Anxiety due to coming migraine or does fear of migraine cause anxiety?

The proverbial chicken-egg question. I don't know enough about migraines to reply knowledgeably, but anxiety is a fear response, and they are generally learned. Loud noises, for example, will startle an infant and perhaps generate fear as a primal response, but most fear learning is taken on by watching others behave a certain way in certain circumstances, or by simple classical conditioning, such as when salivating over what we know is going to be savoury and appealing when we put it into our mouths., and later when we only smell the same stimulus.

So, I think your neurologist sounds correct. You may develop anxiety because you 'know what's coming', but you may also have a ruminating reflex where your mind works on, chews, turns over, the same problems (real or imagined) and then generates anxiety. You lose sleep or just being content and feeling secure ruminating over and over again, and eventually your agitated state brings on the dreaded problem you were fearing; a migraine.

Thank you, all true. The problem is that anxiety is also one of the prodromes or pre-pain parts of migraine for some people. I’m wondering what to address- I hate to take too many medications-too many side effects.

Hi, @roseann4z. Good to see you've connected with @gloaming.

Your conundrum about whether a coming migraine causes anxiety or whether anxiety brings on or contributes to a migraine does sound like a chicken-and-egg thing. Definitely hard to parse out what is from what. Regardless, having a huge increase in migraines and anxiety is rough. Hoping you can get some relief.

The good thing is that you are pursuing answers and advocating for yourself.

I'm tagging a few members who have had migraine experiences to see if they have thoughts for you, such as @lauracox12 @daylily4me @mcgrathcreative2 @richardfrancine @docb99 @rubonimo @chloeoh.

I'm going to offer what I hope is a good analogy, but that's all it is, and you may not agree. in my world of atrial fibrillation, it is an accepted convention among those whose cardiologists agree to take a PIP approach to the infrequent, or occasional, bouts of the arrhythmia. PIP means 'pill-in-pocket,' where you take one that you keep for just this purpose in one's wallet or purse and hope it staves off a lengthy or particularly nasty run of the fibrillation. It may be that a suitable drug, maybe a fast acting one like Ativan, would work the same way for your purposes? If your inability to handle the anxiety is what almost always seems to encourage a subsequent migraine, or is merely a precursor, maybe it will help if you can swallow one within minutes and it could save your day. This would have to be flown past your physician, of course, but it may be something that is often practiced in your patient cohort.

I do agree that stress can cause or aggravate headaches. Although my experience with Botox has been generally positive over the last several months, I recently had headache issues when at a family event away from home and out of my routine.
I cannot rule out stress and worry about feeling bad during the time away as the cause of a persistent headache for 3 days that faded in and out and was mitigated only with imitrex and gel packs on my head and coffee.
I very much believe that stress in migraines is a factor but also strongly believe that migraines are very real physiological events that are not easily understood unless you have them.
Migraineurs must become very very aware of the slightest sign of a headache to try to intervene because it can so rapidly become so much worse. When you are in this state - especially out of your own environment - it is not a normal way to function.

My migraines are from the cervical spine. I also have cervical vertigo causing blurred vision, nausea, migraines and sweating. 3 fusions, pain stimulator implant bilateral C34, C45,C56 yet still issues. Tried ablations, epiderals, Occipital trigger point with nothing helping. If I could not use my neck, maybe it would be better but that's impossible. Mayo or Cleveland clinic refuse to help me.