Body Aches

Well, as we know, our migraine symptoms are dynamic in nature…and I have noticed a “new” symptom for me. My sister who also has migraine and I get these body aches. Not like we worked out too much, but more the feeling that you might be running a low grade fever. Well lately, I have had body aches and lots of them. Today i decided to go overboard on chocolate and low and behold, what am I struggling with? BODY ACHES and lots of them. I decided to look at Buchholz book to see if this was possible and he claims that a symptom of migraine CAN be body aches…very interesting!!!

Pam

Hi Pam,

I get this quite a bit too. If I eat an offending food, such as Chinese food, it will cause all of my joints to hurt and my muscles will ache. If I have a stressful event happening the migraine hangover also generates pain. It’s not always there but seems to come in phases like all of the other symptoms this can generate.

Scott

Me too. Joint and muscle pain all over and so bad I can’t sleep. Also face pain like really bad sinus problems during the 'flu.

My default position these days is that if there’s no other plausible explanation for a symptom it’s probably migraine.

Vic

So true, its just kind of wierd how these symptoms seem to cycle…I mean, just recently the body aches seem to be my biggest symptom, I think it even tops my woozy head!!! WOW, I just realized that…woozy head has been my most constant symptom for the last 2 years…now it seems to be the body aches. Some days it is bad enought! to warrant 2 motrin :mrgreen…I guess I’m wondering why these symptoms cycle the way they do, throwing in other symptoms, that maybe you haven’t had for years???

Pam

Hi Pam,

The changing of and/or addition of new symptoms has been a real mental stumbling block for me too, in terms of getting the diagnosis of MAV/migraine. From my teens until when MAV started my migraines had always followed exactly the same course (including during periods between MAV episodes). As my neurologist (Dr Halmagyi in Sydney) and also one of the doctors who’ve posted on this forum (Rauch? Hain?) said “migraines do change over your lifetime”. While I’m not particularly happy about that it does at least allow for any number of weird and horrible symptoms to fall under the migraine banner.

It is a hard call to pick which is/are the most debilitating symptom(s). I think it depends where you’re at in the migraine cycle - like you say, the aches for you are so bad now they are trumping the head wooziness. Have you had any success with any of the traditional pain killers eg aspirin, ibuprofen and/or Valium (the wonder drug)?

Vic

Hi Vic!

Thanks for your reply. I agree about the other possible symptoms that COULD come along in this horrid journey. I have a friend tell me that her Migraine begins with absolute blindness from her right eye…so if she is driving, well, then she just better pull over for 20 minutes!!! how frightening!!!
As for my body aches, I manage for as long as I can, if by about noon or sometimes late afternoon, I will take 2 Motrin (ibuprofin)…I try not to do this daily, because I surely don’t want to add rebound into this mix!!!

Pam

My body does not literally ache, but I ALWAYS feel like I am coming down with the flu. Some days worse than others, in that on some days I feel like I have a temperature of 101 and other days I seriously feel like I am running a fever of 103. It is horrible, and always there to some extent. And, I never truly have a fever - just feel like it.

Interesting! I tend to have a lot of body/bone/joint aches for which no one can seem to find a reason, so they chalk it up to “fibromyalgia” which I don’t think I have because I don’t have those tender pressure points.

I didn’t realize this could also be a manistestation of migraine. When I am feeling particulary poor I’ll take my temp it is is usually sub-normal, 96 point something. I’ve asked the doctor, why is my temp always so low? I get the old shoulder shrug along with “I don’t know.”

Book

— Begin quote from “bookworm”

Interesting! I tend to have a lot of body/bone/joint aches for which no one can seem to find a reason, so they chalk it up to “fibromyalgia” which I don’t think I have because I don’t have those tender pressure points.

I didn’t realize this could also be a manistestation of migraine. When I am feeling particulary poor I’ll take my temp it is is usually sub-normal, 96 point something. I’ve asked the doctor, why is my temp always so low? I get the old shoulder shrug along with “I don’t know.”

Book

— End quote

I am interested to know what type of body aches you have and do you take anything for the fibromyalgia? For the past several months my legs have been killing me to the point I can hardly stand to walk on them at times. i am so scared it is something more serious than this or the MAV. The pain is awful and I am going to see a Vascular Specialist just to make sure. I went to the ER about a month ago and they did a Ultra Sound and said no clots but could it be something else …is that the same as PAD or are they seperate.

The doctor I went to first said to see a neuro…thought it might be nerve damage or fibromyalgia…if you could let me know what your experience with this has been I would appreciate the input.

I get the virusy type feeling, virusy headache, tired aching limbs, sweating. they have told me I have ME (I still wonder). On most days, a painkiller can take most of it away, but if I have been overdoing it physically, shopping, I can hardly put one foot in front of the other, so fatigued, I dont feel at all better until the next day and then I can feel rubbish the day after.

I still wonder how this can relate to migraine. My migraines are nothing as severe or often as they used to be, but the aching and fatigue hits just as hard.

Christine

— Begin quote from “Timeless”

— Begin quote from “bookworm”

Interesting! I tend to have a lot of body/bone/joint aches for which no one can seem to find a reason, so they chalk it up to “fibromyalgia” which I don’t think I have because I don’t have those tender pressure points.

I didn’t realize this could also be a manistestation of migraine. When I am feeling particulary poor I’ll take my temp it is is usually sub-normal, 96 point something. I’ve asked the doctor, why is my temp always so low? I get the old shoulder shrug along with “I don’t know.”

Book

— End quote

I am interested to know what type of body aches you have and do you take anything for the fibromyalgia? For the past several months my legs have been killing me to the point I can hardly stand to walk on them at times. i am so scared it is something more serious than this or the MAV. The pain is awful and I am going to see a Vascular Specialist just to make sure. I went to the ER about a month ago and they did a Ultra Sound and said no clots but could it be something else …is that the same as PAD or are they seperate.

The doctor I went to first said to see a neuro…thought it might be nerve damage or fibromyalgia…if you could let me know what your experience with this has been I would appreciate the input.

— End quote

I have a lot of hip pain, lower back pain, neck pain, and right let pain. I also had an ultra sound to rule out a clot and nothing was found. I attribute my pains to getting older and when I get depressed and start dwelling on all my aches and pains I start fearing cancer. I often feel like my doctor doesn’t take me seriously. I wish I could see someone who would look at every part of me from head to toe and take into account ALL MY SYMPTOMS and diagnose me from there.

I rarely take anything for the bone/joint pains but I do take ibuprofen for my headaches (which I call carsick headaches because that is how they make me feel.)