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?

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!!

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

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...

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.
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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