Question: Is this normal or even Migraine activity at all?
Answer:
Full Question:
Hi, I am a 23 year old female, and for about 3
years I have been having what the doctors call migraines. I have tried many
different medications, and nothing has worked. They start out with me getting
disoriented. Second I lose all my peripheral vision. Next my comes numbness,
first to my arms, and hands. Next my nose, cheeks, tongue, teeth, and even the
inside of my throat. The numbness sometimes lasts up to 20 minutes. After the
numbness begins to fade. That is when the pain comes, and I can't get rid of it.
In February of 2004 I had a strange episode. I was nursing my one month old. I
leaned forward to fasten my nursing bra, and suddenly I felt like someone had
stuck me with a tranquilizer. The right side of my face was completely
paralyzed, and no one could understand anything I was saying. It was pretty
strange, and it felt like it lasted forever, but the truth is it only lasted
roughly 5-7 minutes. I had a cat-scan done, but nothing was found, and the ER
doctor ruled it out as being a migraine. My question is: Is this normal, or even
migraine activity at all. Thank you for your time, and I'll be watching for your
response. Shanna.
Answer:
Dear Shanna;
You definitely need to find a Migraine specialist, as your symptoms remind me of classic Migraines although a partial workup like a CT scan often yields nothing. The ER doctor, with all due respect, may not know much about Migraines. Often very little. An MRI scan would be a better imaging test, but keep in mind that most often it, too, shows nothing. Finding appropriate medication to treat your symptoms is the key.
Hope this helps,
John Claude Krusz
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Published January 9, 2006
