The Mindful Migraine

One of the most amazing things about this blog has been all the incredible people I have met and the way you have all introduced me to so many interesting details about migraine, chronic pain, and/or mindfulness.

Late last year I wrote about Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) – something I had never heard of before. The condition involves visual distortions that make objects appear too big or too small, too near or too far away. It is a condition often associated with migraines and epilepsy.

Even though the condition is considered very rare, many of you wrote in to say – “hey, that’s me!”

One such person was Jennifer Patino, the lovely poet-blogger over on the blog Thistle Thoughts. In her reply to the post, Jennifer mentioned that she had AIWS and that a neurologist thought she might also have “migralepsy”.

What, I wondered is migralepsy – it sounds like a portmanteau or compound-word of migraine + epilepsy… and it is!

[Disclaimer – I am not a doctor-doctor, so please do NOT use this post as a substitute for medical advice – always speak to a qualified health practitioner for feedback that is relevant to your individual condition.]

Wikipedia seems to say that migralepsy is basically a migraine attack, that within an hour, is followed by an epileptic seizure.

How terrifying!

The information gets into a kafuddle however, because, if I’m reading it right, not every migraine is followed by a seizure, and not every seizure has a migraine first… so it could in fact be two separate conditions that just coincidentally happen close together in some instances.

VeryWellHealth.com suggests that it is the aura associated with migraine that triggers a seizure due to electrical changes in the brain.

That makes sense to me. I know that strobing lights do something strange to my eye>brain>communication and can trigger a migraine, and I believe that flashing lights are also problematic for epileptics.

Healthline.com took a similar cause and effect approach, but they clarified something I didn’t know – not all seizures are of a ‘grand mal’ type where the patient falls to the ground convulsing. Seizures can also involve someone freezing for a moment and blinking rapidly, someone not being able to answer questions as their mind goes blank or twitching as they experience new smells.

They also noted that a migraine attack might reduce your resistance to a seizure if you are epileptic. (Apparently 1-17% of migraine patients also have epilepsy (whilst 8-20% of epileptics experience migraines)).

All three sites acknowledged doctors don’t really know exactly what is going on. And all three sites suggest the best way to treat this condition is to reduce the number of migraines you have.

One thing that did jump out at me, was on the Healthline site when they noted you should not drive if you feel sick (true that), and that some states (in the USA) required epileptics to have a reference to their condition on their driver’s license.

Given that you should not be driving a car when you have a terrible migraine, but that it is generally only a temporary condition, I wondered if there were any countries in the world that required you to have “migraine patient” on your driver’s license. I doubted it (as there is nothing like that in Australia) – but I thought I’d ask an online ChatBot and I can’t stop laughing (sorry not sorry):

“There is no specific country that mandates recording migraines on a driver’s license. However, having a criminal record can affect travel plans.”

OK, off-topic swerve, but good to know – thanks ChatBot!

Still curious, I checked out my state’s driving rules, and you need to consult with a doctor if there’s a possibility you can’t drive, and may have to sit extra tests to prove it, and yes, in some cases, medical conditions are noted on your license. The conditions they are testing for include epilepsy, diabetes, stroke, sleep disorders, dementia (!) but also neurological conditions (which I guess migraine could be a part of).

Regardless – if you have a migraine, you’re not driving – because you can’t… and shouldn’t… (read more here on my post “Migraines and car crashes“).

And with that, I’m going to cruise into the sunset (whilst trying not to stare into the light… because that’s one of my migraine triggers…!)

Take care taking care out there, Linda x

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PS – let me know if you have any lived experience with migralepsy that might help other readers!

PPS – shout out to the two blogs that did a shoutout for me and the upcoming blogger-tea-party I’m hosting in February via Zoom:

Reading to Grow: Nurturing the Self and Connecting with Others – Thoughts about leadership, history, and more (includes a great picture with Edward already sipping his tea!!)

The Mindful Migraine Just Turned Two! – Sunday’s Follies (thank you!)