Migraine Diagnosis?
I saw a neurologist last week and he diagnosed me with chronic migraines. I am a 60 year old healthy male. In early April of this year, I started to experience mild dizziness with mild nausea. Since that time, my dizziness and nausea have increasingly become moderate to moderate+ at times with no vomiting. Associated headaches have been mild to moderate, nothing too extreme. I have had symptom free days, but they have become few and far between in the past few weeks.
I also have some facial tingling with weakness especially in the arms during episodes. I have been tracking with Migraine Buddy. In any given day, I can have up to 2 or 3 episodes with relatively normal periods in between. Sometimes I have no headache like a silent migraine. I have not had any visual aura symptoms.
My mom has had severe migraines as well as my daughter. Prior to April, I’ve never experienced symptoms like this. I did have my first Phizer vaccination on March 31, about 5 days before the dizziness started.
My neurologist started me on a regimen of magnesium, Vit B2, and Coenzyme Q10. I was also diagnosed, by a vestibular Physiotherapist, with unilateral vestibular hypofunction. I am doing daily gaze stabilization and other rehab exercises.
To me this doesn’t seem like migraine activity. What are your thoughts? Does anyone have a similar experience to what I am experiencing? Thanks!
Our team is non-clinical. We're just patients sharing our experiences. I cannot give medical advice, but I will say that I've heard of many people having headaches and migraines in conjunction with their vaccines, even non-migraine sufferers. Since COVID-19 vaccines are so new, I'm not even sure there is data yet on how long these side effects can last. I also got Pfizer and have had an increase of migraines and headaches since I've gotten my shots at the end of April/beginning of May. They are getting better, but I still have them at an increased frequency. One thing that has helped me deal with these is increasing my hydration - not just water but electrolytes. The shots themselves triggered debilitating migraines for me. The second shot had me flat on my back for a week. I'm wondering if it might be possible with your family history that the shots triggered something underlying. Hopefully, they will subside for you soon, and that is not the case. Best of luck. ~Liz, Moderator Thanks for your response! Hope things settle down for you as well.
So sorry you have been having such a rough run of it with migraine attacks after your COVID vaccine. We do have some other posts on the topic that you might find interesting here:
https://migraine.com/forums/worsening-of-migraines-following-astrazenica-vaccine
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/covid-19-vaccine-expert-opinion
https://migraine.com/stories/blood-thinners
https://migraine.com/forums/migraine-after-covid-vaccine
You mentioned working with a neurologist- is that doctor a migraine specialist? We cannot assist you clinically here, as Liz mentioned, but do recommend those who are challenged with migraine to seek care, when possible, from a migraine specialist as they are more specifically trained to navigate the complex neurological condition that is migraine. Here is a resource that may help you find a migraine specialist in your area:
https://migraine.com/blog/the-mrf-directory-of-headache-and-migraine-specialists
Please let us know how else we may support you and thanks so much for sharing some of your journey with us. Warmly, Holly (migraine.com team).Thanks for your response! I will follow-up with the links and seek advice from a medical professional with a migraine specialty.
