Migraine with speech problems

[cmbake]

I often get migraines. They seem to always begin with blurry or blotchy vision. Sometimes they last for a few hours, sometimes they don't last long at all. The last migraine I had didn't really cause my head to hurt too much, but my right arm was numb and I couldn't speak correctly. I knew what I wanted to say, but it just wouldn't come out in the right way.  All the research I've done says this is a migraine, but I don't know if I should go to the doctor. Is it one of those things I will just have to live with and learn to recognize, or could it be the symtoms of a more serious problem?

By the way, I am a 33 year old female.  

[turttle_tracks2002]

Hi, I have the same kind of migraines. I have had mine sense I was 10 yrs old. I have had several test and scans and labs done and everything always comes back normal. They tried caffeine treatments, to taking everything i eat away to see if it would make a difference. My headache/migraines last for a couple mins to a few hours. Ranging from just a headache to having it so bad that I have stroke like effects. I know what I wanna say but again the words just are not there or coming out right. My arms go numb, I can also have my hand right infront of my face and for some reason can not see it. So bad vision problems, it feels like my throat is swelling, dry mouth. The only thing we have found to help control them at all is birth control, crazy as it seems. It at least helped enough so I only get them once in a while, rather than every couple days. And now worse yet my 12 yr old son is getting the same migrain/headaches and we have found nothing to help him either. So if you find anything that works or any doctors suggestions I'd love to hear from anyone about it. He has missed alot of school due to these darn things, I just feel so sorry for him.

[whatuask]

I've had these things for 14 yrs now, & this is the first time i've ever gotten involved w/ a forum!

my story is similar, but for sure more severe. there must be a genetic component, b/c my mom (i'm 35) has been able to guide me through it since she had the same thing. she hasn't had one (i think) since menopause, so we believe there's a hormone component.

lots of things to say that seem like might help others, so here goes!

i had my 1st one after being on the birth control pill for just under a year. sounds just like many stories: going numb on 1 side, but i completely could not communicate, talk, write, my vision went weird, hearing in & out-i woke up in the hospital cuz i blacked out completely. i literally thought i had gone crazy. the ER doc told me (i was only 21 & very naive!) it was a TIA brought on by the BC pill & to never go on it again, that some women couldn't handle the hormones.
we moved from CO (high altitude & 300 days of sun) to Chicago (not much sun & sea level), & for 8-9 yrs, i didn't have a single one. as soon as we moved back to CO, I had maybe 3 within a couple months, & a few more within our 3 yrs there.

mine were so bad a couple put me in the ER b/c i couldn't function & people around me didn't know what to do!
i also had never had headaches, but boy did i get a rude awakening!
mine slowly (maybe several minutes) went from tingly numbing face, hands, arms (usually 1 side, sometimes both) to worse & worse confusion, always losing my ability to communicate, read, write-anything. my husband has gotten used to it, keeping my kids away b/c i get really confused easily, then i cry b/c it's scary.
anyway, if i took a Maxalt right away, it would keep the headache at bay, then i'd need a solid 12 hrs to sleep, & i'd be pretty normal the next day-maybe just a bit tired.

they varied in severity. then we moved 2008 to China (sea level, completely different climate). i didn't have one the 1st year; i had a mild one the 2nd year, & i just had maybe my worst ever 2 wks ago. i had been convinced it was the altitude, sun, maybe dehydration. but not so apparently!
here's a theory: 3 mos. ago I had a D+C for a year's worth of irregular bleeding. it could very well be the whole hormone theory wreaking havoc on my body. who knows.
but this aura was so bad that it made me more depressed than ever (thinking thoughts like "what if this is related to alzheimers & dementia like my grama? what if i lose my mental acuity more & more from this?" i've heard we suffer slight brain damage from these!). in the last couple years i have just felt like my mind is slipping, i'm not as quick as i used to be-not getting younger, right:)
importantly, the Maxalt simply didn't work this time. i had maybe the worst headache EVER-i was writhing in pain. i have the utmost sympathy now for sufferers. i was also confused from the moment i woke 7am for maybe 8-10hrs, but still slow for days after. yes, i need help. i don't have the medical care till summer, but will for sure get it!
i am now working part time, so it's not necessarily stress, although i do have 1.5 special needs kids (1 pretty needy, the other not as much)
i just have to acknowledge that at least i'm at peace about it b/c of strong faith. God will take care of me & lead me to the right doctors & medication & won't give me more than i can handle. look to Him, the Great Physician...
-fellow sufferer

[allmymarbles]

Migraines can have very peculiar manifestations. It has happened to me three times that a patchwork of many colored stripes has taken over the vision of my left eye, blotting out true sight. The colors are beautiful and somewhat beyond our color spectrum but the experience is very upsetting. Closing the eye does not make it go away. Just when you are getting really alarmed, it goes away. I found out only recently that this was an optic migraine.

[allmymarbles]

The TV reporter who had garbled speech the other day when she spoke on television was thought to have had a small stroke. It turned out to be a migraine.

[ptmomvalkel]

Hi, I am irked by the fact that most ERs and drs don't know much about complex migraines, I had to get my 17 yr old daughter into a neurologist to get her statcus migraines treated.  She had occasional migraines since 7yoa, but last year they began coming closer together and the last one lasted12 days- and I'm sure it would have continued if I hadn't gotten a neurologist called in to the er to intervene, he put her on a preventive med and so far over 3 months migraine free I hope someone will find a preventive that works for you. My daughter had to be put in the hospital for a depakote?depakene? Drip which stopped the migraine, then we were given a choice of 3 preventive meds: elavil,depakote/ eene, or topamax. All have side effects, but the elavil has the least so that is what we chose to try. My daughter had extreme pain in rt temple, memory loss so bad she forgot numbers and letters, and sensitivity to light and sound.  It has all resolved except she still has slight sensitivity to sound. Serene branson is on the news today with similar symptoms as yours. My advice is to see a good neurologist and see about apreventive...Good luck!  Ps I am not good at writing on my iPad and so the pasted section of this post - the beginning may not sound right because I was unable to scrll back up...pardon me.

[allmymarbles]

Could it be a mild stroke? The speech and arm thing suggest the possibility. I would see my doctor ASAP.