Migraines/TIA's

[Peaches456]

Hi.  I was wondering if I could please get some help.  My mother has been having a pain on the left side of her head now for about 3 months.  She has high bl. pressure and she has taken Excedrin PM/Tylenol PM about the same time her headaches started.  She went to a Neurologist and he diagonosed her as having "TRANSPOSE MIGRAINES".  I cannot find anything on the internet about this.  Everytime she "sneezes', "laughs" or ""coughs" she has to hold her head because it hurts.  She has had a  CAT and a MRI.  Both showed no "tumors" or "aneurysms", but it did show where she has had "mini-strokes" or "TIA's.   He told her that TIA's aren't uncommon with people that have HBP.  I am at a lost here, because she walks around with this pain.  I was wondering what do you think??  Can the pain in her head cause her "TIA's" or vice versa.  The neurologist did tell her to stop taking the "Excedrin PM", and put her on Ibuprofen.  He wants to see her in about 2 1/2 weeks.  He said that the medications she was taking is "notorious" for causing her migraines.  I guess due to "over-use".  PLEASE HELP.

[deniorte]

A related discussion, migrains/ stroke was started.

[tallchick]

Hello. I've been suffering from severe migraine headaches for 9 yrs, they have continued to get worse. I've taken feverfew,vitamins, doctor prescribed drugs and the whole works, nothing seems to get rid of them or subside them.
I've had an MRI and its shown that I've had 4 mini-strokes. I've noticed with migraines plus the strokes that I've suffered memory loss, speech problems, loss of vision, numbness to my limbs, everyday motor skills lost, etc.
  I guess what I'm wondering is if there really is anything out there that can cure or at least subside migrains for more than a week?
Are mini-strokes caused by migrains? Or is it a whole other health problem??

[Adrienne]

a type of atypical migraine called hemiplegic migraines can cause stroke like symptoms and can be confused as TIAs at times. its known to be hereditary but i have them and no one else in my family has them. please look into these as they cause all they symptoms of a stroke or just a few of them, with or w/o the headache and other migraines symptoms. but you do have to watch out and not take triptans and some other type of meds with these types of migraines or they might actually cause a stroke and you are supceptable to have a stroke or TIA with these migraines, but please, ask your husbands dr about these and look more into them.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

I think you may be referring to an entity called Transformed migraine also known as chronic migraine.  This occurs in people with prior history of migraines (don't necessarily have to have a history)that over time become more frequent and symptomatically severe.  The migraine thus transforms from the typical episodic headache that occurs occasionally to a daily or near-daily headache. This can definitely come about and worsen into a viscious cycle due to medication overuse as your doctor had suggested.Glad that her MRI does not show anything serious.  Mini-strokes that show up on an MRI but are clinically silent occur due to longstanding high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and other stroke risk factors.  They do not have anything to do with her headaches.  Your mom is on the right track if she can stop taking those meds. High blood pressure in itself can cause headaches, so make sure that is well controlled, too. GOod luck.