Full Question:
Symptoms: Without warning my vision will start going black from the outside in. My limbs (arms and legs) will get weak and I have to sit down or lay down, I have to close my eyes tight, I can hear everything and everyone around me but I can't answer anyone. I can answer in my head, the words are there, but I can't say them out of my mouth. I can't use my arms or hands or legs until it's over. The vision will slowly start to come back and be blurry and then I will be dizzy. Sometimes I will get a migraine on the right side of my head, sometimes not. The vision will stay blurry and the dizziness will stay (until I take a meclizine). This will last anywhere from 4 minutes to 28 minutes. Then I will sleep because I am so exhausted from the "incident".

Another type of migraine that I get - or I have been told they are migraines is this: Symptom: My left eye will ptsosis, without warning it will just start to close. My vision will become blurry in that eye, sometimes it will go away completely or almost completely. There is no pain in that eye unless you press on it, so it's not a headache in the eye. I have no headache at all. It will last anywhere from a few hours to a week. I have been tested for Myasthenia Gravis and it's not that. I have been tested for pretty much everything and it has all been ruled out. I have been told that I have migraines in the eye without the pain of a headache when this is happening. Have you heard of this type of migraine?

I would appreciate your opinion on these. Thank you so much, Annette

Answer:

Dear Annette;

Although nobody can diagnose you without seeing you in person, we can give you some information to discuss with your doctors. We'll list some points and give you some information:

• It's possible to have more than one type of Migraine and for any particular Migraine to be one type while the next could be another type.
• The only form of Migraine that causes true motor weakness is hemiplegic Migraine. See Hemiplegic Migraine - The Basics for more information.
• "Headache in the eye" is hard to comment on. However, various types of Migraine can occur without headache. When that happens, the Migraine is described as "acephalgic" or "silent." See Acephalgic or Silent Migraine - The Basics for more information. It might also help you to become familiar with the four possible phases of a Migraine attack and their symptoms. That's all explained in Anatomy of a Migraine.

Your best bet is to seek care from an actual Migraine specialist. There's a link below to our directory of patient recommended specialists.

Good luck,
John Claude Krusz and Teri Robert

If you need to find a headache and Migraine specialist, please see our listing of patient recommended specialists.

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Dr. Krusz is a recognized expert in the fields of headache and Migraine treatment and pain treatment. Each week, he and Lead Expert Teri Robert, team up to answer your questions about headaches and Migraines. You can read more about Dr. Krusz or more about Teri Robert. If you have a question for this section of our site, please click HERE. Accepted questions will be answered by publishing the answers here. No questions will be answered privately.