Tuesday, November 17, 2009 HeidiAnne asks

Q: Severe Migraine with loss of concsiousness -Could this have been a different type of Migraine?

I am a 48 year old women who has suffered from migraines since I was 12 years old. Because my father & grandmother also had them I never went to a specialist & only received treatment from my family MD.

Over the years I have been on caffergot PB, Ergostat, Imatrix, Axert and even tried vitamin C IV theraphy. None of them stopped the pain or the headache, however they did put me in a bit of a stooper where I would semi-sleep through them. As I got older they seemed to be a little less frequent & I would only suffer 10 or so per year. Having been on Keppra for a few years as a mood stabilizer for depression, they seemed to lessen in frequency.

I went off of Keppra in July 09. I have had 4 migraines thus far. Not exactly sure what type of migraine I get but they have been fairly typical for me since adolescents, loss of vision for about an hour (sometimes just one eye, other times loss of vision in the same eye again a few hours later or loss of vision in the other eye as well)& then terrible head pain, numbness in my face,nose,lip,etc extremities,light sensitive, lathergic, slurred speech, confusion & vomiting. Most last about 10hours with the following day+ being left with an "after" headache & sluggish.

This past week I suffered a migraine like non I have ever experienced in my life. Began as usual with the loss of vision & I took my axert immediately along with two ancetametaphine as always. Severe headache came on, 3 hours later - vomiting. I then lost my vision AGAIN in the left eye & continued vomiting off & on for the next 3hours. My husband said that I laid on the floor unable to move and unresponsive to his questions or directions, holding my head in my hands. He stated that it appeared to him like I was going in & out of an unconscious state for several hours. He said he heard me slurring several times "somethings not right".

Never seeing me in such a state, he decided to take me to the ER.He got me off the floor & on the bed to put some clothes on. He said at that point I collapsed and fell into a deep sleep for another several hours where my husband decided to let me stay as he sat next to me & watched me the whole time. Looking back he said he should have taken me to ER as he thought but....its a migraine right.(?) Could you please tell me if you have heard of this "type" of migraine or what you think it was & what would you suggest I do next?

Is it possible to get different types of headaches after all these years. For the first time, I am really nervous about the migraine I experienced several days ago. I have an atrial septal defect in my heart & even thought that maybe I had a blod clot pass through the whole in my heart but the symptoms, although extremely severe, did show signs to me of some type of migraine...I think. I would appreciate your thoughts & advice. I am sooo sorry for the length of this question. Thank you, HeideAnne

- A
- A
- A

Answers (2)

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

11/18/09 9:04pm

Hi HeidiAnne,

Please don't worry about the length of your post. But please, contact your doctor in the morning and let him know what happened. Yes, your husband had the right idea about taking you to the ER, when in doubt, always do the safe thing.

The rule of thumb goes like this: if your Migraine/ head pain is the worst you've ever had, get to the ER right away. Always talk to your doctor if your Migraine pattern has changed, which is possible, but important to let him know.

Yes, it could possilby be a different type of Migraine, and we would love to be able to answer this for you, but cannot really do it online. Only a doctor can do this after a full medical exam, through medical history in person can help with this.

Please let us know how you are, ok?

Nancy

Samantha

12/18/09 1:26am

Hello, I have the kind of migraines that people just don't understand, too. I'll lay in bed and crawl to the bathroom to vomit every two or three hours. I hallucinate, pass out and come to for three to four days. I've tried everything, too, and I've even come to the point where I can laugh when people give me advice: "Do you know what really works? An Advil and a Pepsi!" As if I could ingest a spoonful of anything. My favorite was this: "Roll up a towel and put it under your head!" Anyway, I really did find something that reduced my migraines to three a month. I stopped eating gluten. I did so because it gave me a nasty rash, and going gluten-free was recommended. So I recommend being tested for two things: Celiac Disease, and wheat allergy. They sound alike, but they are merely similar. Twice I tested my migraine/gluten theory with a few bites of bread, and both times sent me straight to the Imitrex. Being gluten-free takes a lot of reading and, frankly, a lot of sacrifice. However, you get used to it. In fact, it reminds me of something a friend of mine one said. He was a smoker, and he had a massive heart attack. People often asked him if giving up the smokes was difficult, He always said, "It was nothing, because every time I smelled cigarette smoke, or even heard the word, I immediately thought of the terror and pain of that heart attack." That is how I feel about gluten. Do I want a piece of toast, or do I want to throw up for three days, see Mia Farrow walk across the ceiling, feel starved and parched, not make money, and wish I had enough drugs in the house to kill myself? No. All the best to you, my fellow sufferer,

Q: Severe Migraine with loss of concsiousness -Could this have been a different type of Migraine?

Related Questions

Ask a Question