I noticed a lot of people mention migrane headaches here. I have been having some horrible ocular migranes for the past several years (just cant seem to remember exactly how many). It seemed to me there may be some link between the strain of focusing with add/adhd and the scourge of semi/regular headaches.
Do you get migranes?

I do have to add that as an 8 year old I had a time when I had regular serious migraines, usually in the weekends. But after that time only "normal" headaches.

Yes, but it's just in our heads....:eek:

Mine tend to come in spurts, the doc says they're migraines. I'll have migraines off and on for a few months then they'll go away and start again 6-8 months later.

I've been getting migraines since at least 16 years old, maybe even younger, as I remember my mom taking me to the eye doctor, hoping glasses would help with my headaches.

I now take imitrex when one strikes, and have just recently decided to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor to determine if my headaches are sinus issues as opposed to always being migraines.

If I'd never found imitrex, there's a good chance I'd have cut my own head off by now. :( Even though it makes me feel like crap for about an hour, it does help. Sadly my insurance only gives me FOUR at a time for FORTY bucks. that's $10 a pill. How horrid is that. I've had my doctor up the prescription, so I can at least cut the pill and get twice as much out of the script.

First migraine was at 9 years old and I had about 3 a year through my teens. Did not know that they were migraines until I read an article about them.

None of the Triptans seem to touch my migraines, I have tried all of them that have come on the market since 1990.:( Most are attributed to hormones, but environmental factors, like extreme drops in barometric pressure, people with smelly cologne, pollution that will bring them on too.

When I was on an antidepressant, when it started to take hold in my brains, I felt lots of electrical "activity" in the same part of my head the migraines radiate from?

Too soon to tell, but since being treated for ADHD, when I usually would have had a migraine, I did not. Time will tell....

None of the Triptans seem to touch my migraines, I have tried all of them that have come on the market since 1990.:( Most are attributed to hormones, but environmental factors, like extreme drops in barometric pressure, people with smelly cologne, pollution that will bring them on too.


i could have written this!!! hormones, weather, strong smells and some foods will trigger a migraine. my migraines started at 13, but i knew what it was because my mother and grandfather both suffer from migraines.

for me the side effects of the triptans are almost worse than the headache itself. the last time i took a triptan for a migraine it was terrible - a headache and side effects that made me want to die... never again. i have found some relief i the past two years with accupuncture and some specialized massage techniques (cranial-sacral & lymphatic drainage).

i, too, am curious to see how treatment for my recently diagnosed ADD will impact my headaches - i haven't had one since i started treatment either

I am so sorry you have to go through this. I had one migraine and never experience pain ever as bad as that.

I get a migraine at least 2 or 3 times a month. I find the most success from my Imitrex (that's a triptan right?) if I take it right when the migraine starts. I agree though, the hour after is awful.

I'm seeking an ENT doctor is because a friend said after she went and had something done to her sinuses, she experienced a LOT fewer headaches and they weren't as bad.

My sister in law gets them horribly too and she ends up in the emergency room for a shot of darvocet.

One woman I worked for would smoke, therefore her sense of smell was greatly diminished. Her perfume could knock you out. It was bad. I would suck on menthol cough drops just to diffuse the effects.

I'm actually having less tension headaches .. and migraines.. since being back on my thyroid meds.

I get a migraine at least 2 or 3 times a month. I find the most success from my Imitrex (that's a triptan right?) if I take it right when the migraine starts. I agree though, the hour after is awful.

Imitrex is a triptan. Triptans target serotonin in the brain. Just starting to research the different neurotransmitters, I am not sure what triptans do to serotonin, but am trying to figure it out by studying bunches of information that right now "sort of" makes sense but not yet!

If anybody can explain the triptan serotonin connection in easy to understand terms, please come forward!

Glad that Imitrex works well for you Delores!! Relpax (triptan) did work, but when the dose wore off, the rebound migraine, ouch!

I've been getting migraines since I was about 16, never knew that's what they were for years, just thought that's what headaches were all about. I find some releif with fiornal w/codeine, but time is the only real releif.

I've tried triptans, one, Maxalt, did nothing but give me a tight chest, tried Imitrex and got the same result. I really don't think they were a good idea for me.

I feel bad for anyone plagued with migraines, at least mine are reduced in number now that I'm on a beta blocker:).

Hi Redfishoil,

Your initial question was, ADD and migraines, is there a connection? My answer would be that I have never heard of a connection - nor can I seem to find any when I search for this in medical journals. However, we are talking about two distinctly different disease processes - both involving neurotransmitters to some degree.

The older theory of migraine development suggested that it begins with the release of serotonin, an important neurotransmitter. When serotonin is released, the blood vessels constrict (narrow). This is followed by a reactive dilation (expansion) of blood vessels that is the direct cause of pain. A more current theory suggests that when a visual aura is present, it is caused by changes in blood flow patterns in the brain and cortical spreading depression (CSD), which refers to decreased activity on the surface of the brain. The headache portion of the migraine is caused by a complex process involving, blood vessel dilation, decreased cerebral blood flow, and abnormal activity of the trigeminal nerve causing local inflammation. Evidence also suggests that pain control centers in the brainstem may be dysfunctional in migraine patients.

So, without others, who do not have ADHD to weigh in and declare whether or not they have migraines, I don't think we can really make a connection. I do find it interesting to note that approximately 28 million American's suffer from migraines (and those are the ones who complain to their doctor or go to some type of health care facility to have the migraine treated). Sadly, they say that women make up 75% of that group.

Just my two cents.

At Heart

Interesting reply!

I've had migraines since I was a kid. Is it because of ADD, I'm not sure. I've had them at periods once a week, sometimes I've had a bad one that lasts for several days. No, they are not fun, and when I have one it is like my brain is misfiring and I can't think clearly. They are so very frustrating, and I just happen to have one today. I try not to let them get me down, but sometimes they are just too much. I'll go out today and see how things go. Luckily I don't have to work today. Nothing usually helps, but sometimes an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen helps because of the TMJ issues that I'll mention below.

Stress is the main trigger for my migraines. I also have TMJ, and though I received treatment that greatly helped that and cut the migraines way back, I still have them at times. Stress often comes from my ADD problems, that stress leads me to tighten my jaw, and that all combines to form a migraine. Lack of sleep, because I can't pull myself away from a stimulus like the computer or tv to go to bed, will cause them. Lack of sleep generally leads to me being in a more irritable mood the next day, which leads me inevitably to get stressed, which then leads to another migraine.

So, is there a link between ADD and migraines? For me, I would say so. The ADD leads me to do things that, in turn, stress me out. That then leads to a migraine at times.