Migraine

Originally posted by Dizzygrl in the Archive folder:

Hi guys, I'm wondering if you could help me figure something out.

I get textbook migraines about once a month around my period, just nasty ones with throbbing pain on the side of my head that knock me out and make me feel dizzy and sick. I also have sinus issues often, so I'm used to that sick/dizzy/lightheaded feeling nearly constantly. Ugh.

I've had a few scary episodes within the past month or so where I'll be out somewhere in public, watching a movie, walking the dog, last night during a timeshare presentation, where I'll suddenly feel really lightheaded, kind of a tingly sensation in the back of my head, and my head will feel quite heavy, like my neck can't hold it up. It's incredibly hard to focus, and I get nauseous. I feel clumsy and slow, and get goosebumps, feeling freezing and shaking uncontrollably. It comes on really fast. Bright lights make it worse. In fact, I think bright lights actually set it off sometimes, because now that I think about it, it usually happens after I look at a lamp or there's a change in lighting. These are really scary and debilitating!

There's never any pain involved; more like my head feels "off." Could this be a type of migraine? I have Maxalt that my doctor gave me (haven't tried it yet for the common migraines), but I noticed on the info sheet that you're not supposed to take it for "basilar migraines." Is this what I have, and why couldn't I take the Maxalt? Would there be bad side effects if I take it and it's NOT a migraine?

I've already had a full workup of blood work, heart tests, and CT scans that all came back normal, and I'm young, only 24.

Any advice or suggestions would help!

Hello and welcome to our forum family! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start


Okay. Now that I've copied your post to somewhere that it'll be easier for others to find, I'll scribble at you!

Yes, it's perfectly possible to have migraine without pain. This is referred to as acephalgic migraine, and is also sometimes called silent migraine or a migraine equivalent. Here's a link to more info on Acephalgic Migraine.

As for if what you're experiencing in these odd, scary episodes is migraine or not, we're not qualified to diagnose that. Only your doctor can do that. And, any time you have a change in pattern or new and odd things are happening, the first thing you should do is to contact your doctor.

We also have this information on Basilar-type Migraine, which is pretty rare in the scheme of things. Again, your doctor would need to diagnose this, and tell you whether or not it's what you're going through. Triptans are contraindicated in basilar migraine. I believe it has something to do with the triptans actions on the blood vessels. Your doctor should be able to advise you, but it's probably unlikely that he feels you are having basilar migraine if he's prescribed a triptan for you.

Bottom line? It's time to call your doctor and get a firm diagnosis in regard to these new and odd symptoms and develop a treatment plan. Do keep us posted with what you find out, okay?

Again, welcome to the forum!

UPDATE:

I visited a neurologist and he seemed to confirm that I am indeed suffering from migraines. I've had the Maxalt in my purse for a while now, but have been afraid to try it because I wasn't sure if these were migraines or not, but now that I know they are...well, I got a bad one yesterday and felt brave enough to try one. And wow, within 5 minutes, I literally could feel everything being "dialed down" in my head! It was odd, it's like I could sense the migraine was still there so I had to be restful and not move too fast, but I couldn't feel it and had my energy and focus back. Wonderful! So that also proved it to me that these are indeed migraines. Had an MRI and am waiting on the results.

Now I just need to solve the problem of the constant dizziness and stuff that comes along with these, as I can't rely on the Maxalt all the time. The doc put me on Topamax, and though I was a little scared after reading about some potential side effects, it seems to be okay so far. I'm at 25 mg and it's been about a week with no side effects yet. So let's hope it will work!

I also may have just recently have made a connection as to what caused all this in the first place....I got married! My little sister just mentioned to me the other day that she's recently started getting migraines as well (having never had them before), and I just put two and two together....she just got married 6 months ago, and started birth control for the first time, just as I had. Bingo!

I also had started birth control for the first time 2 years ago when I got married, and realized that's when the migraines began to get worse. I'd never really made the connection before, because it seems like they've only ramped up to a constant thing in the past few months or so. When I first started the bc pills, I did notice that I got a "classic" migraine with head pain once a month during the sugar pills, but I could deal with that. Just took painkillers. About 6 months ago, a new doc switched me from Orthotricyclen Lo to Microgestin after having to change med insurance, so I'm wondering if that's what set it all off. It also seems to have annihilated my libido, poof, totally gone. (Not that I'm in the mood with all these migraines anyway!)

Does anyone have experience with birth control pills causing migraines? If so, is there a kind of bc pill that will help make them better? I'd really like to keep on some sort of pill (not ready for kids yet), and just condoms seem too unreliable. I've also heard that stopping bc pills cold turkey is even worse for migrainers. And IUDs aren't an option for those who haven't had children, right? We do want children someday. So is there any advice? I'm taking Topomax to help with the migraines, but I'd rather just eliminate the problem in the first place.... Before all this, I had gotten random migraines every now and then (and without bc pills, had a very unreliable and unpredictable cycle), but never like this, to the point where it interfered with my everyday life and kept me from driving anywhere out of fear.

Oh, yes. Lots of our members have issues with birth control-triggered migraines. Hormones can be so delightful to work with. We've had quite a few different discussions on birth control and migraines. You might try a search of the forum itself, and you might also try a search of the whole site to pull up info. If you search the whole site, using the search tool at the very top of the screen, it will pull up articles, share posts, and forum posts, too.

Some women do find that some brands of birth control work better for them with less affect on migraine, but it's very individual. You'd want to work with your doctor to find the best one for you.

I'd say if things started up with the start of birth control right after you were married, you might very well be on to something with your detective work. Definitely ask your doc.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Oh dear.

I emailed my neurologist a question about what birth control he'd recommend I ask my gyno about at our next appointment and whether I have to worry about my current one, and he responded as follows:

"At the current low dose of Topamax there is very low chance that it will interact with your birth-control. Regarding your MRI Brain done on 9-16-09, it showed a 1 cm questionable lesion at the base of your skull. I will refer you to be evaluated for this. Thank you"

GASP. WHAT?!?

Could he be any more scary, vague and abrupt? I'm really concerned and a little freaked out by the way that last sentence was just thrown in there. Has anyone else had a lesion on their MRI? Any advice or reassuring words?

I tried to call the office, and couldn't get ahold of anyone tonight. There's no way I can just sit back and wait til our next appointment in two weeks to find out what it all means! Ugh. That was not a very nice thing to do...I'd rather have not known or have had a personal call with more information so I'm not left freaking out.

I had a "possible lesion" on the first MRI we did a few years back, looking for MS. I found out the report said that, but I had to wait almost a month to get the actual results, since my doctor who had ordered it was on vacation. It was kind of nerve-wracking to wait that long. But...at least I knew I would be waiting when I went for the test. Mine turned out to be an artifact, which is just a shadow made by a slight flinch or something. MRIs since then have been clean.

I say that's pretty abrupt, the way your doctor handled his reply, and I don't blame you for feeling shocked and nervous. Things like that should be mentioned talking in person, I think. What's done is done, though. Can you email a reply asking for him to call you and clarify this in person, letting him know it shocked you and that you're worried about it? If you can't, I think a phone call might be in order. Perhaps he thought you already knew about the possibility that a lesion could come up, so he didn't know you'd be so unprepared to read that. Bottom line, if it was me in your place, I'd be doing what I could to get to talk to the doctor in person and find out why it was so abrupt, and request some reassurance. He's really the only one that can answer why it was so abrupt, whether that's just his manner, or if he thought you knew more going in than you do.

I know it doesn't do much to ease the freak out factor, but big smooshes to you, dearie. Know that we're here hoping for the best possible outcome here, and hoping that you get some reassurance from the doctor soon.