Not sure what to make of this

[jibjen]

Hi everyone,

I am not sure what to make of this...as you know I have been taken off my Topomax, daily meds for migraines.

I have been sick since Easter when I woke up with a body that could not move and then later in the day developed a slight fever, after that it is all down hill....

I am just getting over the cold/bug or whatever it was this week.

I did not have any side effects from weening off my meds BUT when I got my cold (sinus infection) I noticed I was extermely fatigued, having burning in my middle of back (between shoulders) and lower back pain.. My tingling and prickling has been subsided (prior to getting of the meds although my left hand is weak, sore and not much use when it comes to using it. My left leg is getting cramps in thigh and calf...as is my upper left bicep...my eyes go through phases like they were burning (don't know if the fevers caused that...) I feel very shakey on left side

Now I have not had a migraine just sinus stuff BUT yesterday, I woke up and had the worst pain in the middle of eyes, so i figure it was the sinuses flaring up again......then i got naseaus and vomited..I didnot think it was migraine as my migraines are ALWAYS in left eye!!!! hmmm..so after being sick I took my OTHER migraine med (abortive meds) and after a while it went away...I am still stuffy from my cold but now I am confused if it was migraine or left over sinus issues...I don't know if the med worked because it was a migraine or if it would work for sinuses...

Today I was in a meeting and had my legs crossed and my left leg went flying like I was having reflexes checked..every once in a while my leg will kick and i feel like i am shaking but visibly....

Any ideas if migraine would cause all this...yesterday's incident with headache has been first in months and vomitting to..

I don't know anymore..
Jibs

[jibjen]

Hi-

I agree with you that docs don't pay attention to lesions and what they might cause.

I am confused somewhat where my lesions are as 1one report says they  are throughout subcortical WM of both frontal-parietal lobes and increased in peritrigonal WM; another reports states that they are in the supratentorial WM most predominant in centrum semiovale and high convexity subcortical WM; and another states in both cerebral hemispheres..... I guess it is safe to say that they are just all over

Good grief Charlie Brown....
Jibs

[StormyRenee]

I really dont think that docs put enough emphasis on the lesions and what they can cause. Or they do the  exact oppisite and they scare you to death..I have delt with both...
My symptoms are all mostly sensory...So that would make sense because white matter basically is the sensory portion of the brain...I only have true motor weakness when I am having a true Hemipligic Migraine....But when I have Acephaligic Migraines I twitch...
But one of the very first issues I had was that I felt like my pinky finger on my right hand had a mind of it's own.It would not do what I wanted at times or it would be numb.My lesions are on the left and my symptoms are on the right just like they should be....Atleast I am consistant...LOL

[H55]

hi just read your post , i get the most horrible head aches like yourself , im on gabepentin at the moment and  its not doing much this is the third med i have been on . I do have other things going on like recurring staph inf and have been on antibiotics for the last 2yrs , it turns out after a number of visits to different specialists they have found an inf in my right sinuses , ihave another app on the ist june to see if this is part and parcel of the headaches .I never expected that . As said above i think the leg thing is related to something else, My sister has lesions on the brain and has trouble controling the leg sometimes ,the brain is telling it do something different to what she is . I do hope you get some answers , I think when there is a few things going on , its difficult even for doctors to sus out whats triggering what .I seem to get things popping up all the time when getting tests done ,they have found low white cells and b12 def in the blood tests. Suppose when your getting on these things happen . Hope you have some good news soon.x

[silkcut]

That's a good point, Theresa - checking with the GP about sinus infection.

Trouble with migraine is that it's been so badly overlooked as a bona fide neurological disease which can be progressive and incrementally brain-damaging. So there has been too little research - most of which is focused on developing drugs.

This cortical spreading depression is an interesting one, isn't it? I believe I've read that it happens in epilepsy and stroke too. So it leaves white matter lesions (WML/brain scars!).

In that context, I can imagine that one can get clonic/jerky limbs if you've already got brain scars.

Yet the weird thing is that migraine WML are not treated seriously, whereas stroke and epilepsy and MS lesions are!

Rant off!

Let us know if you consult your GP re sinus/mig sx. It'll be really interesting to learn what happens if, for example, you take antibiotics.

hugs
sammyxx

[StormyRenee]

Jibby,
I actually have the muscle jumping in my arms during my aura phase...But like Sam said it is actually not suppose to happen .But because of the severity of my aura/migraines my neuro was not surprised. There are so many symptoms that seem unrelated but are actually caused by the migrainal process. The cortical spreading that causes the aura is a really weird and misunderstood process.
My neuro said that because of the amount of lesions I have I am prone to all sorts of additional weirdness.I know you have more lesions than me.
It could have been a transformed migraine.It may have started out as sinus then that triggered a migraine. I have that happen sometimes...The abortive med would not have helped a sinus infection because it is a completely different headache mechanism.
I do feel that you may want to go see your primary doc to rule out a sinus infection just to be on the safe side...
Take Care, Theresa

[jibjen]

Thanks,

I feel like a mess...I take Amerge for migraines...I was thinking if it was migraine, once it was gone these symptoms would be too...

Between going off meds, being sick and the other days headache, I'm a little confused on how to sort out my symptoms...

I wish this would all heppen at my appts. so my doc could see.
Be Well,
Jibs

[silkcut]

Hi jibby

Yes, this all sounds like a big conundrum - how miserable for you.

What I know from my reading of the migraine diagnostic criteria and vast swathes of medical papers is that muscle jumping (clonus) is not part of the picture unless the migraine is so bad that it triggers an epileptic seizure. So it seems like your leg kicking and shaking is most unlikely to be migraine. The frontal headache also seems more connected with the cold/sinus aftermath. Who knows what's in meds? Maybe yours has activity on controlling vascular etc spasm which may also be a part of sinus inflammation?

I just remember that the one 'migraine med' they insisted I take is virtually only used in the US by bodybuilders to calm them down from steroid use and licenced in India to help people put on weight!! Some migraine medication!!

hugs
sammyxx