Migraines and their connection to your Thyroid...

By jaa3124 Friday, January 15, 2010

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So I just saw this morning the article about migraines, headaches, and their connection to your Thyroid. This is something for me to definitely look into, since 3 generations of women in my family have thyroid issues. Why haven't I heard about this possible connection before?! My sister is helping me get in to see her Internal Medicine doctor in the next couple of months so they can do tests to either rule it out or say "Yes, this could be the problem." Darn my Neurologist for only looking at my brain!!

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Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

1/18/10 5:32pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

I'm glad you've found us! One thing to keep in mind about neurologists, is that they treat so many other conditions like MS, epilepsy and stroke they can't be experts in any of them - let alone think about the endocrine system. That is something your primary doctor can look into.

But at any rate, lot of us here have thyroid issues and Migraine disease.

Thyroid disease and Migraine disease are often comorbid conditions, meaning that you have them both at the same time, but neither causes the other. Researchers have concluded that comorbid conditions can affect each other in multiple ways including how they progress and the amount of time it takes to diagnose them and find effective treatments. For more informtion on Migraines and thyroid, take a look at Migraine, Headache, and Thyroid.

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information and a spot to sign up for our free newsletter on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

tavstar1

1/21/10 10:46am

I have thought there was a conection between the two. I have found out throurgh electronic Biofeedback that my Thyroid is only 45% functioning, and my dr. never told me that. anyway, once I found that out and started working on my thyroid function, the migranes have decresed inversly. Maybe that will work for you as well, I know the frusteration of having them all the time, as soon as you see something that might help, you get your hopes up. My neuro- who is reccomended on this site and runs a headache center hasn't helped me all that much, personally. she keeps upping my beta blockers until im dizzy, but i could come off of them tommorrow, they have not helped. I haven't seen ANY improvement until the tyroid function improved, which also helped my adrenals and my hormone levels to balance a little bit more. Good luck!

Tavia

Antiquityhill

1/21/10 6:36pm

Don't forget the trigger factor - Headache Specialists know that almost any health condition can help to trigger Migraine attacks. Especially thyroid problems. Endocrinologists do know this, but just don't know enough about how to treat Migraines and concentrate instead on getting the thyroid issues under control. Getting to the root of the trigger is always best, but in the case of thyroid, which can take months to control, it's difficult. It's too bad there is such a disconnect between the two specialties.

There are many medicines we take for Migraines that can also alter thyroid function. If you don't see an endocrinologist, it's unlikely your doctor will take this into consideration. One way to do a quick check for this intereaction, is to do a search for your specific medicine and the word "Thyroid". Also, checking with one of the online thyroid gurus like Mary Shomon or Elainie Moore will yield a wealth of information your doctor probably won't tell you, and likely doesn't even know. Propranolol is one example of a medicine that can create or exacerbate thyroid related issues.

Specifically related to hypothyroid patients (low thyroid) Dr Low states in this link: "I'm always baffled when a doctor prescribes propranolol for a hypothyroid patient. If the patient isn't taking thyroid hormone, propranolol is likely to worsen her hypothyroid symptoms. If she is taking thyroid hormone, the drug will nullify most benefits the patient would otherwise get from the hormone. Hence, there's no sense whatever in a hypothyroid patient taking propranolol, and I suggest you ask your doctor about using another type of drug for your high blood pressure."

I have been a lurker here for quite a while lately, but when I saw this I really wanted to reply - hope that's okay. :) This is a rollercoaster I'm personally familiar with.

Most doctors don't even use the right tests to try to diagnose thyroid conditions, and labs still sometimes using incorrect "normal" ranges. Additionally, little respect is given to many thyroid patients. If you think this could be an issue for you, and your Migraines aren't getting under control, do yourself a favor and become very knowledgable about thyroid and endocrine function/testing/treatments. It is even possible to order your own thyroid function tests cheaper (usually) than thru your doctor or lab, so taking the bull by the horns is actually within the scope of possibility for most people. (In fact, many health departments occasionally offer free thyroid testing!)

Hope this has been helpful. Good luck...

Wishing you pain free, optimal thyroid days... :)

Migraines and their connection to your Thyroid...

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