11 Ways Migraines Are Dangerous for Your Health
Medically Reviewed By William C. Lloyd III, MD, FACS
Written By Cindy Kuzma on July 24, 2021
The health effects of chronic migraines can linger well beyond the few hours or days of a single migraine headache. If you have frequent migraines, work with your doctor on a plan to control your pain and prevent these additional medical problems.
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1. Your Bowels May MalfunctionMigraines and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) often go hand in hand. Doctors believe the same changes to the nervous system trigger headaches and problems with digestion. People with IBS often alternate between diarrhea and constipation, and they may also feel bloated or like they always need to go to the bathroom.
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2. Your Back Can AcheFrequent low back pain strikes somewhere between 13 to 18 times as many people with chronic migraine as those without headaches. With time, pain creates a well-worn path through your nerves and brain, actually changing the structure of your gray matter. As a result, you’re more likely to hurt throughout your body.
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3. You Could Have a StrokeStrokes occur when blood flow to your brain stops. Migraines double your risk for stroke. The risk appears highest if your migraines are accompanied by aura—visual disturbances such as flashing lights or zig-zag patterns before a headache begins.
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4. You Risk Even More HeadachesChronic migraines may have you frequently reaching for the medicine cabinet. But if you take pain-relieving drugs more than two or three times a week, you could develop rebound headaches. These occur when your medication wears off more quickly each time and the pain returns stronger than before.
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5. Your Vision ShiftsSome types of migraines result in brief periods of vision loss or changes. Other, less common types cause your eyelids to droop and your pupils to enlarge. They’re accompanied by double vision that may last for weeks after the pain in your head subsides.
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6. Your Sleep May SufferPain from a migraine may make it difficult for you to fall or stay asleep. In addition, chronic migraines have been linked to changes in the way your body transitions between stages of slumber, interrupting your rest. Poor sleep can, in turn, worsen head pain.
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7. You Might Lose Your HearingIt’s rare but terrifying: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss causes rapid hearing loss over a 72-hour period. This condition appears about twice as frequently in people with chronic migraines. Doctors aren’t sure why, but they suspect damage to tiny blood vessels in the ear may link the two conditions.
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8. You Could Have SeizuresSimilar patterns occur in chronic migraines and the seizure disorder epilepsy: Rapidly firing neurons induce sudden attacks of symptoms, followed by periods in which you’re symptom-free. Migraines can trigger seizures in people with epilepsy. And people with both conditions often don’t respond to anti-seizure medications.
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9. You Risk Developing Other Types of Chronic PainIn one study, one-third of chronic migraine patients had fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and depression. That’s significantly more than the 4% reported in the general population. Any type of chronic pain rewires the way the brain processes pain signals. The constant throbbing of headaches may overexcite your entire body’s pain responses, predisposing you to more extensive aching.
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10. Your Blood Pressure May RiseWomen with migraines appear more likely to develop high blood pressure during pregnancy, and some studies have linked hypertension to chronic migraines in all adults. Malfunctions in your autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary motions such as your blood pressure and heart rate, may underlie both conditions.
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11. Your Mood May SinkDepression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder all affect more people with migraines than those without. In part, they result from fearing when the next attack will strike. But scientists increasingly suspect common brain pathways link chronic migraines with psychological conditions.
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11 Ways Migraines Are Dangerous for Your Health