Are there any migraine sufferers here to help?

[MyGrainAgain]

For six months I’ve been getting regular headaches, often daily. Sometimes it’s quite sore but relieved by paracetamol. Sometimes it’s at the front, sometimes it’s behind my left eye, sometimes it’s in the left lobe. It often feels like a pressure in my head.

I also get temporary vision changes (slightly blurry vision) and tingling in the left side of my face. I have never previously suffered with migraines.

The GP prescribed some migraine medication which I’m supposed to take when I feel a headache starting, but I don’t actually know when that is. Sometimes I wake up with headaches.

Lately, I’ve been getting what I assume (thanks to Google) to be an aura, but with no headache.

When it happens, I get a feeling of pressure or lightheadedness in my head. I feel rather strange or not quite with it. It’s like everything is a bit surreal. I also get fatigued quickly and tingling in my face, but no (or very little) headache.

I’ve also noticed I’m getting “blips” of confusion, not all of the time but enough to wonder if I’m going mad. For a couple of seconds, maybe upon waking, I’ll not recognise my room and it takes a second for everything to be recognised. Or I’ll have to double check if something is “real”. DH jokingly said something the other night and for a split second I thought he was serious (but it was something so ridiculous it would be impossible to be serious). This has happened twice in the last month where I have to question my perception of something.

Other times, I’ll ask something of DH and when he says he’s just told me the same answer, I’ve no recollection of asking him. I usually put this down to being rushed and not taking notice of what I’m doing.

Does this sound typical for migraines?

Sympathies. Many people love to label headaches as "migraines" but from what you've said this sure sounds like migraines to me. I get visual aura without warning and they can leave me weirded out for a couple of days afterwards. If I'm really lucky I get aphasia with the aura. What fun. The good news: I'm on daily low dose Topiramate and that reduced the migraines from 20+ a couple of years ago to one or two a year.

You need to see your GP again, hopefully they will be sympathetic and try different meds and more investigations. Good luck.

Go back to your gp. Keep a headache diary. Book an osteopath appointment to rule out any skeletal issues. Increase your water intact. Book an opticians appointment. Get your iron and bp checked out. Book a dentist appointment to rule out grinding of teeth or jaw issues. Try to stay positive op. As a long term migraine sufferer I feel your pain.

I take pizotifen daily to prevent them. If it’s sumatriptan you’re currently taking I found that didn’t work for me either but pizotifen is amazing, no side effects just prevents them from 5 times a week to maybe 2-3 a month (around the time of my period)

DD suffers from chronic migraine. Other than the meds, have you tried eliminating the five Cs?
Caffeine
Chocolate
Cheese
Chianti ( alcohol)
Chinese food

You don't necessarily need to do without all of these. Just try eliminating one at a a time and see if you are any better. For DD, the trigger was caffeine and soy sauce. She reduced both and is down to three or four migraines a year.

My sympathies.

I will go back to my GP, but I wasn’t sure if I was going mad. It appears that all of my symptoms point to a migraine then? I rather feel relieved as I wondered if I was losing my marbles.

Yes but it could also be a different neurological issue. I would push for a referral to a neurologist.

Have you had any scans to rule out a brain tumors or stroke?

Its most likely not but I would ask for a referal anyway.

As above look at what you are doing and what is happening around you.

Did something stressfull happen 6 months ago?

The diary will be important to track what is happening and when
New sleep pattern or change to general night noises which may disrupt your sleep pattern?
New food or change of brands?
New lights at home or in the office?
New cleaning products or candles?
New period cycle or other hormone change?

Yes, please rule out any more serious issues first.

No scans and nothing appeared to trigger them. They started happening daily out of the blue around 6 months ago with some random episodes of vertigo. It went on continuously for almost a whole month so I went to my GP who prescribed medication.

Prior to this, I’d never experienced a migraine. I will make a further appointment, but I am worried about the possibility of looking silly. Would a referral be made for a headache?

I feel dreadful today, exhausted, spaced out, mildly dizzy. My face is tingling and mildly itchy. I do have a dull headache.

I do wonder if it’s hormonal as I should be heading in to peri menopause soon.

I would push for a CT scan to rule any issues out.

Does your GP know the extent and detail of your symptoms? Keep a detailed diary of it all and take it along.
Migraine is dead weird and can feel very scary, but it is important that everything is ruled out/in.
If that is the definitive diagnosis then as well as treatment you need to start looking for your triggers. Screens are my problem. I wear sunglasses in the cinema and have a particular problem with subtitle moving across a screen.

If these are happening daily I do think you should go back to GP. Not everything you are describing sounds migrainous.
Also a typical migraine is usually one-sided.
And yes referrals are made for headache!

Definitely back to GP for further investigation. All your symptoms are similar to migraine but it's unusual to come on so several, and so frequently, out of the blue.

Mine are hormonal and gradually increased as I approached peri to being far more frequent.

I did get great advice on MN but one of the best bits was to check out The National Migraine Centre. They have a fab website with brilliant resources and some fantastic podcasts. They also offer appointments with migraine specialists. They're free if you can wait 6 months or so, and then you can pay different amounts for private, faster appointments. Very expensive but worth it for me. BUT do get a referral and further advice from your GP first.

Thanks for all of the replies. Do migraines also come with pins and needles? For the past two days I have been having some very odd sensations, which again I’ve put down to migraine, but I don’t have a headache (maybe very slight at times).

I feel like someone is constantly stabbing me with a pin, mainly in my feet and hands. A constant tingling in my feet. My arm feels intermittently weak, but still useable. I can see but my vision is slightly blurry and one of my eyes feels a bit stabby (but not painful). I feel like I’m going mad, but it has to be related to the aura off a few days ago.

FWIW I’ve never suffered with anxiety (other than usual occasional worries that pass as normal). I don’t have depression and have never suffered with migraines previously. My B12 is in range, as is my Vitamin D.

Migraines are odd things, OP, and the specialists will tell you that symptoms can vary wildly between individuals. What you are describing might well be migraine related, as posters have said, but you are describing a range of symptoms that really need to be addressed and you should make a GP appointment soon and get seen. Don't down play your symptoms.

Best wishes.

Absolutely not telling you to ignore the tingling but I spoke to my GP about this who carried out some basic tests. She then told me she's not concerned and I'm ok to ignore it

Strangely not had it since

My migraine auras were so close to seizure auras I ended up not knowing if I was gonna have one or the other. Alice in wonderland syndrome, constant yawning, exhaustion, vomiting, dizziness, aural hallucinations, fainting, temperate change...I've had them for 43 years.

The only thing that helps me is paracetamol, opiates, an iced flannel over my face (which feels like it's on fire)

Coca cola, (sugared) and salty things like nuts or crisps or chips.

And weed. But obviously if you don't usually smoke I'm not suggesting starting!

Oh and sleep/horizontal rest.

Its horrible isn't it. I feel like Tyson Fury is punching me in the back of my eyes. Or a drum kit playing inside my sinuses. I hope you find some relief x

I found pizotifen good as preventative - reduced migraines to 5 a month from every few days. Game changer for me was zolmatriptan nasal spray as reliever - I used to be bomiting constantly for 24-48hrs & neurologist said oral relievers are ineffective if suffer nausea/bomiting as body can’t absorb them. With the nasal spray, migraine will be 80% gone within an hour. I get no side effects so can continue to work too. I do get the grogginess when it’s gone but less so than I used to.

Yes to the follow up GP visit.

I think I have had most of the symptoms on your list at some point, including the aura and spacedoutness without head pain, plus the total confusion (unable to remember my phone number). I find prescribed triptans pretty effective.

You need to be assessed for epilepsy so go back to your GP and be really really specific about the loss of awareness and memory part of your symptoms

push for a referral to neurology

I get migraine and my mum gets awful migraines. I also get silent migraines.

You definitely need to go back to the GP as this symptoms could be something else or they could be a migraine. If you book a routine appointment for say 4 weeks then keep a diary in between.

keep a record- down load a headache diary from a migraine clinic or migraine action. List to the podcasts by the van tulleken brothers - they did a main one then an extras one -on headaches with a migraine specialist GP.

my mum go to the point of having 2 migraine free days a month (the dr on the podcast calls the crystal clear head days - I get that 100%)

she has had pretty much every treatment and now has one of the new injections.

my mum paid for a consultant appt and they referred her back to their own list on the NHS. Good luck it’s awful. There is also the MOH medication over use headache.

intersting a GP last week told me to take 3 dispirsible aspirin at the start of a migraine and is thought to be as effective as Triptans.

Headaches on waking should get you a head scan, though it’s statistically highly likely to be normal.

Also to add I had run of headaches that turned out to be sinusitis with no other symptoms. I didn’t believe but he was right. I really miss the GP- he could diagnose anything by reading your aura!

Yes - the sudden onset vertigo, confusion and derealising made me think of the possibility of seizures.