Multiple sclerosis and headaches are not always associated. Many multiple sclerosis patients are relatively headache free, except when their medications trigger side effects that include headaches. Multiple sclerosis patients may also sometimes experience headaches that are triggered by their medical condition. When this happens, these headaches might be referred to as multiple sclerosis headaches.
“Multiple sclerosis headaches” is not a clinical term. It’s simply a convenient way of describing those headaches that develop directly or indirectly as a result of multiple sclerosis. Various types of headaches, distinct in their presentation, fall into this category. They include optic neuritis headaches, depression headaches, cluster headaches, migraines and tension headaches.
On Various Types of Headaches and Multiple Sclerosis
It is fitting to begin this elaboration on multiple sclerosis and headaches with the description of optic neuritis headaches, because damage to the optic nerve and its effect on the functioning of the patient’s eye are distinctive features of multiple sclerosis. In many cases, blurring vision, double vision, pain, or the loss of sight in one eye are among the earliest symptoms of MS. In these cases, the appearance of these symptoms often plays an important role in the diagnosis of the disease. Overall, half of MS patients can claim to have experienced optic neuritis at least once.
Depression is another of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. It can be attributed to multiple aspects of the disease, including the neurological damage done to the patient’s central nervous system by brain lesions as the disease progresses. When the damage affects tissue that regulates one’s expression and control of his or her emotions, depression and other behavioral transformations may follow. Additionally, MS’s impact on the patient’s neuro-endocrine and immune systems can provoke mood swings, along with depression.
Another MS-related cause of depression is the stress experienced by MS patients in having to adjust to life with the disease. The knowledge that they may eventually be disabled only makes this worse. All these forms of depression have the capacity to manifest as physical pain, specifically as depression headaches. When this happens, it underlines the association between multiple sclerosis and headaches. It must be noted that there is a difference between depression and the normal grieving process that people experience when the disease changes their life. Depression is a medical condition that needs to be treated medically. It should not be dismissed as a passing cloud as it will not be simply healed by time and “positive thoughts”.
The other instances of association between multiple sclerosis and headaches include cluster headaches, tension headaches and migraines. They are all distinct headache types with distinct symptoms and treatments. Effective treatment of these headaches can dramatically improve the quality of MS patients’ lives.
