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A combination of somewhat frightening symptoms

Hi all. New to the forums. I've had migraines for years and only just saw a neurologist for my first time about a year ago. Thankfully with a normal MRI. Anywho. . . It's one of my two very distinct types of migraine that worries me a bit and I wonder what others may make of it. . . This type occurs less often than my usual "standard" type of migraine. A couple of times a year, I develop a mild headache days before the actual migraine hits. It comes and goes and travels all over my head but remains mostly above my left eye. After a few irritating and frustrating days of that it makes its final migration to the right side base of my skull where it settles in and takes hold. The band of pain spreads from an extremely sensitive (even sensitive to the touch) trigger point at the base of my skull, up over the right side of my head and into my right temple, where I can feel my heartbeat. The pain in my head, I describe as "my skull splitting into a million pieces in slow motion". No amount of pain medication makes a single dent in it. My vision blurs, pressure builds up behind my eyes to where it is painful to keep them open. I am severely nauseous and I vomit frequently. I crave only apple juice with the intensity of a thousand dying suns. I can have only apple juice at this time, my body simply rejects anything else. I become easily confused and forgetful, losing the thread of my thought seconds after it occurs. I will at some point lose all feeling and ability to use my arms and/or legs and I exist in a hellish realm somewhere between awake and asleep, only able to sleep with high doses of either morphine or valium. This will last anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. After the migraine subsides, I am still in hell though, spending days, weeks and even over a month once with continuing daily headaches, forgetfulness, and short-term memory issues. I am coming down from one of these as I write this. The overall length and severity of the migraine event ultimately determines the overall length and severity of its "after effect". I developed my migraine last Friday afternoon, where it continued until very early Sunday morning. I have a headache at this exact moment and have continued to cope with memory issues. I get up from my desk at work to do something and halfway to do the thing, I have already forgot what I got up to do in the first place.

ANY advice or input on this would be most helpful! I'm in hell!

  1. Hi 14o5d4b,

    I'm sorry you are suffering so at the moment. Migraine pain is exhausting and frustrating. I am happy to hear your MRI was normal, which is common in people with migraine.

    We really don't like to see migraine pain last longer than 72 hours. When our pain lasts this long, it increases our risk of a condition called status migrainous and stroke. Let me share with you information on this; https://migraine.com/blog/what-is-status-migrainosus/.

    I wonder if it's time to see a doctor who is an expert in treating migraine and headache disorders? Migraine/headache disorder specialists are doctor who have extra board certification in headache medicine and treat one condition all day every day, migraine and headache. Having said that, neurologists may be fine doctors, and treat lots of people with migraine and headache, but can have a hard time being experts in one area because they treat so many conditions such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's and others. Let me share a bit of information on how these doctors are special and how to find one; https://migraine.com/blog/how-are-migraine-specialists-different/ and https://migraine.com/blog/looking-for-a-migraine-specialist/.

    There are actually four stages of a migraine attack; prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome. Not everyone experiences each phase however. Prodrome the first phase of an attack, can start up to hours or days before the headache phase. Here is information on the four phases of migraine; https://migraine.com/migraine-basics/migraine-phases/.
    I hope this helps,
    Nancy

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