BPDFamily.com

My BPD ex, has had vicious migraines for many years.  Anyone else's?  Thanks.

Mine would only complain of such things when she didn't want to talk on the phone, saying it was caused by getting too much sun at the pool.  I think she was lining up dates at the pool.  Speaking of that, she refused to put on sun screen lotion because she liked to get a full tan.  She's going to end up with some serious melanoma one day and those looks are going to go right down the drain.

Yes, my uBPDexw gets them periodically and is prescribed Zomig. I've wondered after the fact if it's somehow related but have never heard anything about it.

Mine too.  At least she claimed they were migraines.  I don't know if they were diagnosed as such, they may merely have been severe headaches.

My wife went through months of migraine treatments, including several inpatient stays at a specialty clinic.

Yep, mine also had migraines -- sometimes a couple a month.

Mine could cause a migraine, does that count?

Yeah... .usually when he didn't want to go to work. Then he had a panic attack because he'd called out of work. Then he spent the day playing video games with the volume turned way up. It was a little unconvincing.

So far, 5 of the 8 of us who've posted, say yes to the migraine question, with regard to their BPD.

There must be something to this.

Others, please.

I believe it was about a year ago that I read about a study in which a group of pwBPD and a control group of pwoBPD were given the same emotional stimuli and their brain activity was scanned in real time.  The marked differences were clear evidence of a physiological malfunction in the brains of pwBPD.

While I am of the biosocial school that believes that just about everything behaviorally related has both a biological and social cause, the relative significance of the contribution of each varies.  

An oft cited statistic is that 75% of pwBPD suffered abuse as a child.  However, the sources for those data are interviews with the pwBPD themselves.  This may not be reliable.  My ex told me detailed accounts of non sexual abuse and made vague references to sexual abuse.  I verified the former through conversations with her parents but, although I do not wish trivialize her pain, I am not as sure about the latter.  Of course, one needs to tread carefully here.  Sexual abuse and child molestation are not subjects which are easily broached.

But I don't believe there is any doubt regarding their brains.

Our society is very visually oriented.  Overall, people will accept the disabilities they can SEE but tend to blame the victim for disabilities that are invisible to gross inspection.  In some cases, this is true even of people who view themselves as open minded, and barbaric in a way that very few comprehend.

Thanks, Desert.

My ex-g/f complained of migraines regularly. Usually, she would get quiet for a minute or two and become aloof. Then she would squint her eyes slightly, and tell me she had a migraine. If we were at my place I would regularly offer her tylenol which 9 out of 10 times she would strangely refuse.

Then what happened, SteveMc? Paracetamol (Tylenol) basically does nothing for a true migraine.

yup mine had them too. Usually around that time of the month

My BPDx had them too. He said that I caused them by stressing him out

I have since discovered that he told his other exs this as well... .it was a good way to make it my fault that a day has been ruined... .

Mine has migraines. She says it's from stress (she doesn't work & rarely cooks). She also says it's from the rain although she doesn't always get them when it rains. They seem to come & go more as excuses to not do something.

Yes,

My uBPDxgf had migraines alot. In fact, lots of aches and pains of all kinds. Really bad monthly cramps too.

Yes, mine too.  Said she had headaches a lot.  She had me buy her a huge bottle of aspirin pills at one point.  She was shocked when I told her that I've never randomly experienced a headache in my life.

I think the BPD headaches are because of faulty brains and/or the extreme emotional turmoil they're so often in.   

My son also has frequent headaches.  I thought it was his way of not discussing problems, an escape fir him.  Now hearing this, is there a true connection with the BPD?

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc. This is a questionable cause logical fallacy -- correlation does not imply causation.

My exBPDbf had migraines.

I have migraines and I do not have BPD.

I know a lot of people who have migraines and don't have any sign of a PD.

Migraines have a lot of causes -- not all known. I get migraines from barometric pressure changes and prolonged exposure to certain fragrances, as well as from hormonal fluctuations. It's not uncommon for women to have migraines around that time of month.

Of course, stress is also a big cause of migraines. Everyone feels stressed now and then. pwBPD usually feel a lot of stress, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were perhaps more prone to migraines. My experience (including years of mental health work) has been that people with mental illnesses often also have stress-related pain like migraines, and/or stress-relieving addictions like nicotine.

I look at things like migraines less as "red flags" (these things are by no means indicative of any PD) and more as understandable side effects.

Yes. My ex had terrible migraines. The pills that worked for her fist twenty bucks a piece. She was also the most extreme PMSer I have ever known. Interesting correlation. Certainly a shared symptom and not a cause, no?

Mine also has migraines

yes

Both my exs suffered migranes. I think ive only ever had one in my life but tgey had them very frequently. I also believe this is due to brain abnormalities. There are a lot of studies now which show differences in the brains of pwBPD.

My ex is in a headache support group. I just read a case study, and sure enough, people with BPD do have migraine headaches and other pain issues. Maybe we are on to something with it.

My BPD mother would have very bad migraines at least once a month.  They were crippling when they were real. When not real they were a good excuse to cancel social plans.

My exGF did not complain of migraines just regular headaches by two out of her four children suffer from migraines does that count?

The youngest one Also suffers from stomach issues!

Stomach issues was another thing he complained of

I'm not sure exactly if it was on the site or somewhere else that I read about having to deal with the constant stress and drama of a PW BPD Long term can cause these physical ailments in others such as children who do not have the choice to just walk away and long-term partners, migraines and stomach issues were on the list and I saw it in her children, amazing how the disorder affects those closest to the PwBPD.

YES. My exBPD also suffered from migraines frequently.

Mine never claimed to suffer from migraines.  There were plenty of phantom pains over the years and complaints of abnormally severe monthly cramps, etc, but no migraines.