Is it possible to have nausea/ dizziness/feeling faint, with a headache NOT migraine?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

I have this right now and a headache that I've had for 24 hours. The dizziness has come on today , I can't even bend down without feeling faint.
I always associated sickness and nausea with migraine. As I've always suffered from migraines and headaches lifelong, Iknow there is a vast difference between them.
But this can't be a migraine...as I'm not bed bound in agony. I feel awful....but it's nothing compared to a migraine
is there such thing as a mild migraine, that can produce these symptoms?
headache has always been straightforward , no other symptoms.

last winter i had this nausea and sickness from an ear infection (labyrinthitis) for months, and really scared it's come back :-( but I don't have ear pain that i had constantly before

That's how I felt when I was pregnant with DS1.

I'm not bedbound with my migraines, in fact they're so unlike 'classical' migraines that they took 4 years, a number of specialists, several useless medications and an unnecessary surgery to be diagnosed as such. However once I got to a neurologist, who treated me for migraine, it turns out that they respond to migraine medication, so we're assuming that even if it doesn't look like a duck or quack like a duck, it's probably a duck if it is ok with being called a duck.

My point being, you could still have a migraine. Treat it as such and see if it helps?

i know migraines take different forms yet I've never had the sickness and dizzy before without it being an agonising bed bound migraine. Not saying it's not one though...maybe i got off lightly compared to usual... it's just not the norm. Ihad aspirin in the night then Advil later today so i better not take anything else

i mean i'm hoping it IS a migraine and not anything else as i couldnt go thru the whole ear problem again which was untreatable

I've been suffering with what has been diagnosed as vestibular migraine for several months now. At no point did I have the classic migraine bed bound symptoms. I felt dizzy and nauseous, but not to the extent that I was incapacitated.

Is the pain on one side of your head? Have you been able to eat ok? Just asking as when I get a migraine it screws up my digestive system and I quite often end up being sick. Have you tried kicking its arse with something like solpadine max soluble (has more codeine in than usual cocodamol) Imigran? Hope you feel better soon

I had a weird virus like this once. Was very odd feeling. Did feel faint like you more ..unbalanced. Something to do with the ears maybe ?

yes it's one side....
I haven't got anything in house except for Advil and aspirin.
I've now had a proper meal and feel 'slightly' better as being hungry didn't help but i hadn't felt like anything. But I can't pick things up or bend or everything sways and i want to puke
You quite likely had an ear infection, Wish. Having had labyrinthitis for 6 months i would never wish that on anyone as it completely disabled me. As i don't have the ear pain that went with it, am hoping this is an unusual sort of migraine for me. getting really paranoid re ears as i need to be working again and am job-hunting...can't be ill again

i did have MRI in march and it revealed nothing. ear infection cleared on its own but took nearly 6 months

Sounds possible it could be a 'mild' migraine (if there is such a thing) if its on one side of your head. Are you in the uk? If you are can you ring nhs direct to speak to them about your symptoms? They can get you in to see an out of hours GP if its worrying you. I'd probably try get some codeine based painkillers and Imigran when you can

My vestibular migraine is on one side of my head.

i sometimes get similar...but I run the full gamut from visual aura only, through not being able to say things properly, to incapacitating vomiting and head pain, full day in bed, to three and four day headaches I can function with

any or all of the symptoms can present in random order! Which is nice. not

you are describing the symptoms of a migraine I used to get regularly from the age of 12 to 18 after which I was prescribed a preventative daily tablet (sanomigram?). The specialists had initially said it was an inner-ear problem but my mum asked for a second opinion and migraine was diagnosed. It used to creep up with dizziness and progress to the point where moving my head just a tiny bit made me vomit. The longest I was I'll was probably about 10 days. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, there was nothing I could take to stop it, I just had to ride it out.

I'm in my 40's now and I get regular headaches which are quite fierce, I haven't had that kind of migraine since I stopped the medication to have children 20 years ago.

Truly hope you feel better soon OP.

thank you everyone. Well, it went about 1am this morning...the relief to not have the dizziness and nausea was immense...made me want to leap up and down and do housework ;-)
realising it was a proper migraine... all the normal symptoms and pain down the one side but because its wasnt the normal 'give me a gun and i'll shoot myself' kind of migraine, i was confused
In UK, Sleepy. Migraines and bad headaches lifelong (hereditory) but given up on Migraleve etc. May give Imigran one last try (only tried once and didnt work) What's the best codeine based that can buy in chemist?

basically I'm very happy it was a migraine, as i was terrified the ear infection was coming back. However, having several migraines a month is not good when i want to return to work after a break

alltoomuchrightnow, ive just been prescribed betablockers for migraine prevention at a very low dose. if youre having that many migraines a month then you should probably think about asking to be prescribed prophylactic medication.

My migraine pattern has changed in the last couple of years and I now get migraine without headache. Eg the typical stomach upset or the intense overwhelming exhaustion and mental fuzzing or dysphoric aura - respond to treatment with a tryptan. Weird.

Just to clarify, I still get plenty of migraines with headaches!!! They have gotten longer lasting as I've got older too. Yay.

I had far, far worse migraines as a child. It was hell and I was one of the first people to ever be a guineapig for MRI scan.
They are on the whole , less painful as an adult but more frequent, especially hormonal. Have started taking liquorice root extract for hormonal ones after reading about it on MN

I'm also on preventative medication, although imigran does work for me (in prescription dose, which is higher than the one you buy over the counter). In my case we went to the preventatitves because I was having migraines for about two thirds of every month and it just wasn't sustainable. Worth talking to your GP if you're having several of the kill-me-now type every month!

I had really bad migraines after having DD1. Had to lie down in dark room with cold flannel on head and felt like my head was exploding.
Not had migraines for years now but do get bad headaches which make me feel nauseous and give me a sick feeling in my head. I wouldn't say they are as bad as the migraines were as I can still function, I do find my head drooping when they get bad and I always get a sore eye.

In response to your question about OTC medication, the strongest painkiller you can buy without a prescription is Paramol. It is the only one available OTC which contains dihydrocodeine.

Having said that, it doesn't touch my migraines. I've had great success with Triptans though (on prescription.)

have to be careful what i take as already on venlafaxine (anti depressant) and thyroxine

will ask about Triptans at docs

I'm really glad you're feeling better Alltoomuchrightnow
They are so debilitating aren't they DP had to come home from work last week as I had a migraine and couldn't look after DD. I never tried Paramol as a pp suggested. I've always found the Solpadine max soluble worked well. Just got to be careful of constipation though with it being codeine