With all the controversy and uncertainty of PFO Closures affecting migraines, I'd like to report that my closure in early February (2007) was pretty successful.
About a year and a half ago, while working in a very stressful job, I started to develop symptoms like extreme shortness of breath, dizziness, and chronic migraine. Keep in mind, I've been suffering from migraines since age 5, so the pain was not a new thing.
After my normal meds stopped working and the pain continued, I sought out help from a headache specialist a few hours away from where I live. I told him how fed up I was with the topamaxes and maxalts of the world and that I wanted to get to the bottom of this newly developed chronic migraine (with aura). Up until then, I could pinpoint food triggers, lack of sleep, etc. that made me more prone to migraines. This chronic pain was different and unresponsive to medications.
He decided to test me for a PFO just for the heck of it. There was a hole, so I soon found myself in a renowned cardiologist's office at Duke Univ. Hospital. Dr. Rhodes heads up the PFO closure clinical trial at Duke and knows from experience the success of the closure.
I had too many migraines to participate in the trial, but he did say that the dizziness and shortness of breath are very well linked to the hole and that my risk of stroke is higher than normal. He gave me the decision to have the procedure, which was nice. I wasn't being forced into anything and had time to research my decision.
I chose to go through with it, which was done via cardiac catheterization. The hole was pretty big and wasn't flapping like most people's ... it was open 100% of the time. I was back at work a few days later and saw a 50% decrease in my total migraines.
It's wonderful not having daily migraines anymore, even though I do go through a week or so where the throbbing pain doesn't let up (hormone-related) or because of other triggers that can be easily pinpointed. I was not cured by the procedure, but wasn't expecting to be either. A decrease of any percent was what I was after... and a decreased risk of stroke.
If anyone is thinking about going through with the procedure and wants to talk about it, just let me know! I can calm your fears of the procedure, dealing with a cardiologist, or info about the recovery.
Lucy,
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad the PFO closure has helped you. Most Migraineurs, however, would have to participate in a clinical trial to be able to have PFO closure here in the US at this point. As you said, your PFO was also increasing your risk of stroke. Until the trials are over, PFO closure isn't an option based on Migraine only. There has to be that extra issue of stroke risk or a history of stroke that was possibly caused by PFO.
I think your sharing here will be quite helpful to some people who are considering entering the clinical trials.
Teri