About 12% of the population suffers from migraines. In addition to high rates of migraine-related disability, migraineurs are at a higher risk than the general population of additional disability related to depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other conditions.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder of the central nervous system with increased brain excitability. It often manifests itself not only with muscle pains, but also fatigue, memory problems, and sleep and mood disturbances. Various studies estimate that anywhere from 2% to 8% of the general adult population suffers from fibromyalgia. Just like with migraine, women are more often affected than men. The likelihood of coexisting fibromyalgia increases with increasing frequency and severity of migraine attacks.
Both migraine and fibromyalgia have been individually linked with increased risk of suicide. However, it is not clear that the risk is more than additive.
A study just published in Neurology, reports that patients with migraine and coexisting fibromyalgia have a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared with migraine patients without fibromyalgia.
The study looked at 1,318 patients who attended a headache clinic. Of these patients, 133 or 10% were found to also have fibromyalgia. Patients with both conditions had more frequent, more severe, and longer-lasting migraine attacks as well as higher use of abortive medications.
Compared with migraine patients who did not have fibromyalgia, those with fibromyalgia were more likely to report suicidal ideation (58% vs 24%) and suicide attempts (18% vs 6%).
This report suggests that migraine and fibromyalgia may magnify the risk of suicide compared with the risk of the individual conditions. However, because this data comes from a specialty headache clinic, many patients were severely affected by their migraines, with more than 35% having chronic migraine. It is likely that the results would be less dramatic among migraine sufferers in the general population. Almost half of the estimated 35 million migraine sufferers in the US do not consult a physician. Most of them suffer from milder migraines than those who do consult a doctor.
This study suggests that patients with migraine should be evaluated for other chronic pain conditions and for their mental health well-being. In particular, patients with chronic migraine should be screened for other painful conditions and mental illness. And patients with fibromyalgia should also be evaluated for migraine and potential suicide ideation. Patients often do not appear depressed, but simple questions can detect depression, which can lead to effective treatment. Our initial evaluation at the New York Headache Center includes two questions which are highly indicative of depression: 1. Have you been bothered a lot in the last month by feeling sad, down, or depressed? 2. Have you been bothered a lot in the last month by a loss of interest or pleasure in your daily activities?
Antidepressants have been proven to be effective for the prevention of migraines even in the absence of depression and are the best choice for people suffering from both conditions. Prozac, Lexapro and other SSRI antidepressants do not help migraines or pain, but SNRIs such as Effexor, Cymbalta, and Savella or tricyclics such as Elavil, Pamelor, and Vivactil do relieve pain and depression.
Magnesium deficiency is common in both migraines and fibromyalgia and we recommend an oral supplement to all patients. Some patients do not absorb magnesium and respond very well to monthly intravenous infusions of magnesium. Both their migraines improve as do fibromyalgia symptoms.
One interesting difference between migraines and fibromyalgia is the response to Botox. Botox is proven to be highly effective for the prevention of migraines and it works very well to relax spastic muscles. However, Botox appears to be ineffective for the treatment of muscle spasm in fibromyalgia. It is possibly explained by the fact that Botox interferes with the function of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in contracting healthy muscles. In fibromyalgia, studies suggests a deficit in acetylcholine, so further blocking it would be ineffective or even make the muscle pain worse (which I’ve seen in a few patients).
