaches in a week sometimes, and almost always have at least 2 per month. I can’t even imagine going for 6 months without a headache at all.

In my early twenties, I used to get migraines all the time. At that time my menstrual cycle was also out of whack. Once we got that regulated, I pretty much had 2 migraines per month, triggered by hormonal shifts. I would also have the occasional tension or sinus headache, but things were mostly managed.

This remained the case through my twenties and thirties and the first year or so of my 40s. Then came perimenopause and a change in my hormonal patterns and migraines. My migraines were still triggered by hormonal shifts, but were no longer so predictable. Some months were the normal 2 migraines, some months had none, other months had multiple migraines.

Menopause initially brought relief. I could go months without a migraine, though I would get more tension headaches. But that seems to be changing again. It’s now been two years since I officially hit menopause (this month), and 3 years since my last period, but I have started experiencing a lot more headaches lately. But they are different now.

I do get the occasional migraine that matches what I’ve always had, pain on the right side of my head, circling from my neck to behind my right eye. But I’m also getting headaches across the top of my head, or just behind my right eye, or occasionally on the left side, or even centered between my eyes.

It’s possible my vision is playing a part in these headaches. I know my vision has gotten worse, I just can’t afford to get an eye exam and new glasses right now. In the meantime, I just try to manage them as well as I can.