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Migraines after a compression fracture

I had one tunnel vision episode when I was in my 20's, then another tunnel vision episode 18 years ago. No other symptoms developed. In Oct. of this year I had a "all out send me to the hospital cause I thought I was having a stroke" migraine. Lost speech, hearing and vision. Then came the flashing lights for 15 minutes. Dr.s at Barrow's Neuro did MRI and said no stroke, just a migraine. I had no head pain, or maybe all the meds they gave me prevented the pain, but I was sure worn out for 3 days. I have since had 2 more, but neither was as bad. I can't figure out why now in my 50s they have started. I asked Barrow's Dr if the compression fracture I got when I fell of a horse in July this past summer had anything to do with it, they said nope, but my PCP feels differently, he too is a migraine sufferer.

Has anyone noticed more migraines after an injury?

  1. Hi Gigibird,

    Thank you for your question. Because our brains (people with migraine disease) seem to be extra sensitive anytime we have a disruption in our homeostasis, in my opinion, can trigger a migraine attack, it did for me. I had infrequent and controllable migraine disease in my teens. However that all changed when I fell and suffered a TBI in 1996. I've had chronic, debilitating migraine attacks, and head/neck pain since.

    I'm not alone in feeling this way, I know many folks with migraine disease who seem to get worse after an injury. Let me share an article I wrote on this topic; https://migraine.com/blog/post-traumatic-headache/,

    I hope that helps! You're not alone.

    Nancy

    1. Thank you Nancy!
      In your research did you find with time the migraines start to be less frequent?

      1. Hi Gigibird,

        Some of us don't have any issues after a traumatic injury, while others may take quite a while to have fewer migraine attacks. Seeing as migraine is thought to be a genetic neurological disease that can be managed, not cured, results may vary so to speak.

        Have you been able to identify any of your migraine attack triggers? Migraine attack triggers include, but are not limited to certain foods, changes in the barometric pressure, fluctuating hormones, irregular sleeping patterns, lights, odors and more. Keeping a detailed migraine diary for a few months can be very helpful in identifying our triggers and finding out if our migraine attacks have any patterns to them. Here is information on migraine triggers and how to keep a migraine diary; https://migraine.com/blog/keeping-migraine-diary-basics/ and https://migraine.com/migraine-triggers/.

        Let me know how it goes,
        Nancy

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