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Has anyone heard of this?

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Migraine Headache
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seechell
Regular Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 362
Posted 9/20/2006 2:59 PM (GMT -7)
Hi All-

Hurting all over today. The weather is rainy and so my arthitis has kicked up several notches. At least my head is at a very dull roar.

Anyway, the last time I was at the clinic for a migraine shot, the Nurse Pracitioner who saw me, (it was an after hours urgent care and that's the way they run it sometimes, no Doc there), told me to ask my neuro about a PFO nerve? Blood vessel? She said that they are finding that people who suffer from chronic migraine/headache have some problem with this in common. Does anyone know what this is? My appt. isn't for a week or so and I'm very curious and can't find anything on the web. My impatience is getting to me. I want to know now, not later. Patience is not one of my virtues!

Thanks for any help you have.

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Cheryl1018
Regular Member
Joined : Jun 2003
Posts : 267
Posted 9/21/2006 5:33 AM (GMT -7)
No, I haven't heard of that. Let us know what you find out.

It almost sounds to me like you have Fibromyalgia. I see that you had a hysterectomy and it can be pretty common to women who had hysters especially those that had endometriosis.

The rainy damp weather causes my Fibro body major pain, esp in the joint area.
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Phoelona
Regular Member
Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 122
Posted 9/21/2006 7:58 AM (GMT -7)
Hello Seechell. I found this site on the internet Heartinfo.org, that may be helpful to you. I looked under diabetic neuropathy and I found this information for you, although you can check for yourself for more indepth information. Autonomic neuropathy (related to diabetes) happens when you have already gotten Peripheral neuropathy ( related to diabetes). Peripheral neuropathy is nerve related damage due to diabetes. Autonomic neuropathy affects the nerves to the heart, and internal organs, and usually happens after getting Peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes.Autonomic neuropathy also affects the nerves for urination, sexual response, digestion and the cardiovascular system. This information is a little confusing to digest so it may take reading it two or more times to understand. One site mentioned a loss of potassium affecting the heart nerve as well so you may want to discuss your medication with your Dr so that you are losing too much potassium as well. Medication may cause headaches and migraines and since you have had a hysterectomy as well that may be complicating matters hormonally as well. I hope this helps you some. Please go to the site so that you may get more information for yourself, and maybe keep the site since you have neuropathy at this time, it may become helpful to you more than once. Take care Phoelona
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Annuk
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 1308
Posted 9/21/2006 11:22 PM (GMT -7)
Hi seechell,

Yes I have heard of this it's Patent Foramen Ovale, which means a very small hole in the heart, which is usually of no consequence. In some people who suffer from migraine inparticular with aura, it is thought that this minute hole is producing very tiny clots which when they arrive in the head cause migraine!

Please talk to your Doctor in more detail about this as there are tests that can be done to establish this. There have been a number of cases where the hole has been closed and the migraines have disappeared!!

This does not mean that all migraine comes from this, far from it! My son has this, but his migraine is not severe enough at the moment to warrant any further investigation!

Please talk to you Doctor about this, and let us know how you get on.

take care

Ann
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seechell
Regular Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 362
Posted 9/22/2006 4:27 PM (GMT -7)

Hi Ann-

Thanks! I had an ultrasound done a couple years ago and it revealed two valves that have slight regurgitation. I know that's not the same thing as a hole, but I'll tell my Dr about it when I go in and see what he has to say.

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Annuk
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 1308
Posted 9/23/2006 12:13 AM (GMT -7)
Hi Chelle,

I would be very interested in what your Doc has to say, as I have a Systolic Heart Murmur myself! Which I am told means a valve is not working properly, but I do not know which valve!

take care

Ann
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seechell
Regular Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 362
Posted 9/23/2006 1:46 AM (GMT -7)

Hi Ann-

I'll let you know what I find out. My appt is on the 28th. Long wait, hope something comes of it and I have some answers that I can share.

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hopefulmigrainer
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2006
Posts : 902
Posted 10/10/2006 8:40 PM (GMT -7)
My Mom cut out an article about this about a year ago and gave it to me. I showed it to my MD. You have reminded me to show it to my neurologist. I'm glad I read your post. Has anybody out there actually had this looked into? How do they determine if you have it?
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amoreena13
New Member
Joined : May 2007
Posts : 1
Posted 5/17/2007 10:46 AM (GMT -7)
Hi all,
I know this post is extremely late, but maybe will be a bit helpful. In being treated for migraines, my neurologist found a PFO through a simple ´bubble test´. PFOs are actually pretty common, but only become risky when they occur at a higher grade (when the hole between the two septums is bigger). If I understand right, the larger the hole, the greater the risk for a blood clot to form at the site of the hole and eventually shake loose and travel to the brain, causing a stroke. In my case, the hole is considered grade 5 (the largest), and I´m therefore having it closed up with two little metal devices. My neuro also thinks that my headaches are largely due to the PFO, as the normal blood flow has been re-routed, and that a portion of my blood now doesn´t pick up oxygen or get filtered in my lungs before heading to my brain. So, hopefully the closure will help that.

to answer the question above regarding how they determined if i had PFO, the ´bubble test´was quite simple. The neuro attached a doppler device to my head to magnify sound, and then injected saline into my arm. I was asked to bear down and hold my breath a bit. We could hear what sounded like a million ´bubbles´coming from the dopplar...therefore determining that the PFO existed and that (if i understand correctly), the saline had gone directly through the PFO and to my brain, being picked up by the dopplar, and hadn´t gone to my lungs, (i think) where it should have gone if the PFO had not existed.

It´s likely that i´m misunderstanding parts of the situation...so this site should help!
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/disease/congenital/pfo.htm
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