I know this topic has come up multiple times on this board lately. I do get migraines (and other weird headaches, the worst of which I'm pretty sure is occipital neuralgia), but not frequently.
I'm lucky that my current neuro hasn't mentioned migraine as a "dx" yet, but I have been told that in the past. I do sometimes wonder if it is migraine causing my problems (but then I also think of all the people who have lesions and are told they are from migraines, and I wonder why, with as many issues as I'm having, shouldn't I have "migraine" lesions, too? How do you differentiate?)
Anyway, I got a real migraine yesterday. I haven't had one in a number of months. It follows a very predictable pattern--my eyes, and then the rest of my face, get itchy and iritated. I get super sensitive to all stimuli--touch (can't stand to have anything touching me lightly, like clothes!), sound, SMELL, light. And the nausea is there... then comes the headache. Yuck! This started at work (~1 pm), I had to go home, get the kids dinner, take them to choir practice and get them ready for bed. At 8:30, when my husband finally got home, I took the meds that I couldn't take earlier (make me sleepy) turned off the lights and went to sleep.
So, I understand that you can have an aura w/o the headache, but wouldn't the aura be the same, or generally the same? I truly want to know what's wrong with me and if it is migraine, I want to address it properly. Is it possible to have worsening auras that just last?
My other sx (that don't go away and were found by neuro on exam) are:
trouble walking heel to toe
balance and coordination issues
hyper-reflexia, worse on left side of body
clonus in left ankle
slight weakness in fingers
some loss of sensation on left foot
over developed manibular muscles on the left side, can't fully open my mouth
Signs that don't go away (reported to neuro by me):
trigeminal neuralgia, bilateral, much worse on left
occipital neuralgia
tingling/pins and needles in left arm, left leg (very first sx, 7 years ago)
cognitive issues (trouble finding words, misplacing one word with another, difficulty making decisions, like whether to stop at a yellow light...)
Over the years I've also had other things "dx" by other drs:
lung function tests showed "poor neuro-muscular control, or pt not trying" (guess whether I was trying or not!)
inflamation in the cartiledge of my rib cage (at ER for chest pain, felt like I was being sqeezed/sat on by an elephant)
Other things have come and gone:
action tremor
facilitations
bug crawling on skin feeling
loss of sensation in other places
hyperaccusis
I guess even to me it doesn't seem possible that migraine is doing all this... I just don't understand what's going on. If I had lesions on my MRI then I think I'd have a dx. I'm going for a 3T soon, but I'm so concerned about the "what next" if it's clear. But honestly, could this be migraine? Also, if it was, would migraine meds help? Is it worth a trial of migraine meds (preventative, I mean).
Sorry for the long windedness of this. I was originally going ot post saying I'm sure it's not migraine because I just had a good reminder of what a "real" migraine is like for me, but then I started questioning myself.
Stephani