Migraines and MS

coach · Post by **coach** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:32 pm

Any MSer's on here with confirmed CCSVI have migraine headaches? Never had them until about 7 years ago which was about 4 years into what has now become an 11 year return of the MS disease. My neuro prescribed Imitrex which does help. They usually start with tension on one side of my neck and moves up behind my ear around the mastoid process and progresses to a unilateral nagging headache that would hang around for about 3 days before I got the prescription for Imitrex. Forgot to mention this to Dr. Dake when I talked to him last week. Just wondering if this could be related to CCSVI. Others?

guitarguy · Post by **guitarguy** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:48 pm

I think migraines are usually hormonal. I used to have cluster headaches but not anymore, it was years ago and I suffered for about 7 years. But anything is possible.

cheerleader · Post by **cheerleader** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:56 pm

Here's a thread with a recent study on migraines and MS...
Folks were sharing their headache/migraine stories
link

Multiple sclerosis seen associated with headache
Thu Dec 4, 2008 2:01am IST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with multiple sclerosis are more apt to suffer from headaches than the general population, results of a study hint.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and damages the myelin sheath that protects nerve cells. It can cause symptoms ranging from vague tingling to blindness and paralysis.

"Headache is not generally considered a symptom of MS, and studies investigating the relationship between the two conditions have produced conflicting results," Dr. Mario Zappia, of the University of Catania, and colleagues note in a report published this month.

In a "case-control" study, the researchers screened 101 MS patients and 101 controls for headaches. They found that the frequency of headache was higher in the MS patients than in the control patients.

Among the MS patients, 58 (about 57 percent) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for headache. Most of these patients were affected by tension-type headache or migraine.

In contrast, 31 (roughly 38 percent) of the 101 controls fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for headache, mostly migraine and tension-type headache.

In an analysis adjusting for age and sex, the researchers observed a significant association between MS and headache. The likelihood of headache was more than twofold higher in the MS patients than in the control patients.

The increased risk of headache in MS patients "supports the hypothesis of a common pathway between these conditions; as suggested by other studies, the higher frequency of headache in MS subjects could be related to brainstem lesions," Zappia's team concludes.

"However, it should be noted that the role of brainstem in migraine pathogenesis is still controversial, and other types of study are needed to confirm this hypothesis."

SOURCE: Cephalalgia, November 2008.

intracranial hypertension (pressure on the brain) can be responsible for bad headaches...these are the kind Jeff had. Hasn't had any since the stents.

FYI...if you ever wonder about stuff - try the search function. Lots of discussions and info to be found on here-
cheer

sou · Post by **sou** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:42 am

Hi all.

I have similar headaches. They start from the left back side of my neck and spread throughout the left side of my head up to the eye.

Before LDN, diet and supplements, I had them twice a week and lasted from 1 to 3 days. After LDN I have 1 every 4 months and lasts much less. So, even if these don't help MS, at least I got rid of headaches.

I remember that in summer 2007, before a bad relapse, I used to have that headache constantly. Ah! And the color of my body was 100% white while a cytometric exam showed that my immune system was a complete mess, and had a recurrent of faryghitis.

No intention to hijack, but how can these be related? LDN, circulation, immune system?

sou

RedSonja · Post by **RedSonja** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:29 am

I used to have really incapacitating migraines. In the end I changed my diet and hardly get them at all now. I gave up cheap red wine, beer (that hurt, but I never got a Saturday migraine again), certain brands of chocolate and anything with a lot of monosodium glutamate - taste enhancer. I don't think this was related to my MS.

10 years ago I worked on a project where the monitors were mounted on the ceiling, so I spent a year or so working with my head tipped back. This damaged the vertebrae in my neck, causing blinding headaches, nausea and numbness; rather MS-like, indeed, but not the same as migraine. I had a lot of therapy to get my neck working again. It still hurts sometimes if I do something daft like paint the ceiling or play the saxophone crookedly. Shortly after this I was diagnosed with MS.

I am curious to see where this research takes us. I told the neuro all along it was my neck, what if I was right? Ha!

chrishasms · Post by **chrishasms** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:24 am

Quest56 · Post by **Quest56** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:59 am

The connection between MS and migraines is interesting to me, especially in the light of the CCSVI observations related to blood flow.

I've had frequent headaches from the age of about 6 on. My first true migraine (this was the first time that a visual aura and numbing of parts of my face preceded the head pain) occurred when I was 15.

I used symptomatic treatment for several years (Maxalt-MLT always seemed to work to stop the pain), until my medical insurance put a stop to it as they said I was overusing the drug, and that I needed to move to a preventative treatment. They recommended the vasodilator verapamil.

I've now been taking 480mg verapamil nightly now for about two years. I still frequently awake with headaches at night that last until mid-morning, but migraines now seem to be a thing of the past, knock on wood.

LR1234 · Post by **LR1234** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:06 am

I get occular migraines...basically I get the vision loss and the feeling of being disorientated but I don't get the headache. I often feel nausous and sometimes vomit after.

Quest56 · Post by **Quest56** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:35 pm

LR1234 wrote:I get occular migraines...basically I get the vision loss and the feeling of being disorientated but I don't get the headache. I often feel nausous and sometimes vomit after.

Wow, I get the nausea, often even without the headache, but it has never led to vomitting. When that occurs, does the nausea go away afterward?

Related to this topic is a link to a web article by Timothy Hain, MD (I don't know anything about him) that talks about a relationship between periventricular white matter lesions (of which I have plenty) and migraines. This link also talks about the use of vascular agents like Verapamil for migraine prevention:

Periventricular White Matter Lesions

Interesting to read that common symptoms related to white matter lesions are gait instability and reduced mental ability.

I wonder if the Periventricular White Matter Lesion poster child position is open.

LR1234 · Post by **LR1234** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:03 pm

the vomitting only really happens when I get really dizzy at the same time as the nausea. I do notice I get majorly tired after an episode even if it only lasts 10 minutes.