No prior warning to Basilar-Type Migraine

By Polly Friday, November 14, 2008

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Hi everyone, I hope your all feeling ok today. I have finally been disgnosed with having Basilar-Type Migraine. Over a year ago I was found slumped on the bathroom floor after waking up with my "usual" migraine. I was admitted into hospital where I spent the next 3 weeks having tests, scans etc. First thought was I had a stroke, follwed by numerous other problems, I have now been diagnosed with BTM and was told how it would affect my life. Little did I know I would still pass out regularly, I spend days in bed holding my head in searing pain. The dr's just keep increasing my medications. I understand that this is an individual problem and not every person requires the same meds as any other. But I was never told this would get worse and that I would suffer daily. I regularly pass out with these migraines and have trained my family and close friends in how to deal with me if that happens. My family are very supportive and my husband has been a tower of strength. I am still undergoing consultation to try to prevent the attacks occuring but so far I get an attack at least once or twice a week. I look forward to not having regular attacks and being able to go away for a week knowing I have a good chance of being pain free for a week.

Sorry for rambling on but have held this BTM inside me for so long, just needed to blurt it out. x

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Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

11/14/08 2:12pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

Basilar-Type Migraine, (BTM) is Migraine with aura symptoms coming from the brain stem, and both sides of the brain are impacted the same time. But the attack have no motor weakness. BTM can be very scary and is not a common type of Migraine. Read more on Basilar-Type Migraine HERE.

BTM is best treated by an expert - a Migraine specialist at that. Neurologists may be fine doctors, but have a hard time being experts in any one area because they treat so many different conditions like MS, epilepsy and stroke. Migraine specialists focus on one thing - headache disorders and Migraine disease. They stay current on new research, clinical trials and are on the cutting edge of treatment options. Some people travel from VA to TX to see their Migraine specialist, then work with a local doctor to follow through with the treatment plan. We have some information you can continue reading: Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? Then you may want to look for a new doctor to help you reduce the number of attacks you are having. Click HERE for our patient recommended specialist list. We also have some listed in the UK on that list.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information and a spot to sign up for our free newsletter on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

Anonymous

7/ 6/09 10:55pm

Hello,

I believe I suffer from a similar form of migraine although I have found acouple of techniques that have helped me greatly.

I've had migraines come and go in my life since I was about 10. They were becoming more and more frequent and severe up until about 6 months ago.

I used to have a migraine once or twice a week, although severe pain never lasted much more than 4 or 5 hours, the pain would build up until I began vomitting and then eventually passed out. The first few times I passed out were rather scary as I wasn't quite sure it was coming on and on occasion was actually standing up or walking when it occurred, with noone around if I fell awkwardly.

Anyways, in december last year my doctor prescribed me two medications which seemed to have a benificial result. The first, was a small, nightly dose of amitriptyline, which is meant to improve sleep, which i'm sure you're aware of the benifits of a good nights rest.

The other medication was rizatriptan benzoate wafers, they are to be taken upon first noticing the pain. They cost too much but several times when I've had a migraine I've seen good results in pain reduction. (although they don't always work, I believe this is because I get more than one type of migraine)

Along with those two medications a few months ago I began doing yoga, trying to do a couple 1 hourish sessions a week. This really seemed to help. The problem is it'd been suggested to me several times before but I never wanted to believe it would do anything. I just downloaded a yoga video online one night and very rapidly began seeing improvement. My once to twice a week migraines are now down to once or twice a month.

Hope this was of some help.

No prior warning to Basilar-Type Migraine

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