"Seasonal" Steroid Taper?
I'm curious whether anyone uses a steroid taper as part of a planned response to seasonal migraine changes.
I went from episodic to chronic to status during the hay fever/rapid barometric pressure shifts of spring last year and was absolutely miserable until my neurologist prescribed a steroid taper in early summer. I went back to episodic and was doing well (1-2 headaches a week) until this spring. Like clockwork, the (east coast US) season change arrived and I'm suddenly up to 4-5 migraines a week for the past month.
I juggle several other chronic conditions, so I have contraindications for many preventatives and would prefer to avoid adding another daily med to my stack if I can, particularly since I seem to do reasonably well with just Sumatriptan the rest of the year. I'm wondering whether it's feasible to make an annual spring steriod taper part of my treatment plan and-before I make the request of my neurologist-curious if this is an approach anyone else uses (or if folks have other suggestions).
FWIW, my allergies are as managed as feasible - I've done immunotherapy for decades and use daily antihistamines + flonase/azalastine year-round. I don't have a lot of runny nose/sneezing/watery eye issues anymore but I do have some sinus inflammation that I treat with saline rinses.
Posted Apr 9, 2026, 9:12 PM UTC