I thought something was really wrong today

[jlm]

When I got into work today I started feeling really strange.
Symptoms included:
-Weird vision, kind of blurry with with a sparkly zigzag line
-numbness in left hand/tingling
-numbness in upper left lip
-super bad headache
-sore eyes and pressure behind eyes
-rapid heart beat
-felt flushed, hot flashes and like i was going to pass out
-nausous
I think that was all of them...
So I found all of this strange and it really freaked me out, so I went to Emerg.
Diagnosis?? Migraine with Aura...
I've never in my entire life experienced a migraine, I seriously thought I was having a stoke or something. I was pretty freaked out.

Anyone else have migraines? I'm hoping this isn't a reoccuring thing, I hear they can last up to 4 days. This is seriously the last thing I need.

 

[Amanda89]

I used to get migraines in my early teens that would even cause vomiting, and found certain foods or smells triggered it off. Mine used to last just a day at a time luckily. To try and help the pain, I used to lie in a dark quiet room and try and sleep it off.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[lc31]

Hi jlm

I used to suffer full migraines as a teenager and would be in bed sleeping sitting up as any pressure on head lying down would be agony. Thankfully I know only get visual migraine ( without the headache) a wee tip I find helps is to put my head between my knees- it stops the white lines and flashes a little. Caffeine can be a cause of migraines and my brother who suffers badly had a teeth guard made as he was badly grinding his teeth at night and apparently this can cause migraine? Hope these tips might help

 

[lc31]

Oh and a darkened room and silence helps too :ghug:'

 

[jlm]

Thanks everyone. Migraines are for sure a new thing for me. Hopefully it was a one time occurence. My doc said that the vision issue is the first sign that a migraine is coming on. He said if I notice that I should take tylenol and if I can stomach it IBprofun at the same time and to go lay down. It started when I was at work yesteday, the lighting in here is pretty bright and annoying plus I use two computer monitors at work.

 

[Trysha]

I have been admitted to hospital for migraines as severe as you describe.
Tried every therapy thrown at me but finally found taking a couple of tylenol ,regular strength at the first sparkle of the aura, then lying down in a darkened room with a heating pad at the back of my neck and a cold compress or ice pack on my forehead lessened the headache. I have to be careful for a few days else it returns.
Advil (ibuprofen) is not recommended for IBD patients so having crohn's I would not be taking it
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha

 

[jlm]

Thanks for the tips Trysha! I'll try that next time it happens. I normally don't take Ibuprofen but it doesn't bother when I do. The Doc mentioned it can linger for a few days. This one lasted about 4-5 hours. I don't know how people manage that get these on a regular basis.

 

[PsychoJane]

I too have migraine. I refuse to take Ibuprofen due to my crohn so I "deal" with the pain for the time it last. Sometimes it is 12 hours, sometimes its almost 3 days. Most often it will be one day of intense pain then 2 days of sluggish feeling where I have hard time focussing on anything.

Anyway, since the tylenol won't really help much but the pain itself so I have my routine. I take my tylenol (or dentist tylenol I call them : lenoltec: 8mg codeine, 300mg acetaminophen, 15mg caffeine). I go in a very hot shower. It appears to me that I can handle a migraine better if I hurt myself elsewhere. This may sound crazy but it diminish the intensity in one point and it is more manageable. So ... a little too hot shower, it seems to reduce the neck strain too and bring relief. Then I spread tiger balm on the back of my neck (same idea here, it makes my skin burn so it "reduce" the pain). If ever you consider this, test just a tiny spot in case your skin does not appreciate it. I know certain people that are sensitive to this product. It's normal it burns a bit, just... not too much.

Then... Its time for the dark room. I find it easier to lay kinda sitting in my bad. I put ice pack on my forehead, my neck and my temple. Heat on my feet and/or hands.

If I can't sleep, I sometime take a combo of tylenol cod (300mg acetaminophen) + a robaxacet type of medication (methocarbamole 400mg + 500 mg acetaminophen). This is instead of the lenoltec.

Just one thing to remember: not to go over the daily acetaminophen dosage.

I know I need to be cautious when I have migraine events because I lose track of it sometimes:

Maximum 8 tablets of 500mg or 12 tablets of 325mg.

All my tips but I really hope it was a one and only event for you!

 

[Dunbar]

You might also try those monitor screens?shields to deflect the flickering and light intensity. I get the kaleidoscope vision (that's what it looks like to me, just not so colourful) with pressure, however I have lucked out and not gotten the headache.
Fingers x'd it is a one time episode.

 

[Crohnsmomof3]

Just a question, as I notice you are on humira. Have you been on this long? I had almost all these same symptoms, the almost passing out was daily (8-10 times a day). I did not have the numbness you are experiencing. I had been on humira for about four to five months before this showed up for me.

For me it was the humira. When I stopped it, it went away. However, it took a a number of tests to rule out a bunch of other things. In the end they thought it was a migraine as well. However, they tried taking me off the humira and within a month I had no more attacks. Still good after one year off.

I am a very unlikely case, so you may just have a typical migraine. However, when I noticed you are on humira I wanted to speak up. Just in case there is a correlation with humira in your case as well.

 

[kristihelene]

Not sure about the meds you're on but Remicade can trigger migraine onset. I get severe migraines - which is what you described! Id start keeping a headache log. I get multiple migraines like that a month and have a headache pretty much daily so I take nuerontin as a preventative!! My prn that works pretty well for when I get that first glimmer of visual disturbance is Maxalt - my PCP just writes for it and it does wonders. Migraine research actually shows that taking pain relievers such as acetametophin actually cause rebound headaches so the current neuro literature actually recommends NOT taking pain killers and taking a prn migraine med instead (Maxalt, imitrex, treximet, etc). Definitely talk to a dr about a prn med tho - my visual disturbances have caused complete temporary (several seconds) blindness, once while driving! Good luck, but don't write this off!

 

[jlm]

I've had two more migraines since the first. Not nearly as bad though. Started with the vision issue. But a quiet dark room helped a ton... I did take Tylenol at the onset and it lasted a couple of hours. The first time iwas at work staring at computer screens, second time I was watching TV and on my ipad and third time was after walking up and looking at my phone... Not sure if there's a connection here

Crohnsmomof3 - I've been on humira now for a few years. This is the first time this has happened.

Kristihelene - I'm definitely going to try and keep a journal. And if they get worse ill look into a med. is something I would just ask my family doctor for?

 

[kristihelene]

jlm - yep, you could just ask your PCP I hope this improves for you without the need for meds!!!