Hormonal migraine as the hardest to treat. Clinicians’ perceptions of biological and structural challenges in the medical care of migraine

Abstract

In biomedical research, migraines linked to the so-called sex hormones are often described as more severe, longer-lasting, and harder to treat than other types of migraines. This article examines how clinicians who treat migraine perceive the assumption that hormonal migraine is the most difficult to treat. Drawing on interview data, the analysis engages with and contributes to feminist and social science research on hormones and gendered diseases. While biomedical studies typically attribute the treatment challenges of hormonal migraine to the limited responses to existing medications, we argue that the institutional structuring of care and historical gender biases within biomedicine also play a role in shaping these difficulties.