I can remember having migrains as long ago as age 7. As an adult, I have found that they are vascular in origin. I see lights, then the feeling goes out of my right hand in a specific order, the color also drains from the hand.
i would like to know if there is an increased incidence of developing PD if you have a history of migainsl
Great question that I would like to know the answer to as well. I was diagnosed with complicated migraines that have the same effects as a stroke. Then 2 years later got my PD diagnosis. Have wondered all along if the 2 are related some way. There is just so much about the brain we do not know about.
Yes there is a lot we don't know but I can tell you this: I used to have severe headaches where I would sometimes throw up. The painkillers didn't seem to help them at all, just made me sick to my stomach. I always called them "sinus headaches" because my nose would hurt on one side or the other (sometimes both) but maybe they were migraines. No doctor was interested enough to try to diagnose them.
But since my DBS in 2001, they went away. I never put 2 and 2 together until just recently, but I just realized that i have not had any since then. I never thought Parkinson's was good for anything, but maybe this is it. LOL
To both Susie01 and pelicangirl,
This is just anecdotal to Suzie01's question of course, but I get migraines and have PD. My migraine frequency has reduced significantly the last several years (maybe up to 5 years ago). In the 10 years or so before that, I'd get about 6-8 migraines per month. I took Zomig for that, which worked great. I later switched to Sumatriptan at the prompting of the insurance company because that's cheaper. They work at least as great as the Zomig.
But, here's the thing -- well, 2 things, and then another thing. What comes after 2? Oh yeah, 3. Three things:
Thing 1: (from "Cat in the Hat"?)
Susie01: I also had migraines well before noticing any PD symptoms.
In the mid-90's I saw my GP, was diagnosed as having migraines and started the Zomig. But I had occasionally had migraines before that without realizing what they were. I think they increased in the mid-90's because we adopted a 4-month-old boy in Jan '96, and the physicality of being a parent I think caused a lot of migraines. Now that he's a HS junior, it has been way less physical to be a dad for a number of years now (I just have to be sure to keep providing him with food ;-).
Thing 2:
pelicangirl -
> I used to have severe headaches where I would sometimes throw up. [...] my nose would hurt on one side or the other (sometimes both) but maybe they were migraines.
I'm not a doctor, but I will just mention the similarities between what you describe and my migraines.
A migraine for me always involves a headache that is localized to the right temple and right side of the forehead (along with the very beginning of nausea that would increase steadily if not for my Rx med). There are more than a few potential migraine symptoms that people could get, and I get a subset that includes vomiting (now prevented by the Rx). If not for the Rx Zomig, later Sumitriptan, I believe that every one of those migraines would have been increasing headache (medium -- not severe), increasing nausea (the worst part), a couple of other lesser symptoms, all ended by throwing up. That's how it happened before I got the Zomig.
So, the similarities (in the head, often on one side, vomiting) make me think that, if this problem returns, you should see a (different?) Dr and ask about the possibility of migraines.
pelicangirl > But since my DBS in 2001, they went away.
I haven't had DBS, but my neuro gave me a heads-up that I could become a candidate. If that eliminates migraines then that would be a nice benefit.
Thing 3: (Not "Cat in the Hat" -- only 2 things there)
pelicangirl,
Your post made me realize something about my migraines.
I'm wondering if this correlation means anything: my migraines dropped from 6-8/mo to 2-4/mo. I assumed that this just happened to occur with time/age, like with my mom. She used to get occasional migraines, but they simply stopped. In my case, I wonder if the emergence of the PD symptoms, or the meds* I've been trying for the PD, have any relation to the reduction in migraines. Of course, I'm better at knowing my limits WRT triggering a migraine than in 1995, but not that much better. And, with an older child who can better take care of himself, my days are less physical than they were 8-16 years ago. Even moderate physical activity (like when parenting a pre-junior-schooler) is enuf for me to get a migraine.
I'm not trying to pin the above Question about correlation vs cause on pelicangirl. I'm just throwing it out to anyone reading this who has enuf medical knowledge to know if there's a chance of a connection. I'll ask my neurologist at my Jan14 appt.
* But, I think the prescribing Dr would know and tell me that.
When I was pregnant with my son, I would have a migraine every day around 3:00 pm. It was disturbing because I could not take anything for it. I saw a neurologist at that time, he told me there was an increased risk of pre-eclampsia with a history of migrains. I was in severe pre-eclampsia when I was 7 months pregant and going into what is called HELP syndrome. I was put on bedrest, I went into premature labor at 8 months, my son and I came out ok, but it could have been a different story.
I think about this and wonder about the migraine/PD relationship.
Prior to my being diagnosed and treated for PD I had a fifteen year history of migraine, and at point of diagnosis I was getting them almost daily and on some days had more than one episode. They were initially flashing lights accompanied with nausea followed by significant pain for several hours and a need to be out of the light and to lie down. As they got closer together and more frequent they became less intense, but the flashing light stuff was more intrusive and they were quite debilitating as I was very intolerant to light. There was never a pattern to when they would hit. Around halfway through the development of the migraines I also started to get what I later found were PD symptoms, I had become very slow and stiff, at that point diagnosed as fibromyalgia as I was relatively young and all tests kept coming back negative. In 2003 I was seen for a second opinion by a neurologist as I didn't really fit with the fibro dx after quite a lot of investigation, and he diagnosed PD, and immediately started me on Half sinemet 50/12.5 tablets. In the time since I have had no more than 3-4 migraine episodes in total ! The neurologists I have seen since have been completely disinterested in this...... I am seen as having atypical symptoms, and currently have a diagnosis of parkinsonism. Am still on sinemet which works for me.
I too wonder about the migraine/PD relationship.
I have had migraines since I was 16 - nearly 60 years ago. Over the years the frequency has varied but the effects remained virtually the same. bright spot just off to one side of the focal point, gradually spreading into a blurred bright patch, similar to "sun" spots. After half an hour this cleared, followed by a splitting headache, usually over one eye. Migraleve taken immediately at the onset managed to prevent the worst of the headache.
In the early years of PD I rarely got a migraine.
Now, after 11 years of PD, I get the eye effects, fairly frequently (once every 2 weeks) but there is no headache.
I am not sure whether this helps or not but it seems PD has some effect on both frequency and severity of migraines.
I have not had a migraine since starting my PD meds, wonder if it is something about the med that also stops the migraines.
It seems that others have had some of the same results. I may ask the moderator to do a poll on the sight and see if we can get a response from a larger number of folks.
I have suffered with frequent migaines for 40 years. Since my PD diagnosis they have become less frequent and less severe. I too wonder about the relationship between PD and migraines. When I ask my DR's they are disinterested, either because they don't know or just don't care. I find it interesting that so many people have similar reactions.
This is a bit of an answer to our question:
Dopamine and migraine: does Parkinson's disease modify migraine course?
Barbanti P, Fabbrini G, Vanacore N, Rum A, Lenzi GL, Meco G, Cerbo R.
SourceDepartment of Neurosciences, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. piero.barbanti@uniroma1.it
Abstract
As brainstem mechanisms and dopaminergic neurotransmission are involved in migraine pathophysiology, we decided to investigate the course of migraine in Parkinson's disease (PD), the paradigm of brainstem dopaminergic disease. We screened 237 consecutive PD out-patients by direct interview to assess the prevalence of lifetime and current migraine. Moreover, we compared the course of migraine in PD patients with that of otherwise healthy age- (+/- 3 years) and sex-paired migraine controls in a cross-sectional study. PD patients showed a lifetime migraine prevalence of 27.8% and a current migraine prevalence of 13.1%. A positive family history of migraine was less frequent in PD patients than in controls. The frequency of current migraine was significantly lower in PD patients than in controls (47.0% vs. 68.2%; odds ratio = 0.41, 95% confidence interval = 0.19-0.89). Approximately two-thirds of PD patients reported an improvement in or remission of migraine after PD onset. Effects of menopause on migraine course were similar in patients and controls. These findings suggest that PD might somehow shorten the clinical course of migraine. Possible explanations include a prolonged prophylactic effect by chronic dopaminergic therapy or a positive effect of PD pathophysiology, namely nigral degeneration, on migraine mechanisms.
hi, i have had parky for a few years now, i have found when i increase my jmeds i suffer the most terrible migraines, im sick, i have to take 2 pink migroleaves and try and sleep it off. At the age of 16 i was admitted into hospital for headaches and they found a space in my pertuity gland. not sure what that ment but they never went into it again.
chrissie.
Constant migraines, excelled by an assault that my former homophobic neighbour, who harassed me for 2.5 years, threatened to break my legs and then make sure I wouldn’t get back up. The police issued yet another warning, and as a friend escorted me by assuring the doors were opened (there were stairs in this ‘not fit for purpose’ building) the neighbour rushed from behind and slammed me against the brick wall, and then damaged my £209 zimmer by jumping on it. My friend returned to the door to help me and yelled some words at the man. He ran into his flat behind mine and locked the gate. I now added on Acquired Hydrocephalus, and there is little I can do. Narcoleptic falls, vision failing, and everything descending into hell. But I have eldercare that come to my aid (rather cross that they call it ‘eldercare', as I am only 45).
I have experienced severe headaches with high fevers. The headaches tend to last 4 days and mimic encephalitis which I've been to the ER for due to the fact that during one episode my temp reached 104. Morphine in my IV did absolutely nothing, neither did Tylenol for the temp. At Stanford hospital they ran ever test the could think of even a spinal tap and 47 doctors could not conclude anything except that with a 4mg dose of dilaudid I felt better within 15 minutes. I felt like I was on an episode of Dr. House without the tidy ending diagnosis. Needless to say I keep dilaudid with me always..
So sorry, sounds like you have had a very difficult time.
I suffer from migraine headaches since my thirty's. Both my parent's suffered with migraine's. Unfortunately with both my parents now gone. I am only gluessing that my father was the one who had the PD gene and showed symptoms , which we didn't understand about at the time. But I still suffer with them and vomit too. I am on topamax . I also have nes. Non epilepsy seizure. They come to me at all times, but specially at migraine's, when my pd meds are at the low end of the day and when I get stressed or very tired. As like now, have to go . Thank you.
It does seem that a lot of people with PD have a history of migraines, don't know if anyone has done statistical analysis, but it would be interesting to know if it could be an early indicator.
I have had the neck pain and headache for over a week straight,tried stretching ect..last night i took paper towel and got some Vic's vapor rub on it and put it on the back of my neck and LITTLE bit on my forehead and i actually in time felt better last night,then today i wake up an neck still feels good,but i can tell its gonna come back i feel its on its way.so im going to do it again before it gets me,to see if i found a solution..if you have sensitive skin dont use it,itll cause burning...Good Luck !!
Hope it helps and goes away, the forehead could be sinuses, weather changes and allergies can cuause me to have that type of headache. I have a litle bag that has some type of grain and eucolyptus in it that I heat up in the microwave and place over the frontal sinus area.
Right hand 'Vibrato'
WoooooooooHoooooo
THC/Marijuana: Why/how does it work for PD?
MRI
swelling in right hand
