Aa
silent migraine? I have no idea.
Yesterday I was terrified by an episode of stroke-like symptoms... I'm a 21-year-old female, so I don't think it's likely that it was a stroke or TIA, but all my parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents have some history of heart disease, heat attack, or stroke, so I don't think I should rule it out.
Anyway, nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and it started out when I woke up at roughly 5:30 am yesterday. I had my alarm set for 6, and I never ever wake up before it goes off. I had major difficulty opening my eyes and I couldn't figure out why. I passed out again and didn't wake up again until around 7; my dog was being really restless so I went to let him out. At this point I noticed something was wrong; I had major trouble standing up and walking, and my mind was totally foggy. I had to think for awhile before I could remember my dog's name or even my own name. I felt horribly, horribly drunk but of course I wasn't. I went back to bed, then woke up again around 9:30 or so and called my dad to ask if it was normal to be dizzy and confused about everything. He suggested that I drink some water, so I got a glass, started to sip out of it, and set it down. After a few seconds I picked it up again, couldn't remember if it was mine, and got a new one- this happened again several times until I realized all the glasses piling up in the sink were probably mine. I was alternately freezing and burning up. My depth perception was shot and I kept getting flashes across my vision. I kept having to sit abruptly on the floor to keep from falling. Around 10 my hands and feet started going numb; at that point I freaked out and went to find my brother, who took me to the hospital. They had me do a CT scan, which came back normal. (I don't necessarily trust that though- I broke my arm a year ago falling off my horse, and after doing some X-rays they told me I was just bruised. A couple of weeks later I still couldn't move my arm so I went to another doctor; he showed me my X-rays, which showed a pretty obvious break.)
Anyway, the other symptoms were mostly gone by 1 or 2 pm, and the vertigo was much reduced by the time I went to bed, but I'm still a little dizzy. I had frequent ocular migraines as a younger teenager (up to once a week for a few years), so I'm thinking this silent-migraine thing makes sense. But I've never heard of anyone waking up with a migraine, and all my grandparents have had heart disease, heart attacks, and/or strokes, so I think maybe it would be a good idea to get a second opinion in case it's something like a TIA. Sorry for the long story but has anyone else had an episode like this and if so, what did you do?
Anyway, nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and it started out when I woke up at roughly 5:30 am yesterday. I had my alarm set for 6, and I never ever wake up before it goes off. I had major difficulty opening my eyes and I couldn't figure out why. I passed out again and didn't wake up again until around 7; my dog was being really restless so I went to let him out. At this point I noticed something was wrong; I had major trouble standing up and walking, and my mind was totally foggy. I had to think for awhile before I could remember my dog's name or even my own name. I felt horribly, horribly drunk but of course I wasn't. I went back to bed, then woke up again around 9:30 or so and called my dad to ask if it was normal to be dizzy and confused about everything. He suggested that I drink some water, so I got a glass, started to sip out of it, and set it down. After a few seconds I picked it up again, couldn't remember if it was mine, and got a new one- this happened again several times until I realized all the glasses piling up in the sink were probably mine. I was alternately freezing and burning up. My depth perception was shot and I kept getting flashes across my vision. I kept having to sit abruptly on the floor to keep from falling. Around 10 my hands and feet started going numb; at that point I freaked out and went to find my brother, who took me to the hospital. They had me do a CT scan, which came back normal. (I don't necessarily trust that though- I broke my arm a year ago falling off my horse, and after doing some X-rays they told me I was just bruised. A couple of weeks later I still couldn't move my arm so I went to another doctor; he showed me my X-rays, which showed a pretty obvious break.)
Anyway, the other symptoms were mostly gone by 1 or 2 pm, and the vertigo was much reduced by the time I went to bed, but I'm still a little dizzy. I had frequent ocular migraines as a younger teenager (up to once a week for a few years), so I'm thinking this silent-migraine thing makes sense. But I've never heard of anyone waking up with a migraine, and all my grandparents have had heart disease, heart attacks, and/or strokes, so I think maybe it would be a good idea to get a second opinion in case it's something like a TIA. Sorry for the long story but has anyone else had an episode like this and if so, what did you do?
Haha, they didn't even give me a diagnosis, they just had a nurse tell me my CT scan was clean and I was free to go- even though the referring doctor at the emergency-care clinic I first went to put a call and hold on me, meaning the hospital wasn't supposed to discharge me until they'd come up with an answer or referred me elsewhere. The nurse couldn't give me any further details and I was still too groggy to insist much on talking to someone more informed. I got the silent migraine theory from Google.
Thank you for the response though, this makes me feel a lot better! I'm going to see my mom's internist tomorrow, and her whole family swears by him. So I'm reasonably confident that I'll have some answers after that, and hopefully it'll just be migraine!
Thank you for the response though, this makes me feel a lot better! I'm going to see my mom's internist tomorrow, and her whole family swears by him. So I'm reasonably confident that I'll have some answers after that, and hopefully it'll just be migraine!
Hi sequoyagurl988,
First off, it's good that you went to the hospital. If you ever experience new or undiagnosed stroke-like symptoms, you absolutely must go to the hospital. It is also important to go to the hospital if you experience symptoms like this, because they could also indicate many other non-neurological but equally dangerous things (such as dangerously low or high blood sugar).
I am glad your CT scan showed that nothing was seriously wrong. CT scans are quite different from x-rays... my mother has had x-rays not show broken bones quite a bit, so I can understand your worry there... but, a CT scan is much more reliable than an x-ray. You may want to follow up with a neurologist. A neurologist might send you for an MRI, which is even more reliable than a CT scan for this sort of thing. If the MRI turns up clean, there is probably no need to worry.
Did the doctors in the emergency department diagnose these symptoms as silent migraine symptoms? If not, what was your official diagnosis?
Yes, all of your symptoms could suggest a neurological disease such as migraine. I have had associated stroke-like symptoms with my migraines in the past. I always go to the hospital if I ever experience new or undiagnosed stroke-like symptoms, but so far the hospital always tells me that it is "just a migraine" and not to worry.
As for waking up with a migraine, it is very common! My worst migraines are the ones that wake me up. I even have to use a different medication than I do for my regular migraines if I have one that wakes me up, because the pain from them is so extreme that my regular migraine medication doesn't work. Also, a related disease to migraines is called cluster headaches, and these almost always happen in the early morning, and they always will wake a person up. The symtoms you mentioned are not cluster-headache symptoms though, but I just bring this up to show that there are many types of primary headaches (headaches that are not associated with other diseases or injuries) that happen in the morning and wake people up. The fact that your migraine woke you up is not unusual at all, but whenever your personal migraine pattern changes, you should let your primary doctor OR neurologist know about it. I would suggest making an appointment with your primary doctor or neurologist to follow up.
I am sorry to hear that this happened to you and that you had to go to the hospital. I remember the first time I had stroke-like symptoms, it was so scary!! I hope you start to feel better soon, because I know this sort of thing can shake a person up even after the symptoms go away (I'm always left feeling very shaken up).
But please follow up with your family doctor or your neurologist. It is important for you to have a treatment plan so that you know what to do next time. There may be medications that can help stop this type of migraine from happening or stop this type of migraine once it starts. The most common migraine medication, triptans, are not usually used in a case where there are stroke-like symptoms. But, your doctor or your neurologist may be able to prescribe you a different type of migraine medication, or your neurologist may approve the use of triptans in your case (do not use triptans for this type of headache unless a neurologist approves the use of them).
Thank you for sharing what happened to you, it can be comforting for others to know that they are not alone in their experiences. Please keep in touch and let us know if you see a doctor or a neurologist to follow up, and what you find out. Thanks!
- marilee
First off, it's good that you went to the hospital. If you ever experience new or undiagnosed stroke-like symptoms, you absolutely must go to the hospital. It is also important to go to the hospital if you experience symptoms like this, because they could also indicate many other non-neurological but equally dangerous things (such as dangerously low or high blood sugar).
I am glad your CT scan showed that nothing was seriously wrong. CT scans are quite different from x-rays... my mother has had x-rays not show broken bones quite a bit, so I can understand your worry there... but, a CT scan is much more reliable than an x-ray. You may want to follow up with a neurologist. A neurologist might send you for an MRI, which is even more reliable than a CT scan for this sort of thing. If the MRI turns up clean, there is probably no need to worry.
Did the doctors in the emergency department diagnose these symptoms as silent migraine symptoms? If not, what was your official diagnosis?
Yes, all of your symptoms could suggest a neurological disease such as migraine. I have had associated stroke-like symptoms with my migraines in the past. I always go to the hospital if I ever experience new or undiagnosed stroke-like symptoms, but so far the hospital always tells me that it is "just a migraine" and not to worry.
As for waking up with a migraine, it is very common! My worst migraines are the ones that wake me up. I even have to use a different medication than I do for my regular migraines if I have one that wakes me up, because the pain from them is so extreme that my regular migraine medication doesn't work. Also, a related disease to migraines is called cluster headaches, and these almost always happen in the early morning, and they always will wake a person up. The symtoms you mentioned are not cluster-headache symptoms though, but I just bring this up to show that there are many types of primary headaches (headaches that are not associated with other diseases or injuries) that happen in the morning and wake people up. The fact that your migraine woke you up is not unusual at all, but whenever your personal migraine pattern changes, you should let your primary doctor OR neurologist know about it. I would suggest making an appointment with your primary doctor or neurologist to follow up.
I am sorry to hear that this happened to you and that you had to go to the hospital. I remember the first time I had stroke-like symptoms, it was so scary!! I hope you start to feel better soon, because I know this sort of thing can shake a person up even after the symptoms go away (I'm always left feeling very shaken up).
But please follow up with your family doctor or your neurologist. It is important for you to have a treatment plan so that you know what to do next time. There may be medications that can help stop this type of migraine from happening or stop this type of migraine once it starts. The most common migraine medication, triptans, are not usually used in a case where there are stroke-like symptoms. But, your doctor or your neurologist may be able to prescribe you a different type of migraine medication, or your neurologist may approve the use of triptans in your case (do not use triptans for this type of headache unless a neurologist approves the use of them).
Thank you for sharing what happened to you, it can be comforting for others to know that they are not alone in their experiences. Please keep in touch and let us know if you see a doctor or a neurologist to follow up, and what you find out. Thanks!
- marilee
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