The moment you become pregnant, you may have to figure out an entirely new migraine treatment plan. Certain acute and preventative migraine medications are not advised for use during pregnancy. Even if you’re taking a pregnancy-safe medication, you may wish to reduce or avoid medication use while pregnant.
One option for drug-free migraine relief during pregnancy is CEFALY. A non-invasive, FDA-cleared medical device that’s worn on the forehead, CEFALY targets the trigeminal nerve to relieve migraine pain and prevent future attacks.
Many women have used CEFALY for migraine relief during pregnancy with no known serious adverse effects. However, the safety and efficacy of CEFALY has not been evaluated in pregnant women. Ask a doctor before using CEFALY if you are pregnant or may become pregnant.
What can I take for a migraine while pregnant?
If you find out you’re pregnant, or if you’re trying to become pregnant, you should not take any migraine medications or supplements that could be unsafe for your unborn baby. Some widely used acute medications, such as gepants and ergots, and preventative medications, such as topiramate and CGRP monoclonal antibodies, should not be taken while pregnant. Get more information from the American Headache Society.
Schedule a meeting with your healthcare provider to review your medications and discuss migraine treatment and prevention options that are safe during pregnancy. These may include:
- CEFALY
- Pregnancy-safe migraine medications
- Nerve blocks
- Stress relief techniques
- Trigger avoidance
- Headache hygiene: regular sleep, a healthy diet, hydration and gentle exercise
Contact your healthcare provider immediately if you experience anything unusual or concerning, such as:
- New headache symptoms, such as vision changes, weakness, numbness, imbalance, vertigo
- An unusually severe or sudden-onset headache
- Elevated blood pressure
Use the CeCe Migraine Management app to log your migraine attacks, symptoms, triggers and treatments. Keeping these records can help you understand how your migraine patterns are changing during pregnancy (and beyond) and see which treatments are most effective. CeCe pairs with the CEFALY Connected device to help you optimize your CEFALY treatments. Monitor your stimulation intensity in real time, track your session time and battery life remaining, and see your migraine treatment progress.
Take heart! Pregnancy may be a welcome break from migraine symptoms. Almost half of women with migraine have an improvement in symptoms during the first trimester (46.8%), and this improvement increases substantially in the second (83%) and third (87.2%) trimesters, according to Practical Neurology.
One mother’s story: Using CEFALY while pregnant
Megan B. has been a chronic migraine sufferer for over 18 years. When she became pregnant for the first time, her attacks became even worse. “I was scared to be a mom and had no idea how I was going to function in life,” she says. She was bedridden for 60 days until her neurologist suggested using the CEFALY device.
“As soon as I got the device I charged it up and put it on! I finally had some sort of relief,” Megan says. “I have been using the device every day for over 2 years now. I wake up excited to be a mom. Because of how controlled my migraines are now, I was able to start a new thriving company that helps moms heal postpartum and lose the weight that no longer serves them. I tried every drug imaginable that they would approve while pregnant and the only thing that worked was the CEFALY device.”
Learn more about CEFALY: the #1 FDA-cleared drug-free migraine treatment.
