A Different Migraine Than I've Ever Experienced

My usual migraines are fairly repetitive in nature. They typically start either in the evenings when I’m overtired or I wake up with them during the night or first thing in the morning.

How did my migraine change through IVF?

I wasn’t able to be on preventative medication for a long time while I was going through IVF, breastfeeding my daughter, and trying to conceive, as there isn’t enough data to deem those medications safe. While my options were only abortive, I managed okay. The pain was usually on my temples and along my jawline, sometimes above my eyebrows, and it was a sharp, consistent pain. I have never experienced an aura with migraines, but when they are severe I have experienced sensitivity to light and sound. I’ve tried a number of both traditional and non-traditional methods to relieve my migraines and identify my triggers, but as all of you know, it’s never an exact science.

How did my attack start?

In November, one night before bed, I got a very fast onset migraine a few hours before going to sleep. I’d just started taking a new (to me) preventative medication - Emgality, but it didn’t seem to make a difference in this case. I took my abortive medications and climbed into bed, where I could’ve slept for days. I was brought to the hospital the next morning, as I was incoherent and had a high fever. Unfortunately, this migraine worsened to the literal most severe migraine I’ve ever experienced, and nothing the doctors tried provided any relief to the pain in the back of my head and down my neck.

What did the doctors find?

After five days of this, I finally had a brain MRI with contrast and then a lumbar puncture to confirm that I had bacterial meningitis, and the migraine wasn’t responding to regular migraine treatment because it wasn’t a typical migraine. It was from the pressure the infection had caused in my cerebral spinal fluid. It took several days of IV antibiotics to get to the point where I could turn on the light in my hospital room and didn't have to be in the pitch black.

What were my symptoms?

This migraine was different than my typical attacks, as it was in a different location (the back of my head rather than my temples and jaw line), the pain was insufferable, the throbbing could be felt through my whole body, I could not tolerate light, sound or any movement, and I found myself crying out in pain way more often than I’d like to admit. I also found myself confused, having memory problems, and sometimes misplacing words or slurring my speech. I was actually readmitted to the hospital a second time because they were so concerned about these symptoms, that they thought the meningitis wasn't being treated well enough. It turns out migraines can also cause these specific symptoms. I did not know this!

How did this impact my migraine?

The neurologist who rounded on me in the hospital talked about how migraines can change, how the patterns can differ depending on the triggers, and that when migraine patients notice changes, they should contact their providers immediately, especially if the escalation of migraine symptoms is quick and scary. She also said that unfortunately, with any type of infection that causes migraines or migraine-like symptoms, it is typically harder to treat than a regular migraine.

How am I weeks later?

To this day, eight weeks after the migraine began and I was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, there is still a throbbing in the back of my head. Now don't get me wrong, it's MUCH improved after seven weeks of IV antibiotics, but I'm still far from myself neurologically. Seven weeks ago, I couldn't even look at my phone screen, let alone sit down at my computer to think clearly or type. This week, this has taken me quite some time to work through what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it, and I've even had it proofed by my husband.

If you've had a virus or another health ailment or illness which has caused a new type of migraine for you, I'd be really interested to read your story below.