Migraine thought to be stroke
I'm new to this whole migraine business. I went to the ER thinking I was having the early signs of a stroke so I got a CT scan and was told it was very likely a migraine. The medication has been working pretty well but would to know if there's anything that I should know about migraines in terms of living with it. I know I could just do a google search but I prefer responses from a community of people. As far as worries go I'm not so much worried about the migraines but that I got a CT scan to find out nothing was wrong internally. The thought of unnecessary radiation exposure has me feeling uneasy. So please, any information regarding migraines and anything that could get me over worrying about the CT scan would be appreciated. I'm only 21 and never expected to have to deal with anything like this.
Hi there!
A CT scan of the head is far less dangerous than letting a possibly dangerous medical condition like a stroke go undiagnosed - the benefit by far outweighs the risk. In terms of the amount of radiation recieved, its equivalent to around 6-7 months of normal, every day background radiation. Whilst this might seem like a lot, its more than enough for your brain to cope with.
As for living with migraines, the best tool for any migrainer is a migraine diary. Record your sleeping patterns, what you're eating, medication you're taking, frequency and severity of your migraines - anything and everything you might think could be causing or contributing to your condition. It'll help out a lot when it comes to managing the condition and looking for patterns, causes, contributing factors, triggers etc. Theres a great post on this site here: https://migraine.com/blog/keeping-migraine-diary-basics/
Don't worry, you're not alone and theres plenty of support out there 😉
