Migraine free thyroid disease?

Migraine and thyroid diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Grave's disease are very often co-morbid (distinct diseases or disorders that are often seen together in pairs, or groups). This is important to know if you have either thyroid or Migraine disease because your PCP (primary care physician) and endocrinologist (gland doctor) will most likely not link your Migraine attacks and your thyroid together without prompting. Additionally, many neurologists who do not specialize in the care of headache patients will not recognize Migraine attacks, especially those that have become refractory to treatment, as a symptom that your thyroid may be running amok and the need for careful studies and treatment.

Migraine and thyroid dysfunction are both extremely common. Left untreated, it is unlikely that a patient with Migraine triggered by thyroid imbalance will achieve lasting relief from their Migraine symptoms, including near daily pain which can become disabling.

Thyroid imbalance is widely known to cause New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH), but the link between even tiny thyroid imbalances and Migraine and Chronic Migraine is often overlooked. Unfortunately, the result may be a patient who goes for months or even years in a serious Migraine situation. The untreated havoc the imbalance is wreaking on the rest of their bodies can include everything from vision difficulties, hair loss and dry skin to acne breakouts, yeast infections, osteoporosis, tooth damage and kidney stones. It's important to note here that among those doctors 'in the know', hypOthyroidism (low thyroid) is sometimes recognized as a trigger of this type of Migraine. However, the effect of the overactive gland on the neurologic functioning of the brain and the rest of the body is usually dismissed.

So, I've written about this before. Why revisit this connection?

The last several weeks have been difficult for me personally, as my unstable thyroid went terribly wrong. Were I not having simultaneous issues with Lupus and the difficult medicine used to treat it, perhaps I would have recognized it sooner. I think perhaps I did, but couldn't believe it was happening again.

Extremely low blood sugar (Migraine trigger alert), wildly fluctuating blood pressure (Migraine trigger alert) and overwhelming lack of sleep (trigger alert) was severe. Night sweats (trigger alert) and dystonic muscle spasms (trigger alert) and tremors (trigger alert) lasted for hours. The spasms spread to my voice and communicating became very difficult. Nausea (trigger alert) was severe and heart palpitations thru damaged valves felt like fighting squirrels trapped in my chest. Inflammation (trigger alert) was everywhere. Adrenaline-like surges felt like standing on the starting block at a swim meet waiting for the crack of the starting pistol.... all day long, all night long, every day for weeks as my adrenal glands fought to keep pace with my metabolism. My reflux became severe and I aspirated one of my medications and suffered painful lung inflammation resisted healing. Eventually extreme weakness set in and I was unable to get to the bathroom without laying down mid-way gulping air. My hair began to fall out which was bad, but I couldn't lift my arms to comb it, so I put it up in a pony tail and brushed it off the bed. My brain stopped working properly and my memory failed. The Migraines were continuous and uncontrolled. First one side, then the other, then both. Repeat. The medicine for the body-wide pain caused my symptoms to worsen, so even that was not an option. When I began waking up with spontaneous deep bruising, and could no longer identify a friend on the phone or knew my address, it was time for the blood tests that eventually confirmed that I really was as bad as I felt.

It takes weeks to stabilize thyroid blood levels in the best of circumstances. Even longer to heal from the lasting toll this can take on the rest of your body. So, I will be patient. As my body heals from a 2 month long adrenaline rush and I begin to feel better, I will try to remember that although I like to go the extra mile, one overdone afternoon will mean a lasting Migraine attack I can't treat and an extra week's recuperation.

I miss my online pals however, so I look forward to getting back to normal very soon. :)

.