Just a slighly different perspective. When i was 13 and hormones kicked in I stopped being able to function. I forgot things constantly. Seen lights and flickers constantly. Lost my peripheral vision. I had "migraine attacks" and had been told I was bipolar.
At 19 a chance appointment with a ophthalmologist specialists at my doctors brought to light I had IIH.
It might be worth discussing with her care team.
Ive had a shunt fitted and my life has improved. I still struggle with a chronic illness but im not as self critical
Hi!
I been suffering for migraines for a long time, I was having an average of 10 episodes per month. Few weeks ago I met a Dr in Houston who is treating me my migraines, I'm feeling better. Just two weeks into the program, the migraines started to be shorter in duration to the point where they simply disappeared, amazing!
I will share a vídeo here to more information, I really hope this can help your daugther to feel better.
All the best!
https://youtu.be/CSSLSn1RwwI
I am not a doctor; I'm a psychotherapist who has been plagued by migraine all her life. My therapeutic training & experience are the only reason I sm alive right now. Your daughter's mental health issues are probably not at all due to the divorce, although stress makes migraine much worse. My migraine, my great aunt's migraine, & my son's (he's now 14) migraine are all accompanied by affective disturbance. It is known that migraine disrupts the uptake of the neurotransmitter seratonin in the migraineur's brain, but the exact form and action of this disruption seems to vary in individuals. In my case, I get "affective aura", a sudden deep depression - despite a happy normal life, I feel suddenly and irretrievably suicidal. I used to have to write myself notes to deal with this, & I still need them sometimes. The feeling passes in 1-3 hours, just like someone 'flipped a switch'. &!I am myself again. A few minutes later the pain hits, like an icepick thru the eye. My aunt had affective aura as well, but hers consisted of unspeakable homocidal irritation. She hated the world & everyone in it for a few hours until the headache hit. My son is affected post migraine, & his depression comes on after the headache is gone - he is clumsy, confused, can't read or concentrate; is depressed & despairing, feels hopeless, with a keen sense of dread. Therapy will help- certainly with family stress, but also in learning to cope with migraine, which is pain twice as bad as childbirth (believe me, both my births have been difficult, but I've had migraines far, FAR worse..) & its debilitating disruption of ordinary life. Certainky get her a good theralist, but I also suggest you hook up with a neurologist who specialises in migraine -- and make contact with your nearest migraine charity. I've found these to be a lifesaving help - they know about things that doctors often don't because they hear it all, & can be incredibly supportive. This is probably full of smelling pistakes (I'm writing it on my phone), so please pardon them. I wish you and your family the very best.
Hi,
Your daughter appears to be a very bright and sweet child. Apparently ,I can sense that she is also very sensitive. You have posted glimpses of the current family situation and I believe that these changes and tension in her home life may be affecting her deeply. She may be under a lot of stress and this manifests as her symptoms.
With regards to your question on whether migraine and psychosis are associated, here are some url’s that have mentioned studies on certain psychiatric disorders and migraine as an associated condition:
“Compared to the patients without migraine (n = 49), the patients with comorbid migraine (n = 53) had a higher frequency of bipolar II disorder (43% vs. 10%), a lower frequency of bipolar I disorder (11% vs. 33%), an approximately equal frequency of unipolar depressive disorder (45% vs. 57%) and a higher frequency of affective temperaments (45% vs. 22%). The migraine patients also had a greater number of anxiety disorders (3.0 vs. 1.9) and a higher frequency of panic disorder and agoraphobia.”
Source:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12587198?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
“There is a strong genetic predisposition to the psychiatric disorder of affective psychosis along with a dominant pattern of migraine in the family, which suggests a genetic connection between migraine and affective psychosis.”
Source:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12116273?ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
There may be an association present between migraines and psychosis but there is no definite or established data on this as far as I know. I do suggest that you have your daughter assessed by a psychiatrist. I can sense that she is deeply troubled. A seizure disorder also needs to be ruled out so a baseline EEG and CT scan may also be necessary.
Continue to support her and be gentle with her. She needs all the support and understanding now.
Do keep us posted.