Interesting new interpretation of my SIL's health problems

Most of you know that my brother lives in Brazil and found the perfect wife for him after he had lived there a couple years. I don't believe that there is such a thing as the "perfect spouse," but I do believe in the "the perfect spouse for you," if you understand the difference. Marina fits my brother's personality beautifully, and she has brought out a gentleness and empathy in my brother that I never thought could exist. She has done a lot to teach him to be "a gentleman."

Well, Marina has had migraines most of her life, but she also has had some strange stomach ailments since they got married. They did identify an ovarian cyst, which they almost took out, but the lead doctor said could be managed by switching her birth control to a version more effective against cysts, so I think she is getting better with that. They also thought they'd have to remove her galbladder. And another time they told her that her stomach was so damaged that she could eat only liquids.

Well, the latest consensus is that all these stomach problems are part of her migraines! Imagine that! We all knew how much migraines can lead to stomach problems, but we never considered the fact that such severe stomach problems could be migraine too.

I don't know what course of treatment they're offering now, but I hope it's something that helps her more!

I'd like to see some links on that. Many of us, including me, have had problems with ovarian cysts.

Obviously not an inclusive link to migraines or Richard, Brent and Hal got some 'splainin to do.

The sooner they look at the gut brain connection and the so called co morbids like fibro and IBS (big headache connections), the quicker might have a cure. That is why I started a FB page because I more and more believe migraine is a symptom.
I dont know of what, but it all stacks up, even to the point that maybe there are two kinds....primary and secondary....

I am prepared to be professionally disabused of this idea, but so far, no one has.
They dont know what cause it, how can they know what doesn't...

vicki,

any of the stomach issues confirmed via upper GI endoscopy & biopsy? gall bladder ultrasound or MR?

mgb

I remember from old Ronda's site discussions about link between H.Pylori and migraine.
People who had H.Pylori infection had way more migraine episodes than those who didn't.
So there is definitely a link.
But I wonder if your SiL may have developed abdominal M as well?

Risa

I know that Marina has had a number of tests, but I'm not sure which ones because my brother doesn't know how to translate a lot of medical terms between Portuguese and English. So I do know that Marina has had an ultrasound and what was probably either an MRI or CT scan. She has had other tests too, but I just don't know what they were because neither does Andrew (at least in English).

And I can't provide any links because this is just what the doctor thinks, and his links would be in Portuguese anyway.

But I do get the impression that the main idea is of abdominal migraines. So I invited her to your FB website, Pen. Her English is still fairly weak, so I don't know how much she will understand, but it might help her some.

She has improved enough that while she didn't speak any English at all three years ago when she married my brother, she actually served as an interpreter (the best children's interpreter, according to my biased brother) when my church went to Brazil in June to help a church build their new facility (they outgrew the building they were renting, as they were the only Protestant church in a city of almost 100,000) and conduct children's vacation Bible school. Marina translated for the kids, and what helped was that she already knew the story that was being told, so if she didn't know a particular word, she could guess the context, which is what learning a new language is all about!

I'll email my brother to ask if he has any more specific details on what tests Marina has had or what they said in the diagnosis, since I got the diagnosis second-hand from my mom. But in the meantime, I think abdominal migraine is the main element of the diagnosis. It may not be ruling out the ovarian cysts, just saying that they can be treated with a better birth control pill than the one she was taking instead of having to have surgery. I remember when I was in high school, I had a friend who had a very painful cyst, and her parents tried to make her go through surgery to remove it instead of just putting her on the pill to stop the cyst because they were super conservative and thought that if she took birth control, it would mean that she would have sex. Finally, the doctor pressured them into not forcing her to go through surgery, which as I know from my own experience (my cyst was too big to be controlled with BCPs), is pretty rough.

I talked to my brother today, and we figured out that she has had several endoscopies. The latest ones have shown inflamation in her stomach (or somewhere close by), but the doctor said that is consistent with all the vomitting she has been doing. She also has had what was probably an MRI, but could have been a CT-Scan, with contrast. And she has had ultrasounds and a test or two further that my brother couldn't convey properly to me.

He says that the doctor is convinced that the migraines are a symptom of other causes (which I disagree with). Those causes are a lot of stress she has been going through lately, since their church is breaking up, and she and my brother are the main ones who have held it together through now. And there is a degree of depression. I agree that stress and depression can trigger migraines or make them more active, but I don't believe that the migraine is merely a symptom of her stress and depression. I'm going to try to stay on top of my brother to make sure that Marina gets proper treatment. I'm not sure if they are even giving her preventives or are just telling her to reduce her stress and depression. Our conversation got interrupted, so I didn't get a chance to ask him.

But at least Marina is feeling well enough to go to Kenya with my church this summer. She and my brother will go over from Brazil and join our church team for the two weeks they spend there. I wish I were well enough to go! My parents, brother and sister-in-law, and my uncle and aunt are all going. It would be such a great experience to go with all of them, and it's a great experience to go anyway, as the children we work with (the women mostly work with the children, while some of the men do construction, but since it is so cheap to hire labor, mostly we just pay people there to do the work, as it also helps give jobs to people and puts more money into their economy) are so happy to have us.

I've been working with my mom for a couple months now on preparing their crafts, since she and my other relatives will be working with the first and second graders. So their crafts need a lot of prep work.

But on a similar note, I'm going to need your support when they are gone because I'll be alone at home with the animals. My parents are talking about paying a close friend who is a single mother (her husband kicked her out when she became a Christian a year ago) and out of work to help me get to the doctor and such. But it won't be the same as if I am not alone. I have a tendency to skip meals if I'm home alone (or even not alone, as when I sleep through the dinner and don't bother to fix something to eat later). So I don't take proper care of myself, and I know it, but don't do much to fix it.