[Headaches during oral contraception. A selective study concerning 159 observations].

PIP: Headaches experienced by 159 women during use of oral contraceptives for at least 1 year are characterized as migraine or tension headaches, and whether the headaches were related to dose or type of pill is examined. The 159 women accounted for 15% of a total of 1061 pill users: well-defined syndromes such as pituitary adenoma were eliminated. 47 of these women had headaches before, 31 of them worsened, and in 6 improved. Of 115 women with migraine, diagnosed by having at least 2 of 5 criteria for the disorder, 82 developed them during oral contraception. 12 of the 20 women with tension headaches had never had them before. 8 (5%) of the headaches were of indeterminate origin. In 50% headaches occurred during menses, or in 13% they were aggravated then. In 11 women the condition was improved by lowering progestagen dose. Generally migraines appeared or worsened within the 1st year of pill use, while tension headaches usually developed later. Younger women tolerated the pill better. 42 women stopped the pill because of headaches.^ieng