Migraine

I was diagnosed with basilar-type migraines last February. A year eariler I was thought to have had a mild stroke, but now I am told that the stroke was actually a severe migraine. I have not been the same since that time. I do not think the same. I do not feel the same. I do not think I am the same person anymore.

I am taking Topamax, which was helping, but the past couple of months I seem to be having recurring problems with speech, fuzzy thinking and ongoing headaches that never really go away.

While the headaches are painful, what I am find more problematic are the emotional issues. At times I am downright irrational and I know am being irrational, but I cannot seem to do anything about it. I do not make good decisions and I get angry so easily. I find myself wanting to withdraw from people during these times and I notice these times tend to occur right before the headaches get really bad. Has anyone else had similar experiences? I appreciate your willingness to share your experiences, your words of wisdom and comfort.

Carol

Hi, Carol, welcome to the forum. We're glad you found us. I hope you will come here often for information and support.

I find myself getting irritable and mildly frantic as part of my migraine "prodrome." I think that experience is common.

Here are a couple links to info for you:

Basilar-Type Migraine - The Basics

Anatomy of a Migraine

I don't know what kind of doctor you see, but if you have basilar migraines, you need to seek out a migraine specialist. Other doctors may never have seen another case like yours. Some of our forum members travel long distances, even by air, to see their specialists. See this list:

Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists

We have some other members with basilar migraines, and I hope they will be along to share their experiences with you. I edited the title of your thread to make it more visible to people with basilar migraines. I "just" have garden-variety migraine without aura.

Take care.

Hi Carol, and welcome. Glad that you found us, though sorry you have need to be here. You are in the best possible place for information and support about migraine disease. Nut has gotten you started with some great information.

I wanted to ask you - have you noticed the emotional issues since you started the Topamax? Topa is known to cause or exacerbate depression, anxiety and moodiness. It's difficult sometimes to know if the emotional problems we're having are due to medication or not, but I did want to make you aware of this potential side effect if you were not already. It may be something you want to discuss with your doctor.

Even if it's not the Topa, I encourage you to discuss this with your doctor anyway. Emotional issues go hand-in-hand with migraines, and treating that may actually help your migraines as well. On the list of preventives that Nut linked you to, 21 of them are anti-depressants. Perhaps it's time to adjust your preventive regimen.

We have a number of members with BTM, who I'm sure will be along to welcome you. In the meantime, let us know how else we can help.

Welcome Carol to the site. Sorry you need to find us because of your diagnosis of Basilar migraines. There is so much understanding of all you are dealing with especially the emotional issues.

We even have a special part of the forum for vents, gripes, and support. So yes we understand the emotional part of this disease.

I am curious about your journey this last year towards a diagnosis of basliar migraines. I am very new to migraines even though I am not new to neurological symptoms and being sick.

So start reading and posting.

Mary in NM

Hi, Carol!

I get extra emotional, and "irrational" when a migraine stretch cycles on and off, and I'm getting physically tired. Usually, this is the first sign I'm nearing exhaustion territory.

When it happens, I tend to hole up somewhere, where I know I'm not going to take anything out on anybody, if I can. Then I focus on just having relaxing me time, and working my way through it with comfort measures.

I have migraine without aura, but sometimes I get tongue-tied and clumsy right before a migraine attacks. I've decided that this is prodrome. Ask your doctor if that's what you're having.

Gret

Hello Carol and welcome to the forum family! I'm so happy you found us!

I'm like Gret, sometimes I get tongue tied right before a migraine is about to strike. I usually use the wrong word to describe something like: "I'm going to drive in the tree" instead of "car" and then I catch myself and correct it. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, I know my migraine is going to be a rough one!

I'm usually irritable when my migraine is what I call "peaking" or at it's worst pain level. I have zero patience and I know it's time to hide in my room away from everyone and reach into my toolbox of comforts.

Again, a warm welcome. I look forward to seeing you around the forum.

Thanks for all the support.

I do notice the emotional issues being more intense with the Topamax. Although just before I was admitted to the hospital when I was diagnosed with BTM, I something of a basket case--my son ended up calling the doctor for me because he was getting worried about me.

After having the "stroke," I was initially misdiagnosed with several other conditions and prescribed a lot of different medications (like 14 different ones). The last year has been challenging trying to sort out the misdiagnoses, medication problems and now this diagnosis. After being diagnosed with a stroke, my blood pressure, which had been under good control with medication prior to the stroke, kept going up and the doctor kept prescribing more medications to bring it down. After the stroke, I kept having horrific headaches (like being hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat) and I would lose the ability to say words. What was even stranger was that I could not say the words in my mind anymore than I could say them with my mouth. I was not one to have headaches before the stroke, not even tension headaches.

My neurologist thought I might have pseudotumor cerebri and, although the lumbar puncture was only borderline high, he started me on Diamox. By this point I was pretty non-functional. I could not walk down the hall, could use my computer, did not know how to put gas in my car, and did not think I could work anymore. In July I ended up in the hospital and being taken off almost all the medications. I ended up switching doctors.

My current doctor is the one who diagnosed me with migraines, but he did not diagnose me until last February. I was on so many medications it took several months to get everything out of my system and he was not sure whether or not some of my problems were medication related. He has been the only one who was able to explain my symptoms in a way that makes sense. The only thing my husband does not agree with him on is the stroke issue. My husband says I sounded like a drunken sailor the night I had the stroke and for several days after that night and thinks if this doctor had seen me that night, he would not be so quick to dismiss what happened as not being a stroke, even if it did not show up on the MRI.

I am glad to part of such a great group of people.

My sister and I both have migraines and she gets the kind you have. She was told she had a stroke also (TIA) only she was in her late twenties and had always had migraines. Fast forward 8 years, now she understands it was a migraine attack. She ended up hospitalized also. As I recall, it mimics stroke excactly. One side of her face became temporarily paralyzed and she could not speak.

But we both get the inabilty to speak and form words. I myself have the brain fogginess and memory problems and usually this precedes my headaches. I also get very dizzy. Along with all this I do get very irrational and moody. Most times its because I can feel it coming on. I am not taking medications either so it can't be because of that. Thought I'd throw that out so you can compare notes.

I think the day to day struggle of living with this disease takes its toll on our moods. I know it does mine anyway.

Koprowsk,
Hi and welcome to the forum! I have whats called Hemiplegic migraines. (as well as regular migraines with aura) Like the Basilar Migraines, they cause stroke like symptoms. When I have a hemiplegic migraine, I mimic stroke symptoms up to a week or more after.

Please tell your husband not to totally disagree with your Neuro on the stroke issue! I know hemiplegic migraines can look just like a stroke. Im not as sure with the BTM, as I dont have those. I slur my words, or cant talk at all, my entire left side goes numb, weak, or paralized and face droopy, I will go totally paralized on my entire left side for days afterward. Sometimes I just have weakness, and not full paralysis with them, depending on how severe I get one. Other times I black out and/or have seizure. then the weakness or paralysis.

It sounds like you have a much better Dr, and I hope he continues to treat you well! With the more rare BTM and HM it is hard to find a Dr. that truly understands it, and knows how to treat them properly. Most neuros just dont know that much about them if anything!

As far as the moodiness, I agree with MJ, the Topamax may be greatly adding to that. I too think you need to talk to your Dr. about your concerns about your mood swings, and see what he has to say about it. Perhaps he may have something to help, or you can try switching meds?

Also you may try keeping a migraine diary to see if your mood swings could be a sign of an upcoming migraine.

Keep us posted hun!

Tawsha

Thanks for sharing with me. Not that I would want anyone to go through these experiences, but knowing that others have gone through them sure helps in knowing that I am not out here alone. In particular, knowing that the stroke-like symptoms go along with the BTM.

I had a basilar-type migraine two weeks ago today. I posted a thread about it here.

I had a lot of emotions then anyway. It was shortly after we buried my father. But, I was on Topamax which I'm happy to say I'm tapering off of now and switching to Kepra. My migraine speck whom I saw yesterday said it's somewhat better for basilar-type migraines than Topamax in his opinion.

FWIW, he said he doesn't like the term 'basilar-type' migraine because it implies that only the basilar artery is involved when in reality, he says, the problem lies somewhere within the brain stem and rarely involves just the basilar artery itself.

Honey, I'm so sorry you get them too. They're horrible, just horrible. I'm going to post a thread shortly about what my speck wants me to do now.