Scary…

…and not “BOO” Halloween scary!

I know I have talked about my migraines before but they are kind of scary. I’m not sure as to what to do when I get them. I’m not talking about my normal migraines I’m talking about the kind that I had yesterday. I guess that is what it was. It started a few years ago. I would get confused for a few hours. Not be able to talk correctly. I’d slur my words or say the wrong words. I’d be dizzy but that was about it. This year it has upped the ante on me.

Earlier this year I woke up in the middle of the night and could barely move the left side of my body. I could move it but not make it do what I wanted it to do. I could barely talk at all. I was slurring my words and could barely get them out. The left side of my body was also numb and tingling. It lasted about an hour. I had an MRI, EEG and EMG and all the tests were normal. I’ve been told that these issues are probably caused by migraines. Not they are.

Yesterday I got up around 9am and by 10:30 I was dizzy and couldn’t think. My arms felt like they weren’t part of my body. I felt like I had been drugged. After a bit it went away but kept coming in waves but not as bad as the first time. My dinner time I tried to cook and it got worse and worse. I did get everything out to cook, but I didn’t know what to do with it. I just stood there looking at everything  and didn’t know where to start. My husband came home and I told him that I had lost the chicken. He started looking for it. I had tried to explain to him what was going on but I couldn’t so I called my mom, since she knew already. She asked if I needed to go to the hospital. I told her I didn’t know at that I would let her know. As I started to go back to cook I remembered that I had to go somewhere. I wasn’t sure where, but that is what kept going through my mind. I had to go somewhere and take a shower first. It’s good my husband was there to take over dinner. After my shower I remembered that I had to cook dinner. That was when my husband came in and told me I was going to the hospital. I was so confused and couldn’t think straight at all. It was scary.

Today I have been a little shaky and my legs have been weak. For the most part I have been OK. I have read that if I have those types of issues that I shouldn’t take my migraine meds so I’m not sure how to handle them. Anyone out there have them? I’d love some advice. I’m going to my Neuro tomorrow. I’ll ask him about it. I want to know for sure if these are signs of a migraine or if they are something else. It all sounds right…

Rare migraine conditions include these types of neurological auras:

Hemiplegic migraine: temporary paralysis (hemiplegia) or neurological or sensory changes on one side of the body. The onset of the headache may be associated with temporary numbness, dizziness or vision changes.

Retinal migraine: temporary, partial or complete loss of vision in one eye, along with a dull ache behind the eye that may spread to the rest of the head.

Basilar artery migraine: dizziness, confusion or loss of balance can precede the headache. The headache pain may affect the back of the head. These symptoms usually occur suddenly and can be associated with the inability to speak properly, ringing in the ears, and vomiting. This type of migraine is strongly related to hormonal changes and primarily affects young adult women.

Types of Migraines

All my tests from the Neuro came out good! I don’t have a neuro disease. He is pretty sure the issues that I am having in that area are from my migraines. I figured that but we had to be sure. He gave me a new medicine to try out. It is Relpax and I have taken it twice so far and it has worked so far. It doesn’t make me sleepy or loopy. I can function as a normal person!

I didn’t realize there were so many different types of migraines out there until I started researching online. It did help me to talk to my Neuro about what was going on. It didn’t even occur to me that many of the issues were migraine related. Here are the types of migraines that I am having…

Migraine with Aura – this is the classic migraine. I see lights flashing around my eyes, get the bad headache, sensitivity to light and sound and nausea. I get these in clusters so I end up having them for a few days to a few weeks.

Basilar Migraine – with this one I have trouble talking. My speech is slurred and I become really confused. I feel like I have been drugged. I get dizzy also. This one happens a few times a year and lasts for a few hours.

Nocturnal Migraine – this is pretty much a regular migraine but it happens around 4 or 5am. It is so bad it wakes me up.

Ocular Migraine – this one causes vision problems. It is almost always in my right eye. It starts with flashes of light and eventually my eye starts seeing fuzzy speckles, like a tv channel with no signal, and it continues until I can’t see out of that eye at all. It usually lasts for 30 minutes to an hour.

Hemiplegic Migraine – this one is very scary. It’s like you are having a stoke almost. The left side of my body was very weak, I lost most of my motor control on that side and that side was tingling. It didn’t bother the right side at all. I had trouble talking and getting the words out of my mouth. I felt like I was pushing them out. This has only happened once, thankfully.

Well, that’s an overview of my migraines. Do you get migraines? If so what types and symptoms?