abdominal migraine

[mersilkee]

I know I have posted here before but I am still searching for anyone who has abdominal migraines.  Abdominal migraines are like other migraines in that they are often preceded by sensitivity to light, visual hallucinations, strange feelings, etc.  My migraines usually start with an aura as described above.  Next I will start having severe abdominal spasms followed by intractable vomiting.  I suffered with this for many years because most gastroenterologists do not know about abdominal migraines.  I once saw on television a doctor from Florida who summed it up nicely.  He said that the gut has it's own "brain" meaning its own complicated nervous system.

I happened to see a neuroendocrinologist who had studied under a gastrointerologist who had done studies with a neurologist to prove the existance of abdominal migraines.

Unfortunately, there is not very much information on the net regarding abdominal migraines.  I did see a brief article about a child who had abdominal migraines.

If you are having similar symptoms to mine and your GI doctor can't figure out what is wrong, you might consider seeing someone who specializes in the treatment of migraines.  Also, many neurologists don't know much about gi neurological disorders.

I first was given oral Imitrex which did not work but then under the advice of my physician I took subcutaneous injectable migraine medicine.

If you think you might have abdominal migraines, please consult your doctor.  If you do have abdominal migraines, please contact me. I would like to compare "notes."
Thanks

[FogKatie]

Hi,
It’s 2013, so I’m not certain if you are still seeking kindred abdominal migrainers.
And, this is not an easy sort of migraine for doctors to recognize.
Have you read Dr. Oliver Sacks’s book “Migraine”?
This has been a helpful resource that I tote around with me.
But, wow, I had to do a lot of on-line research before I figured out what I might be dealing with.
I started out with self-diagnosing hangovers; then, I began to practice sobriety and it was rather shocking that I could get violently ill and it not being from alcohol! Not drinking nearly 20 years ago began my path of honing down what set off these violent vomiting episodes.
First, I figured I had frequent food poisoning; then, Norfolk disease from my pet chickens; then, I found cyclical vomiting syndrome and all those pediatric cases. I see now that I have had abdominal migraines since I was very young.
For years I was the kid who always got car sick on the school bus.
A neurologist in Monterey ‘diagnosed’ me after I had yet another attack of what I’d described as going through something like food poisoning.  
She said that migraines are kicked off by at least 2 triggers and the brain is unable to ‘balance’ the stimuli.
For example, motion sickness and a certain smell; not sleeping and high stress situations [statistics class in grad school!]; change in barametric pressure and sinus pressure.
I don’t necessarily get headaches and I’m not an aura person - I’ll do anything, apparently, to skip the aura stage and zooming onto being flat out sick with abdominal ‘spasming’ that lasts @ a 3-day episode of vomiting and being drained with fatigue.
Symptoms: I feel that sulphuric taste at the back of mouth, I have not been able to sleep ...
When I can tell it’s going to hit, I go into preventative mode. I snort a zomig nasal spray; put 2 zofran tablets under my tongue, sometimes a anti-nausea sea sickness patch behind an ear, 4-1 mg of ativan and an ambien and bed for 3 days.
Once diagnosed, and this was done by process of elimination with meds, I dropped the neurologist and work with a psychiatrist to balance my chemicals. I dropped neurontin as a daily preventative bc a big, bad side effect is enormous weight gain. And, ballooning up like that is not acceptable.
I keep a journal to seek signs of triggers, but I am constantly taken by surprise.
I hope you’ll write back!

[AbdomMigraine]

I suffer weekly abdominal migraines, previously diagnosed as cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) but recently rediagnosed as abdominal migraine. The two conditions are closely related, in psychiatry. Episodes of vomiting and unrelenting severe nausea last from about 4 hours to 30 hours. Between episodes i am quite healthy.  This condition began abruptly in 2004, I had been otherwise very healthy. Since then I've been prescribed amitryptilene (endep), then imigran, then sandomigran, then diamox, and finally propranolol, as preventatives. Anecdotally, these medications have successfully treated both conditions in other patients. Unfortunately not for me. I've also tried a vast range of alternative medicines without success.  I've recently begun taking verapamil on the advice of 4 concurring specialists - gastroenterologist, psychiatrist, neurologist and a senior professor of neurology.

For treatment during the episodes I use Stemetil suppositories, zofran wafers and Xanax. A hot bath or shower is also very effective in reducing the nausea, being thought to dilate spasaming blood vessels.  Another excellent treatment for nausea is cannabis (depending on the strain) but for legal reasons this is never advised though I can attest to it's efficacy. I have only ever used it to treat the nausea and you may be able to obtain a prescription in the US. Any treatment for abdominal migraine though should be combined with excellent stress management. Stress is considered the primary trigger for my attacks so I'd recommend reducing stress as the priority.

I hope this helps rather than dismays - I feel your husband's pain. Best of luck

[foxymom420]

Hi, my husband is also an abdominal migraine sufferer.. It has been a long road of misdiagnosis and sickness....Any advice would help...

[genabena26]

Hi!
I am writing you about your abdominal migraines.  I think finally that may be the answer to all of the fits I have had.  How often do you have them?  I have been having these "intractable vomiting" fits for the past 4 1/2 years, and have ended up in the emergency room to stop the vomiting about 8 or 9 times.  I haven't figured out a trigger or any sort of commonality between each of the incidences. I am 29 years old, and will be seeing a GI doc next week.  This last vomiting spell landed me in the emergency department, where I was told I may have cyclic vomiting syndrome or abdominal migraines...I have to say I was relieved, because it's the first time I have a possible answer!  I have been through all sorts of tests: Ultrasounds, CT Scans, Hida Scan and Endoscopy, all with no answer.
I would like it if you could let me know more about the frequency of your "abdominal migraines" and how long they last.
Thank you,
Gena

[marileew]

Hi mersilkee,

It's nice to meet you! Although, I do not personally have abdominal migraines, I have a different type of migraine from abdominal migraine.

In high school, my first boyfriend had abdominal migraines (I think), although now he gets common migraines (I believe that some children and adolescents "grow out" of abdominal migraines and "into" common or classic migraines).

If I come across anyone on the forum who has abdominal migraines, I will be sure to put them in touch with you! I will also be sure to send you any information on abdominal migraines that, I think might be useful or interesting, that I find in the future.

I'll keep in touch!

- marilee :)