Migraines May Carry Long-Term Baggage

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I have have migraines since I was a toddler. I have limited memory of some parts of my childhood. I am now 30, and control migraines by limited means of medications. I am afraid that medications will do more harm than good in the long run, but who knows? More and more I am having trouble remembering things like what I did a hour ago, or yesterday, but forget asking me what happened last year because I won't be able to tell you. I wonder if migraines since childhood affects memory, or can lead to memory loss.

Rebecca of NY 3:03AM August 22, 2011

My sister is 61 years old. She has suffered from constant migraines some time in her forties and they have gotten increasingly worse. She takes a pill just about every day. i don't remember the name of it but she has tried everything and this pill seems to be the only one that works. The cost is $25/per pill. She has manic episodes and a very short fuse. She always thinks she is right and if someone challenges her , she freaks. She always has to be controlling someone else, ie; her husband , me, etc. i stay away and most of the time her husband listens to her but when he doesn't, all hell breaks loose. She has never been able to keep a job because she will not take orders from anyone, but she can boss people around like nobody;s business. I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with her migraines. As her moods have gotten worse, so has her migraines. My mother and I, before she died, both agreed that my sister needs some kind of medication for her mood swings. When my mother would approach her with this idea my sister would go bonkers. I try to stay away from her as much as I can as she lives in another state. I love my sister but she is extremely difficult.

ann of CA 9:01PM July 23, 2011

I've had migraines for my entire life...I'm only 28, and I'm on Topamax daily, and use imitrex constantly...I"m scared that these medications on top of the migraines will scar me further down the road in my life...so, I searched out a neurologist who would do test after test to see what may be causing my migraines. My gluten levels were very high, so I've been on a gluten free diet for about 6 months, and my migraines are significantly fewer. I would recomment talking to your neurologist to see if you could get your gluten levels checked. This means no bread, no pasta(there are gluten free pasta, check out Whole foods, etc), but, it's difficult, but I would not eat bread to get rid of these migraines and possible damage for my life...

Kate of TN 3:40PM November 22, 2010

I've been suffering from progressively more severe migraines over the past decade or so (I'm 41). After just spending the past few days bed-ridden with the most intense pain, always on my right side, which has now included eye-socket pain and blurred vision...I have to believe something critical and possibly damaging takes place in the brain. I've been treated at a Pain Center for the past decade, and my doctor said my vascular system in the brain is loaded with scar tissue. I wonder if these are the lesions the study is speaking about. The truth is, migraines may not be "hazardous" to my health, but they are most certainly hazardous to all aspects of my life. People have no idea how widespread the effects of them are to one's life.

Leslie of CT 8:24PM July 24, 2009

I am grateful after 40 years of living with migraine to see increased research, media, and awareness for migraine disease. We've published Migraine Expressions, a book of insightful and awesome artwork and writing from 125 migraineurs worldwide expressing life with migraine to help promote understanding. (www.migraineexpressions.com)
This book is the only one of its kind, migraine from the inside, and is endorsed by the National Headache Foundation, the Migraine Research Foundation and others. Special purchases in fact include donations to these research organizations. The MRF helped fund the research discussed in this article.
We need more and more awareness, understanding, research and treatments for migraine and the estimated 36 million people in the U.S. who live with it! Thank you for your article.

Betsy Blondin of CA 10:46AM June 26, 2009