migraines

[EnglishCountryDancer]

Saw the neurologist today He asked my husband if he suffered from migraines. He said" no." Then the neurologist said he had noticed migraine sufferers do not get Parkinson's. What do you think of that?.Do you think there is any truth in it or is he barking up the wrong tree?

[DaleD]

I have suffered a few migraines, 2-3 per year, both before and after dx.

You got me thinking and I don't believe I've had one since my DBS nearly two years ago!!

[Suffolkchris]

I have suffered from migraines all my life.
If anything they have become more frequent since I deveoped PD.

[jeanb]

I have suffered from migraines all my adult life - but have found that taking CoQ10 seems to be a preventative. I get maybe only 1 per year now - maybe not even one this past year now that i think about it...

[BEMM]

I have migraine auras, completely painless but disconcerting while they last. Others here have mentioned having migraine auras. I wish your Dr. was right, English Country Dancer. Both of our daughters have migraines, it would have been a great comfort to know that they were protected from ending up with PD - as I have.

birte

[Teretxu]

Sorry, but I have had migraines since I was teenager, and they have become stronger and longer-lasting after I developed PD.

[Todd]

I never knew what a headache was until about 10 years ago when I got my first migraine. I only got about 1 a year. Right side of my head gets that lovely painful throbbing and I would get a bit nauseated. Come from out of nowhere with no "pre-warning" aura that some get. Usually disappeared within a day and I was back to normal.

But the last two years, they've become more frequent and intense, sometimes knocking me down for 2 days. Last week I got one so bad that swallowing my own saliva made me want to throw up. The headache lasted a full day and all I could do was lay down and literally not move. But the nausea lasted for 3 days. I couldn't eat anything and ended up at the doctors getting a shot of Tigan to settle my stomach and taking a couple of IV's to get re-hydrated. It sucked. :mad:

I have PD and I have migraines. I've never found anything in the literature that showed a relationship, but I've sure talked to lots of people with PD who get them, so who knows? All I know is that I have PD and I get brutal migraines. Life can certainly be an adventure...

Todd
PDTalks.com

[EnglishCountryDancer]

Thanks everyone.Now ,do I mention this to the neurologist?That is one little theory of his down the drain

[BEMM]

I wonder if he would believe you - we are none of us doctors. He might be offended, unless he has a sense of humor and a few drops of humility.

birte

[Todd]

Here's my question posed to "Ask the Doctor" on the NPF forum:

Over the last two years, when my young-onset PD motor symptoms became more noticeable (rigidity, bradykinesia, fine motor skill problems, some dystonia) I also started having more frequent and severe migraine headaches. I've read that there is no connection between PD and migraines, yet many, many people with PD seem to have them. (It's recently been a big topic on another discussion board.) What is your take on this issue? And could things related to PD like stress, lack of sleep, etc. contribute? Thanks.

Dr. Okun's response:

Absolutely and this is an excellent point.

The term headache is a real grab-back term that can mean a lot of things. I have noticed that when meds are not optimized or there is wearing off people can have subjective funny feeling in the head, and headache or headachy like symptoms. Sometimes optimizing meds helps. I have also noticed agonists can sometimes cause headaches. Finally, I have been burned with people who have low blood pressure and autonomic problems presenting with headaches.

Interestingly the patients that come to mind with many of these problems are younger!

Nice thoughts, thank you.
_________________
Michael S. Okun, M.D.

I asked a follow-up question requesting further explanation regarding the low blood pressure and autonomic problems in relation to headaches and PD. My blood pressure has always been low, usually 110/70 or lower so I find this interesting...

Todd
PDTalks.com

[Suffolkchris]

Had my 6 monthly Neurologist appointment today.

I raised the issue of the prominent non-motor systems that I suffer from - fatigue, IBS, migraines, PVC's. In fact these are the issues that really restrict my life as my motor problems (limping, shuffling, stiff painful kneck, poor balance are pretty well controlled by my medication).

His view was that these are a much under researched aspect of PD, with very little published and that there were signs that more consideration was being given to these PD issues at last.

I get on average two migraines a week so it is a very serious issue for me and he is going to try me on some different migraine pills.

I cannot see that any of my non motor symptoms are link (ie if I am very fatigued it does not mean I will get a migraine).

I also periodically have low BP (95/58 typically) but again the timing is not particularly linked to my fatigue or migraine episodes. Although I am fairly sure there is a link between the Amantadine I take and low BP.

PD just seems to come with a wide and exotic mix of both motor (much reported) and non motor (little reported) symptoms which all need addressing.

There is clearly a lot more to the management of PD than Dopamine boosting (eg Levodopa) or mimicking (eg Agonists) drugs.

Chris

[BEMM]

Both of my daughters have migraines, one of them very frequently, and always with long lasting, and extremely severe pain and nausea. Now she takes Imitrex (Imigran in Denmark), and when she catches the migraine early enough, it can erase it completely. It makes her feel ill for several minutes, but that is nothing compared to the three days of suffering she would have without Imitrex. (It has no effect if she does not take it in time.) It has been a wonderdrug, a true life saver for her.
In all likelihood you already know it and use it, but here it is just in case you don't. I have seen many of my family members suffer from migraines, it is a horrible, debilitating affliction. I wish you best of luck with finding relief.

birte