Poll: Migraine and Autism - Aspergers

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I get migraines fairly often.

Normal headaches around every 3 days,
migraines around every week.
Had one yesterday that was so bad couldn't walk home.
D:

Sudden-onset, prolonged and spatially variable headaches.


(This is not migraine)

I have migraines and neuralgia from a head injury, not from autism.

I've had them for decades. They don't come as often as they did but maybe that is possibly due to me not eating as much of the food types thought to be triggers - dairy stuff like chocolate, cheese etc. I have no idea if there is a scientific basis for that or it is urban legend, but when I cut down I had less attacks. I do have headaches pretty much all of the time but am very light/sound sensitive which doesn't help. The medication has improved over the years so that is a comfort.

I am interested in the comment about excessive brain activity being a trigger as I often find myself stuck in a feedback loop in my head going over things/situations/plans again and again. This causes me neck and head pain which can sometimes escalate into a full blown migraine and a lie down in a dark room with earplugs.

They ended when I turned 20. In all my adult life after that, there was only one episode in over 40 years.

Not that I noticed. I think they were triggered by sudden and extreme hormonal shifts. The worst ones occurred in the weeks after I had my first child, very severe.

Yes. I get two different types of migraine. I get ocular migraines. This type, for me at least, are painless, but my vision becomes disrupted for anywhere from 20-60 minutes. I basically have to sit around. I get these a couple of times a month. The other kind are the nasty kind. These vary in severity for me, thank fully. When I get a full blown really bad one I become utterly useless. I get sick to my stomach, light/sound are unbearable, I get body aches and a feverish feeling complete with a sensation fo chills and sweats with no actual fever. And oh yeah I get so dizzy I cant stand up. I used to get them like this a for 1-3 days per month. I started charting them and realized that these very severe ones were cyclic. I went on bcp and the are now no longer this bad. Not fun, but I can take it and maybe not miss work. Now other times I get more mild ones that are "just" searing pain and nausea. Fortunately they mostly start later in he day worsening into the night. So at least I don't miss work, although maybe I leave a little early if it's bad. I have these in spurts. I might go a week or two with out and then have them every day for a few days to 2 weeks in a row. I have been diagnosed with migraines. The medication did not work.

First post here.

This thread is a bit long-in-the-tooth, but the subject elicited some curiosity, so I joined the forum.

I'm an undiagnosed, probable-aspie. Have an aspie kid as well.

I've read that seizure disorders are more common with autistic-spectrum folks, and it seems that migraines might be, too.

Had grand mal seizures for at least 10 years, as an adult. A seizure was occasionally preceded by an aura (not an ocular migraine aura), although I didn't recognize the aura at the time. Every seizure happened in my sleep. Sometimes, I'd comment that I thought something bad was going to happen that night, because I could feel it coming. Just didn't know it was an impending seizure. Finally, one was witnessed, and the mystery was cleared up. Those ended almost 30 years ago, and I don't know why.

For about the past 20 years or so, I've been experiencing ocular migraines, and they've been becoming a bit more frequent lately--maybe one every two weeks now.

So, are these all comorbid with being on the spectrum? I'd hope that an increasing number of ocular migraines has nothing to do with the risk of seizures, because I doubt I'd survive another one of those. Anyone happen across these things, all together in one person?

Thanks!

I get headaches, but I've never had a migraine. But I know plenty of NTs who have migraines what make them sick.

Geriatric Kid, both seizures and migraines are co-morbid with ASD. I have read a lot about "why seizures?" and the most persuasive argument for me is that in ASD, seizures are more common because of 1) ASD brains have more electrical activity (possibly leading to episodes where there areas of build-up and then subsequent discharge) and 2) the speeds of the electrical impulses are faster. Like everything in ASD research these causal factors are in dispute with some claiming the opposite...

I have been getting headaches and migraines for most of my life. My life has been greatly effected by them. I have extreme food intolerance and found that once I stopped eating most foods, they improved, but my brain isn't happy with my current restricted diet, so I'm having them again. If I start or stop eating even one food, I go through a period of headaches. I also get them when I talk very much, when I smell strong scents, am overwhelmed or stressed, when I strongly emote, pretty much whenever I am not in perfect, safe equilibrium.

Does anyone else ever get headaches when they talk too much?

Not headaches if I talk too much, instead a generalised fatigue that I feel more in my body than my mind. I nearly always have to have extra rest after a period of socialising.

I'm a female aspie who gets migraines. During migraines is the only time when I suffer from smells (make me even more nauseated than the migraine makes me), sounds (like something is stabbing into my head) and lights (actual pain in my eyes). I don't normally have any other sensory stuff than being picky with my food, but during migraines I suffer smells and sounds I don't even notice when I'm well. Normally I love spicy food, but when I suffer migraines it makes me worse and just the smells from it are icky.
I also get nausea and dizziness.