What is a Cavernous Malformation and how to live with Migraines

Many migraine sufferer's like myself have been putting up with daily excruciating pain without even realizing there may be some underlying issue within the skull, such as a Cavernous Malformation. I have had these debilitating one-sided headaches for years just trying to get by with over the counter medicine. When in fact, one day I had a seizure and a Cavernous Malformation, or Cavernous Angioma, was found on the left Occipital Lobe inside my brain. So...what are these little devils?

A Cavernous Malformation is a cluster of abnormal blood vessels sort of resembling a raspberry. They are not cancer, and cannot spread to other parts of the body. Anyone can get a Cavernous Malformation and some of the symptoms would be a headache, seizure, bleeding, or neurologic deficits. If you have a small bleed from the malformation, like i had, you may have some visual disturbances or an aura before having a seizure. I went to work with a severe headache, and a few minutes later did not recognize where i was, felt a little strange and disoriented. The next thing i knew i woke up in an ambulance asking where my mother was. It is strange how fast these things can happen. But through the MRI and CT scan they found the Malformation on my left occipital lobe.

There are only two things they say you can do to treat a malformation. One would be surgery by Gamma knife. And two, would be no treatment at all. However, if you have suffered a seizure because of your malformation, you will most likely now be classified as having a "seizure disorder" and be put on seizure medication.

Did you know that most people with Cavernous Malformations present with headaches or migraines way before the diagnostic evaluation uncovering the malformation? Most patients have headaches as a side effect from the malformation. A Lot of the time, people with angioma's also get some of the same symptoms as people with brain tumors, such as the feeling of pressure because the brain's fluid now has an obstacle to move around(which can also cause headaches). So, the only thing to really do in this situation as far as pain management is to talk to your Neurologist and come up with the best solution for you as far as medicine goes, as I have. As a few studies have shown, the combination of decreasing caffeine intake, and some anti-depressants taken with an anti-seizure drug can greatly reduce migraine headaches. I have tried this myself, and when followed strictly it does help. But there are great migraine medicines out there today, such as Maxalt or Frova, even Imitrex. Just be sure that they don't interact with other medicine's you may be taking.

I hope that this post was helpful, as I wish it was around when I had my seizure and my Cavernous Malformation was discovered.