Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new study
        
(Message started by: Susan7105 on Mar 1^st, 2005, 9:18am)

Title: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new study
Post by Susan7105 on Mar 1^st, 2005, 9:18am

http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100100849/?GT1=6203

"Migraine, some researchers say, is triggering ischemic mini-strokes (small blood blockages in the brain) for certain sufferers. This, doctors suggest, means migraine may add up to a chronic progressive disease, each attack pointing toward an eventual critical mass."

Just saw this on MSN,
Susan

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by guesst on Mar 1^st, 2005, 10:16am

Does it say anything about cluster headaches, if so I will read it, thanks.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by nani on Mar 1^st, 2005, 10:40am

Thanks, Susan. Since CH, migraine and TIA are all vascular issues, I'm going to print that for my own info. Having already had a brain hemmorhage, it's of interest to me.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by BarbaraD on Mar 1^st, 2005, 10:53am

I read an article that said the same thing (and yes, they mentioned CH in it). I think it was in ACHE newsletter, but don't remember (I'm old you know).

That might be part of the reason we don't think as good as we did at one time or that our memory ain't what it used to be.

Anyhow, it makes sense...

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by guesst on Mar 1^st, 2005, 11:01am

on 03/01/05 at 10:53:11, BarbaraD wrote:

That might be part of the reason we don't think as good as we did at one time or that our memory ain't what it used to be.

What do you mean? I don't understand and who are you anyway? ;)

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by floridian on Mar 1^st, 2005, 11:13am

I think that both the strokes and headaches arise from a common mechanism - increased blood coagulation that is found in clusterheads and migraneurs.

A few more preliminary thoughts are here:
http://tinyurl.com/3vv5d

Strokes and thrombosis are caused by 'thick' blood and clotting. Aneurysms and some hemmorages are caused by breaking blood vessels. The treatment for these is not the same - a blood thinner will make an active aneurysm worse.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by Frank_W on Mar 1^st, 2005, 11:27am

You mentioned memory function. I'm going to be 36 in April, so I don't think I have anything like Alzheimer's or senility, but holy shit, my memory has been AWFUL for the past two years. (I've had cluster headaches for 8 years.) It's gotten bad enough that, all kidding aside, I'm honestly concerned and a little alarmed. :(

I forget all sorts of stuff. IMPORTANT stuff, and I used to have a memory like a steel trap. I could rattle off phone numbers, remembered peoples' names, street addresses, mathematical formulae... I can't remember any of that stuff anymore. I'm losing fluency in my second language, as well.

Scared...

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by catlind on Mar 1^st, 2005, 10:31pm

After having experienced what was initially thought to be a stroke, then a suspected TIA, this is of interest to me. It was a little more than a year ago when the world split in two, then went blurry and my speech went funny. To this day I have no memory of what happened after sitting in the ER asking if there were 4 dots on the door or only 2 (there were only 2 but I saw 4). I don't remember being taken by ambulance to the hospital and I don't remember being in the hospital. The rest of that week doesn't exist for me.

I have to wonder if it's to do with the headaches, whether from my migraines or my clusters I don't know. I also wonder if it's more to do with meds than the actual headaches.

Sometimes these things are way too scarey.

Cat

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by Lizzie2 on Mar 1^st, 2005, 10:37pm

Yeah we're not sure if I had stroke or seizure like activity with the last time I was in the ER. I remember feeling a cluster coming on right before I don't remember anything else. I was awake the whole time, but nothing I was saying made sense (ie. I said my brother was a green dog.) It could have been from medication, although my neuro would argue to the death that it is due to complications from the headaches. All I know is that it is scary! And I still dont' remember hardly anything from that night...including getting a CT scan, my parents showing up, etc etc. That kind of stuff really freaks me out...losing control of your own mind. Being out of touch with reality. It is scary. It can be symptomatic of stroke and some types of seizure. Or it could have simply been a toxic med reaction.

The world may never know!

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by hzzz on Mar 2^nd, 2005, 8:11pm

Frank W .............. I just turned 40 and I have similar type memory issues. I thought I was just getting older, but after your post maybe there is something to that. Like you, I could always remember things very well, even insignificant details. Now I have to write stuff down and keep lists of things to do or I forget.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by crazy_mj on Mar 2^nd, 2005, 8:42pm

About a year ago I had one of the worst attacks I ever had. I was lying in bed trying to just catch a break for a moment. The pain got so horrific, I tried to get up to tell my husband to take me somewhere that I thought I was dying. I couldn't move, talk, scream, or nothing. It was like I lost control of my body. I remember the last mental picture I had was of a gigantic cartoon mallet slamming me in the back of my head. Next thing it was morning, and I was honestly shocked to be alive. For days after, I wasn't quite myself. "I was slow on the uptake", as my husband would say.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by BarbaraD on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 6:00am

I've lost bits and pieces of things that I should remember. It's so strange and scary.

Like others, I thought it was the meds, but now am not sure.

I'll start a sentence and forget how to finish it. I just lose my train of thought totally.

Geezzz, I have post it notes on everything.

But the good news (girls) is that I can still remember every sin my ex-husband ever committed. :)

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by rickyshot on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 11:50am

Once a year I get migraine attacks that leave me parlyzed on my right side and interfere with my speech. Many times before a migraine I get very depressed for no reason. I know one is coming on. I have had a diagnosis of a TIA from one of my attacks. I had facial paralysis for five days from that one. My neuro told me years ago to take migraines seriously and particularly a person like me with complicated ones. He said I was at risk for stroke. I have met few docs who know how serious migraines and ch is. They are not just headaches. They are neuroligic events and unfortunately still a mystery in this day and age. So when I have a migraine or ch and some bozo tells me to take an advil I want to scream.......You know the brain rules the body and as you can see just by these boards alone there are a lot of crazy symptoms and behaviours with these things. not to mention unbelievable pain and sickness.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by Ouch on Mar 7^th, 2005, 10:35am

Well as for me I can't help but to be concerned that as there being other health problems. I mean let's be real.......... with some of the high volume of medication some of us are taking, ungodly pain, sleep patterns, heart beats and thats not to count our bad habits. Thats just what these things bring us. Were all at risk for a lot of different things.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by pattik on Mar 7^th, 2005, 11:47am

on 03/01/05 at 11:27:33, Frank_W wrote:

I forget all sorts of stuff. IMPORTANT stuff, and I used to have a memory like a steel trap. I could rattle off phone numbers, remembered peoples' names, street addresses, mathematical formulae... I can't remember any of that stuff anymore. I'm losing fluency in my second language, as well.

Scared...

I speak from experience when I say that memory loss in this overbooked culture is the norm and not the exception. I can't blame all the times I have misplaced my car keys or my car in a parking lot on my CH, although I'm sure it aggravates the problem. When I really think about all the things I am juggling in my life, it's no wonder my poor brain
goes on strike once in a while. So don't dispair, Frank, you may just need a mental vacation.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by miapet on Mar 7^th, 2005, 11:47am

suckage . . .but it make sense . . .

I also have to agree with catlind .. .did the meds contribute . . . . .

*positive light and energy*
miapet

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by Frank_W on Mar 7^th, 2005, 12:46pm

Thanks, Patti. Most of the time, it's good for a chuckle, and then I get on with my life. My wife has been calling me "The Absentminded Professor" for years. [smiley=laugh.gif]

It just seems to be getting worse, over the past couple of years. I've only had one cycle that I used verapamil and imitrex for. The rest of the time, I am med-free, and this cycle, the only thing I'm using is kudzu. Maybe you're right: It's just a result of being overbooked, and the fact that this pain pulls the entire priority of our attention, to the neglect of everything else.

Title: Re: Migraines trigger mini-strokes in some, new st
Post by vig on Mar 7^th, 2005, 12:51pm

CHristmas is a lovely time of year...
uh, wait, nevermind. ;;D