Hemiplegic Migraine Q&A With My Partner - Part 3

In this last installment of the series (you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here), we talk about closing thoughts what it’s like to date and live with someone who has hemiplegic migraines. This has been a little fun for the both of us after all that we discussed and the times I’ve been ill since we did our initial “interview” with one another discussing my HM diagnosis.

Keep in mind, I have multiple medical conditions, most of which he did not know about until we started dating, but had already been diagnosed with each before I met him.

Slurred words, stuttering, aphasia, and migraine

When you met me & we were working together, did you ever notice my symptoms of my slurring my words, stuttering, and aphasia?

No, not really at all.

(Side note: I’m a very introverted person and very conscious of the fact that I have to slow my speech because sometimes my lips don’t match my brain and I feel very self-aware when I get nervous or am having an anxiety-inducing day.)

Is that a symptom of migraine?

Have you ever noticed something and thought “maybe that could be a symptom”?

Umm, you squint, taking glasses on and off a lot I do notice a lot more now that we talked about it in parts 1 & 2.

Headache versus migraine

How do you know what’s a “regular” headache vs. when I’m having a migraine? Do you figure it out or have you ever had to ask?

You don’t really ever tell me. If it's like, particularly debilitating & obvious, I work under the assumption it's a migraine. I didn't know that you had different types of migraines.

Talking about health issues

Would you rather me tell you when I’m having issues (I call it complaining because you know I have extensive health conditions)?

I'd much rather you tell me and have me know, even if I can't help. It's difficult knowing you're struggling with something and not being able to do anything about it, but I'd rather know than not know.

Recognizing aphasia during migraine

But certainly you're aware of my aphasia and what we call my mismatched "lego words" that don't fit at all with the sentence I'm saying.

Well, I've learned to interpret your texts - I’m good at that. I would say I notice fairly often when you're struggling to come up with words.

Experiencing migraine yourself or through family and friends

Have you ever had migraines?

I would definitely call them mild migraines. I never experienced any nausea, just grey floating spots that were very bothersome. I used to get headaches fairly often in my 30s and had spots off the side of my vision & hard to describe. It was like a smaller moving grey spot and it would grow but they were always off to the side of my (peripheral) vision but in about 20 minutes it would be gone and I’d have a little bit of a headache after. Not debilitating but more distracting than anything else.

Do you know family or friends who have migraines?

Vaguely remember my sisters and mom having them and have also had coworkers that experience them.

A thank you to my partner

Thank you for letting me pick your brain (again). I think it's so important for couples to talk about how migraines can affect their lives, and their loved ones as well. You've always been such a great help to me when it comes to work, my health, and the in-between of complex medical situations we've been through together. You teach me to be a better partner everyday & I'm so very thankful that you're as understanding as you are. Also, I love when you bring my french fries & a coke.