How often do you get migraines and does it matter as far as stroke risk is concerned?

I was just curious as to how often many of you get your migraine, aura/migraine? I also read somewhere that the greatest risk of stroke is with those who either get migraines on a very regular basis and for those, ironically, who only get them occasionally. Does anyone know if there have been studies done to tell for sure or is there no way of knowing?

i've had a stroke, and the only time i really get concerned if for some reason I haven't been able to take daily Aspirin + Plavix.

if i get a really goofy migraine that has stroke like features, like inabiilty to speak that doesn't resolve in 20 minutes, it's ER time.

if you think it's a stroke, go in. if you wait, you can be too late. when some things get damaged, it's for life, and they tend to get worse over time.

I had a stroke when I was getting migraines just once a month. I also had aura's at the time but not necessarily followed by migraine. After the stroke I never had auras again. I also would have never known I had a stroke if it wasn't seen during a routine MRI. Pretty scary stuff. Since the auras disappeared I don't fear another stroke. They never found a reason for the stroke (no sky high BP, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, etc.) I came out a picture of health so it was most likely caused by the migrainre.

Estre, did you have any short or long term effects from the stroke. My mother had one but most of her symptoms subsided and no one would have ever known that she even had a stroke.

When I had the stroke I lost my peripheral vision in one eye for about 10 seconds (doctor thought that was just a side effect of a migraine). I still have sort of like a minute blind spot in the peripheral vision (not enough to barely notice) that never subsided.

That is good news for sure. No permanent damage like memory loss or loss of any physical abilities is definitely a good thing. It must have been a mild stroke like my mom had but hers was from a clogged carotid artery. I do remember her having aura/migraines though and was always taking aspirin.

Estre, What does it show on the MRI that indicates stroke? I was told maybe I had a stroke in ER one day but they stuffed up the lumbar puncture and they weren't sure if the blood in the sample was from the digging to get the needle in or in the spinal fluid.

An MRI done later made remarks about white imaging which I still don't understand if was a result from this night or a result of the migraines or just my brain disintergrating.

My Dad had headaches..not sure if they were migraines or not for him..He had multiple strokes..quad heart surgery, heart attacks and brain damage from receiving CPR for over 15 minutes.

marion - I have no idea what they saw on the MRI. I don't know how they can tell. Never thought to ask. All I do know is that nothing showed up on any of the tests that would explain WHY I had a stroke. I adamantly think migraines are dangerous. I had a horrible migraine when I had the stroke. I have none of the ailments, diseases, etc. that are risk factors for stroke--just migraines. And it is interesting that once I had the stroke (over 10 years ago), I have never had aura again. It was almost like the stroke popped whatever was in my brain that caused the aura. I get very anxious whenever I have a migraine and don't second guess about using abortives.

That's interesting Estre because since that night of mine, I have had the reverse, contiuous aura and continuous mild to nasty headache, but not what I regard as the classic migraine that I used to have ie sudden aura followed by intense pain which after a day or two went away.

Wonder what happened in our brains. Scary.

when reading an mri scan it is very easy to see where a stroke has occured, some scanners show up scar tissue as a white patch and some show it as a black patch i depends on the type of scanner. either way it is scar , dad tissue that shows the area where the stoke occured, the infarction of that area.