AIDS and migraine

This week Canada is hosting the XVI International AIDS Conference.  Given the theme of this site, it’s given me a chance to wonder where the research is regarding people who are living with both AIDS and migraine.

Without downplaying the seriousness of AIDS, there really is a lot of intertwined connections between these two diseases for which there is no cure. Migraine can further complicate problems that are common to AIDS patients.  Of course, the same could probably be said for AIDS and any disease, since HIV can be destructive to every part of the body.

Still, there are unique challenges to the AIDS/migraine patient.  For instance, when you’re taking so many medications, your body can become resistant.  How do you choose what to take? Also, there are specific symptoms that often come from migraine that are also common with AIDS – gastro-intestinal problems, neurological complications (with symptoms such as nausea and headache), and pain in general.  AIDS patients must often wonder where the symptoms are coming from, which make them all the more difficult to treat.

Solving the migraine problem would be a drop in the bucket to someone dying of AIDS, but it would still be a benefit to have one less pain to go through in a given day.  If any of my readers are living with migriane and AIDS, I encourage you to leave a comment and let us know first hand what unique challenges migraine presents to you, and what you’ve been able to do about it.