Dramatic rise in migraine frequency post op

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J

JeffM

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
402
Location
Fairfax, VA USA
Has anyone experienced this after surgery? The easy answer is the body goes through and is under such stress during recovery that a migraine sufferer, in my case, 2-3 times a month, should expect an increase. On the other hand, I've been getting a few a day since I left the hospital, especially since I stopped taking the pain medication the 5th day after surgery. Fortunately, they've been mild. I often just get an "aura" with no pain. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
 
Me! I've had the same thing for over five weeks now but the frequency of the each event has been decreasing...thankfully!
 
My headaches were the worst of my life starting at about day 5 post op. Thank goodness I still had my pain pump for the next several days because nothing else I took helped at all. When I got home, they unfortunately continued for about anther month to month and a half. Finally they went away, however, my migraines as a whole have changed since surgery. I'm not having them more frequently but they last much longer (4-5 days) and are much more painful. I had to go to the ER weekend before last for shots for pain and nausea which I haven't done in at least 15 years. Anyway, my neurologist just changed all my meds so hopefully we will get them back under control.

Kim
 
Post op I also get the "aura" without the actual headache pain following. I don't get it often enough to concern me, but I don't like my occasional episodes of double vision and dizzyness.
With me, it seems to be BP related.
 
I've had migraines since I was a teenager. I think I read somewhere, and been told, that my migraines were common with mitral valve prolapse. Before my surgery my migraines had subsided to mostly only the aura with a slight headache instead of also having the really bad headache. I was only having one or two every six months before surgery, but in the month immediately before surgery I had two or three all within about a 3 week period. Immediately after my surgery in June 2007 I had about three a month (aura only).

I've kept track of how long they've lasted for the last several years and before surgery they were 20 to 30 minutes each. Immediately after surgery they started off at about 30 minutes and then I had one that was at least an hour and a half which was really concerning to me.

The migraines faded after about three months. It's now been 15 months since my surgery and I haven't had another migraine in almost a year.
 
There is a small wealth of migraine information on this forum, so if you continue to have questions, do a search on migraine, or aura, or occular migraine (I think that's the term we were using). I've had them all my life, the visual kind. No pain or headache.

Yes, they did increase just post surgery. Then waned. Now I seem to be getting more again. Doesn't worry me.

It's good to learn what triggers them for you so you can avoid getting too many. The ones post surgery probably cannot really be avoided, though!

Be patient!

:) Marguerite
 
Thanks for your responses. If I follow most of the patterns here, I'm optimistic these will drop off in the next month or two. Interestingly, I've been having some low blood pressure issues so perhaps there's a connection there.
 
This was helpful for me because my husband is a migraine sufferer and has mitral valve prolapse and is looking at surgery in the next couple of months.
 
Aura and migrains after surgery

Aura and migrains after surgery

I've always had some migraine symptoms since I was a teenager, and now in my 50's, perhaps one episode a month. But, after surgery I got the aura almost every day, even twice a day on a couple days. Then something new was added, double vision. One eye seemed to move out of synch with the other. I have to close one eye for a minute or so. I'm now 9 weeks after surgery (AV repair and ascending aorta replacement) and I think it has been 5 or 6 days since my last aura. I recently met a lady that had the same surgery as me, same hospital, same surgeon, a few weeks before me. She mentioned the same things, aura and double vision. I mentioned it to my cardiologist and he acted like he hadn't heard the complaint often. Well, we know different.
 
I had several auras a day when in the hospital, but they have lessened now that I'm home. I never get the pain--just that annoying aura.

Kay
 
migraine increase

migraine increase

Yes i definitely found this. I had 2 auras on my 2nd day post op but the frequency did fall off a bit after when i recovered from surgery. I also got/get little comet-like bright lights dirfting in my field of vision. This usually only happens when I am v tired. don't know if this helps you at all.Love, Jx
 
QUOTE=tomflies1;335957]I've always had some migraine symptoms since I was a teenager, and now in my 50's, perhaps one episode a month. But, after surgery I got the aura almost every day, even twice a day on a couple days. Then something new was added, double vision. One eye seemed to move out of synch with the other. I have to close one eye for a minute or so. I'm now 9 weeks after surgery (AV repair and ascending aorta replacement) and I think it has been 5 or 6 days since my last aura. I recently met a lady that had the same surgery as me, same hospital, same surgeon, a few weeks before me. She mentioned the same things, aura and double vision. I mentioned it to my cardiologist and he acted like he hadn't heard the complaint often. Well, we know different.[/QUOTE]

That sounds eerily similar. Now that I'm 5 1/2 weeks post op the aura frequency has slowly minimized. Now it's maybe one every other day. The eyes out of synch syndrome you mentioned is exactly what happened to me too. It is almost as if my yes are crossing. Fortunately, it hasn't happened while driving and it's occuring a lot less frequently, like the auras, which indicates it's related to the migraines. Very interesting.
 
Postop magnesium depletion

Postop magnesium depletion

As discussed in another current thread, low magnesium is the culprit for some ocular migraines. Postop magnesium deficiency is well known in cardiac surgery of all kinds. I was skipping every 5th or so beat on day 2 postop (with too much time to watch the ekg monitor.) I requested IV magnesium (along with the oral I took pre and postop) rather than the amiodarone (rhythm drug) they were going to begin. I slowly got better over the next day and a half. Was rough on the vein they used. Coulda been time or placebo, but I think it was the magnesium. Must admit that I don't remember a migraine during that time. Magnesium helps with postop constipation (which is not a trivial issue!) along with turning down the narcotics.
 
I was getting occular migraines frequently after surgery. Roughly 2 a week then they tapered off and I have not had one for a couple months now.
 
Survivor said:
As discussed in another current thread, low magnesium is the culprit for some ocular migraines. Postop magnesium deficiency is well known in cardiac surgery of all kinds. I was skipping every 5th or so beat on day 2 postop (with too much time to watch the ekg monitor.) I requested IV magnesium (along with the oral I took pre and postop) rather than the amiodarone (rhythm drug) they were going to begin. I slowly got better over the next day and a half. Was rough on the vein they used. Coulda been time or placebo, but I think it was the magnesium. Must admit that I don't remember a migraine during that time. Magnesium helps with postop constipation (which is not a trivial issue!) along with turning down the narcotics.
Click to expand...

Magnesium depletion. No one's mentioned that to me yet. My migraine's have gone right back up in frequency and I'm getting real tired of it. It's been 18 weeks since surgery. I would have thought I'd be a little more balanced chemically at this point. I have continued to be constipated as well. This is not a normal state for me. I need to check into this further.
 
I should have checked this forum before making an appointment to see an Opthamologist recently. I was formally DX with ocular migraines, post-op, at that appointment. A few were pretty bad during the first few weeks after my Mitral Valve Repair. So much so that I was concerned that I had a detached retina or worse.

I had the occasional ocular migraine before surgery, but didn't connect it with the MVR. Since the surgery, I've had my fair share - along with one bout of severe lightheadedness during a Washington Capitals game - of ocular migraines and the shiny floater here and there. The tip about the magnesium deficiency is interesting and worth a shot. I have had one full-fledged migraine headache, but mostly just auras here and there.

Thanks for helping to put the pieces together.

Mike
 
Fish - that's so funny you mentioned an opthalmologist appointment. I just went to see one this week for the first time in my life because my mother insisted my shiny floaters were a detached retina. It, of course, was not. Crossing my fingers when I say this...I haven't had a migraine in three days.
 
Jeff -

We - all of us in this great forum - could write a great guide on what to expect pre- and post-op. My wife suggested the appt because of the potential for a detached retina. Everything worked out fine. Now when I get the shiny floaters, I simply dismiss them and it seems to go away quickly. Getting anxious about them, I found, simply made them much much worse.

Hope you stayed inside on the trainer today!!

Fish
 
Prior to mitral valve repair I had a migraine at least once a month. I had one a month after surgery and none since.:)
 
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