Today I want to explore some of the research I’ve done into the fascinating relationship between serotonin and progesterone, as well as the implications this has for things like your potassium levels, and how low progesterone and fluctuating serotonin play a role in hypoxia and elevated CGRP levels, which have been implicated in chronic migraine headaches. Remember, pain is by definition a low voltage state induced by low oxygen levels.
There are a lot of strands of complexity in all this. As we move forward in this inquiry, it’s important to note that the relationships between these molecules are not static (nothing in the body is), and migraine is triggered not only by low levels of a given molecule, but by drastic fluctuations of them, in different parts of the body. We need to remember that hormonal signaling is a very intricate and sophisticated feedback loop that we do not fully understand. Still, we can certainly begin to appreciate some of the incredible connections that exist between these molecules and the important roles they play in our bodies at different times of the moonth.
We know that migraine is characterized by elevated glutamate and CGRP, and the release of both glutamate and CGRP from trigeminal neurons is modulated by 5-HT (serotonin) signaling (source). This is demonstrated by the fact that medications like CGRP receptor antagonists, and triptans, which are serotonin agonists, both work to abort migraine by increasing the sensitivity of neuronal receptor sites to serotonin.
So how can we learn to prevent the conditions that lead to elevated CGRP, and naturally increase serotonin levels and serotonin receptivity on the cellular level? Well, as you will see, progesterone is key to all of that. We must learn how to preserve it. Serotonin levels in different parts of the body affect migraine headache incidence, and serotonin is regulated in part by progesterone. Progesterone levels, in turn, are determined by ovulation and pregenenlone and DHEA levels, and also regulate potassium.
So, it behooves us to learn how to support serotonin balance, help to improve levels of progesterone, know which nutrient cofactors are at play, and implement lifestyle choices that are supportive of these goals.
This section will have more pertinence to women than to men, especially because women make 1/3 less serotonin than men, which may explain why they get more migraines than men. Women who get their migraines primarily during menstruation will understand, with the help of this information, why menstruation is a low progesterone state by definition, and therefore why serotonin levels will be lower during menstruation.
