Are bipolar depression, insomnia and chronic migraine directly connected?
I have been dx with bipolar depression, insomnia and chronic migraines. Are the 3 directly connected? I'm on Bupropion, Lamotrigine, Duloxetine, propanolol and mirtazepine. I feel like a geriatric pt with my pill box. With all this on board, I'm still struggling. I have been approved for 2 episodes a month for FMLA. My healthcare provider is also my employer. I'm feeling robbed because the frequency of these migraines do not match up with what has been permitted by my health care organization. Losing hope quickly!
Yes, I'm not good with posting links, but these are all co morbid conditions. Also including depression and anxiety. But as a fellow Bipolar we both know they fall under that umbrella. There are many articles on here about co morbid conditions. Try the search engine, maybe? Or, there's alway's google. @ Nancy Bonk-Harris is usually great about jumping in with links. I'm sure she'll be along shortly with a few!!!!
Insomnia and sleep disruption are a common migraine trigger. My neurologist explained that if your sleep is regularly disrupted it prevents your brain from making certain chemicals at night that prevent migraine. So one problem can definitely feed the other.
Thanks so much
for your comment! You are absolutely right! These are comorbid conditions. Which means that the presence of one of these disorders increases the risk of a person suffering from the other. Additionally, shared some great info with regarding sleep as it relates to migraine. One of our contributor's shares a great article on this this topic too. - https://migraine.com/living-migraine/pain-insomnia-painsomnia/
Here are some additional resources that may help you out.
https://migraine.com/migraine-and-mental-health/bipolar-disorder/
https://migraine.com/living-with-migraine/migraine-and-depression/
https://migraine.com/blog/what-is-a-comorbid-condition-a-bulleted-list-for-patients/
Managing migraine is extremely difficult, but when multiple conditions are at play it becomes all the more challenging. As you can see our community & members are a great resource & always here for support. Always feel free to reach out & thanks for your question.
Wishing you all the best,
Joanna (Migraine.com Team)
You have received some great advice already. The one thing I would like to add is this. You may want to have your medications reviewed to make sure they aren't interacting with one another. You may also find that your current medication isn't working and something better can be prescribed.
I had neighbours that have suddenly gone delirious. Once their current medications were reviewed, and some discontinued these people were fine and back to their old selves.
I deal with dysthymia and migraines. With everything people deal with who knows what could be affecting what. But yes, depression, migraine, and insomnia are connected.
Hope you can get a bit of relief soon
