Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

First Timer

First a bit of background: I have suffered from headaches for years and years, and am no stranger to them. Since I was 14, tension headaches have placed a familiar band of pressure around my temples that rarely eases. It has become a way of life, and I have endured a battery of neurological tests to no avail. Alright, shrug and move on, I can live with it, and the pain is so familiar that I commonly forget that I hurt.

Two days ago, the playing field got changed on me. I was out on a wedding appointment with my fiance, enjoying myself, when I noticed that my vision was failing. When I closed my eyes, I got red after-images like I had been staring at the sun (not unusual, I have experience this before). They got worse... and worse... and then my right eye was useless. My left has strange heat shimmer movement blocking most of it. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned, and requested my fiance drive me home.

This turned into a harrowing ride, as I was hit with a wall of gut-wrenching nausea. I spent most of my time concentrating on not tossing my cookies on my poor fiance's car floor.

When I got home, the pain hit like some angry god was squeezing my brain in his hand. Disoriented, scared, and too nauseaous to do anything than slump by my toilet, I spent the next 4 hours going in and out of conciousness from pain. Crying or feeling sorry for myself didn't even occur to me, i was so disoriented.

Now two days later, I am still foggy, light sensitive, and my stomach hasn't forgiven me yet. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, but I'm not certain what can really be done at this point, except wait for another attack to happen to see if it's a pattern. At the very least, I may plead my case for medicine to knock me unconcious if it does happen again.

I guess I get to join a new club now, at least I know the secret handshake.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

Do you feel comfortable advocating for yourself to your healthcare provider?