Pegasus, I love your comments.... Pegasus, I love your comments....I have a question for all of you though, my doc put me on an increased dose of a beta-blocker, actually he doubled my dosage- now I'm on 20 mg of Inderol 3 times a day. And that does help prevent them from coming, but...1) The dosage that high makes my pulse rate and blood pressure so low that I'm exhausted and light-headed. Has this happened to you? and 2) He never prescribed anything for the pain when the migraine manages to come anyway some days...I end up popping Ibuprofen 4 at a time, 3-4 hours apart, until the pain eases. There must be an easier way...I am going to ask my GP to prescribe something for the pain. And I've noticed something kind of weird... 
I have auras and light sensitivity that can last for days at a time, and I end up having to wear sunglasses indoors (my kids think this is actually cool, lol) and I have sound sensitivity, but the strangest thing, I smell things that nobody else in the house notices. And these little "clues" I get in the auras and sensitivities precede the actual pain of the migraine by days or hours... and will hang on after the pain is gone... The smell thing drives me nuts though. Does this happen to any of you?? 
I have auras and light sensitivity that can last for days at a time, and I end up having to wear sunglasses indoors (my kids think this is actually cool, lol) and I have sound sensitivity, but the strangest thing, I smell things that nobody else in the house notices. And these little "clues" I get in the auras and sensitivities precede the actual pain of the migraine by days or hours... and will hang on after the pain is gone... The smell thing drives me nuts though. Does this happen to any of you?? Have a good day, all, and hopefully, no pain....
cntrygrl
Cntrygrl-
I just spent 2 hours typing this nice long post and it got deleted right before I submitted...I have a good one for you...will post tomorrow!
Good night!!!
Frustrated in Kentucky,
Sara 
Sara-Migraine/Headache Forum Moderator
Thanks for Visiting HealingWell.com
Howdy,
My names Jess and my dad justhad a health scare, we all thought he had a stroke. We all thought the doctor had gone bonkas when he said my father had a "Migriane Aura" as he didnt have a headache. we all came home from the doctors and i started researching ad came across "Hemiplegic Migraines with Aura" and it had all the symptoms that my dad suffered, i then started to agree with the doctor about his diagnosis. he had a brain scan a few days ago and we are getting the results tomorrow but the doctors said when he was getting it done they seemed clear. If they are clear he must have this disorder if noting else shows up.
He suffered with:(all on his left side)
- numbness and tingling all down his left side which came about five minutes after the AURA and vertigo.
- dizziness
since then its been like 3 days and his left side that was affected has been heavy and sore and a bit tingly around lips ,etc and he has been lathargic.
Im not sure whats going on lol.
Ive been researching quite a bit and this is the closest thing to what my dad experienced.
any thoughts?
-Jess
Very possibly Hemiplegic Migraine...Have you had a chance to read about this yet???
I will gather info and post it here in the next day or so...I have such a bad on today if I put the info here it wouldn't be coherent...sorry!
Try not too be too scared for your dad. Very often migraines will "look" like strokes from their symptoms-Especially with the numbness and things going on with one side of the body.
Be comforted with the fact that lots of people have Migraine Auras without the actual head pain...which might be what your father had...
Keep us posted? I would like to know how things are going!
Sara
Sara-Migraine/Headache Forum Moderator
Thanks for Visiting HealingWell.com
Hey Sara, Thanx.
Well he got his scan results back today and they were clear but the symptoms are still the same and th doctor thinks it may be sumting else so he is making my dad see a neurologist within 30 days... but if it is this migraine the doctor said it will not show up on the MRI scan which he will be getting done A.S.A.P...
If its not this migraine the doctor said to my dad and mother it will most probably be minute thingo in his brain like a clot maybe or somehing, i am not quite sure but im really worried.
:S:S:S:S
I'm glad you found this site, Jess. I understand why you're so worried. Waiting for tests to get done and then waiting to get the results of those tests can be so hard. I imagine that your Dad could use some hugs from you while he's waiting. Your Mom's worried, too. Stay close. You'll get through this together. And keep in touch with us here.
Sara will be giving you some more details soon.
~~Pegasis 
well my boyfriend suffers from hemeplegic migraines so i know a little bit about this type and i know that they can be pretty scary for a person i someone they know i having one of there migraines and they are not familar with the migraine they can have serious mistreatments since the symptoms resembles a stroke.
my boy friend is on medication to prevent his migraines which is anitrypline 100mgs at bedtime then when he actually get his migraines he swicthes off every two hours from midrn and foiricet. the midrin usually gets the edge of enough so he can get home before his body shuts down completly.
the anatrypline works really well for him to the point he only gets migraines rarely and since he has been suffering from these since he was little he can recognize the signs early enough to get to his medication.
~Dink~
my boy friend is on medication to prevent his migraines which is anitrypline 100mgs at bedtime then when he actually get his migraines he swicthes off every two hours from midrn and foiricet. the midrin usually gets the edge of enough so he can get home before his body shuts down completly.
the anatrypline works really well for him to the point he only gets migraines rarely and since he has been suffering from these since he was little he can recognize the signs early enough to get to his medication.
~Dink~
Hey guys, it's me Jessikah.
Still nothing from the doctor's concerning my dad. The medical system in Australia truly sucks they havent even booked an appointment with a nuerologist yet and my mum keeps basically doing their job for them booking the doctor's appointments and transferring information it is so ridiculous.
His numbness has gone now but where it was he occasionally gets a strange feeling and stuff. Still not quite sure on what is actually wrong with him. Atm we are thinking it might be a brain tumor or stroke, but, the MRI scan may come up clear so i do not know. This is soo frustrating. GRRRRR stupid doctors, i mean this could be serious like life or death ( i think i am over reacting) and the hospital is so lazy and slack.
Hi Jessikah,
I'm sorry to hear about the trouble your family is having with your medical system. I live in Canada and we have similar problems. Here we don't die because we can't afford medical care we die because we're waiting for care. I don't know anything about your system, but one thing that works here is the Emergency Room, though you can end up waiting for a long time. If your dad were to get worse or new symptoms were to emerge could he go to the Emergency Room to be treated? That way you would know that it's not a stroke or blood clot.
I don't know that any country has figured out proper medical care.
Coquitlam55 (aka Nicky)
"The world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." --Helen Keller
I try and remember this each day I have a headache that I'm not sure I can overcome.
I'm really paying attention to the communications about the government sponsored medical care in some countries. In the United States some people are really trying hard to get something of that nature started here. Those of us who have been dependents of military personel, who get "free" medical care because of this, know that free medical care means you have to wait a long, long time to get the care.
Whoops. This is not proper use of the forum. 
I might get bleeped.
But I felt like saying it anyway! 
~~Pegasis
P.S. (Now that there have been so many base closures, there is no where to go to get that free care anymore, so we have to pay for the insurance so we can go to doctors on their list and pay co-payments and wait for authorizations to see other doctors, just like everybody else.)
Hello,
Having worked in the US and Canada but always been a resident of Canada its something I've discussed with many people and struggle with. As Canadians we tout the benefits of our "socialized" medical system and the fact that everyone get care but the type of care is scary. I get to spend 10 minutes with my neurologist every 3 months - lucky me. Even if I wanted to, or could afford it, I can't pay to see him longer or see another neurologist for longer. The original waiting list for the neurologist is 3 to 6 months if you're lucky. It's crazy. I haven't had an MRI or CAT scan. The neurologist does visual tests, and has me touch my nose, takes a history and is sure I don't have a tumor plus an MRI or CAT would take years to happen.
I read about those of you with the huge doctor and hospital bills and I'm thankful I don't have them. I'm also thankful that my husband's and my extended health coverage covers all of our prescriptions or we wouldn't be able to afford them and when I needed time off work my disability insure from work continued to pay me. At a certain money point the government kicks in and starts paying for my prescriptions and somehow that means our medication costs are lower than in the US (I'm not sure why), and that's another benefit.
I guest there are plusses and minuses to all types of coverage.
Coquitlam55 (aka Nicky)
"The world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." --Helen Keller
I try and remember this each day I have a headache that I'm not sure I can overcome.
Hey its jess again.
dad got it again and we rung an ambulance, now they think its either Multiple Sclerosis or This migraine. The doctor said its most probably not MS and she is swaying towards the migraine.
My dad has been booked in for an MRI on monday. the docors are now certain he hasn't had a stroke o anything like that, ill keep you all posted
and yes all the medical systems are screwed up!!!!!! grr
Hi Jessikah,
I'm sorry to hear that your dad is still having problems. When you mentioned MS I went back and looked at his symptoms and you may want to post a message on the MS forum. My step-mother has MS and your dad's symptoms sound very similar. I can't believe I didn't think of it before. The good news is that they might have medication to give him to slow the progress if it is. The bad news is the end result. The MRI should give a good indication of MS.
Good luck! Either way I hope they find out what's wrong.
Nicky
________________________________________________________________________________
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. Buddha
Hey guys
the scan results are back
there were 2 lesions on his brain so they are pretty sure he has MS. but htey have to take further tests t clarify it.
My dad seems to be taking this bad, although he seems to be fine i can tell he isn't, i think he may be depressed. I wish there was something i could do to help, but in the end we have to leave it in the hands of the doctors. :)
he is seeing a neurologist on the 1st of november. the waiting list is long thatis why he has to wait so long.
thanx guys for ur support through this it hs helped alot.
cheers.
Jess
Hi Jessikah,
Hang in there! The good news is that you're close to a diagnosis. Check out the MS forum. The group there is great. I go there sometimes because my stepmom has it.
Depression is a common side effect / symptom of MS, psychological counselling is recommended and can be helped. Depending on the type of MS he has there may be medications that he can take to slow the progression of symptoms.
The positive side - if you can see one right now - is that he's not likely to die of MS like he could of a stroke or heart disease, he will lose his mobility but you will still have the man you love with you. They have made many advances in MS in the past many years.
In case you're seeking any unsolicited advice be there for him, ask him what he needs and reassure him of your love. Talk about it as much or as little as he wants. My stepmom has had MS for 20 years but its only recently started to get worse. She doesn't like to talk about it but has been a lot more lately. Whenever she does we're as supportive as possible.
I've heard yoga, swimming and generally any movement is good to keep the body moving.
I will add my email address to my profile so that you can click on my email icon next to my name if you'd like to email me personally for some support. Watching a parent go through something like this is hard.
Nicky
________________________________________________________________________________
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. Buddha
im so sorry no one has written on here for so long! ive been looking for a current hemiplegic migraine forum to join- as i have suffered with these for almost 3 yrs now. it is reassuring that i have found im not alone with these, so thanks to all who have written in. i am now 35. i have had regular monthly migraines with an aura for as long as i can remember relating to time of menses. 3 years ago i was perfectly fine one minute, and the next had lost vision out of my right eye. i had no idea what was going on. my vision came back after around 30 minutes and although i felt strange thought i was fine. i left to go to the store and realized that i could only read sections of the lable on the product i was trying to buy. letters were missing and i began to become anxious at that point. i tried to ask for my regular brand of cigarettes and became confused. i forgot what it was called and had trouble finding and getting the words out. a few minutes later the head pain hit and was horrible along with severe nausea.later my right side began to feel numb with weakness. once at the hospital a stroke was ruled out by cat scan and an imitrex shot given which did not help at all. this episode lasted i believe for about 2 weeks during which time i saw my regular doctor many times.all kinds of tests were done and normal including an MRA, carotid dopplar, heart echo etc. you name it. the only thing that helped the pain was stadol.i was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraine with psycho motor effects. these have continued for 3 years now on and off. i have tried all types of meds- blood pressure, antiinflamitorys, lamictal, antidepressants, muscle relaxers, vicodin, you name it.the only thing that has helped some is fioricet. this will not take away the worst ones, but i have gotten relief from less severe ones. this is a combo of caffeine, barbituates, and tylenol. for severe i still need to go to the hospital. i am taking an aspirin daily and a muscle relaxer at night for prevention. the doc says these type of migraines are caused by vasospasms in the muscles of the blood vessels in your brain which is why the muscle relaxer helps. the other thing my doc says is to take the fioricet right away cause the longer i wait the harder it will be to control. the hemiplegic migraines have decreased to only a few times a year now instead of almost contant, so hope this helps someone.
so sorry bethuk. so yours started all the sudden also? no one understands the definition of panic better than someone with hemiplegic migraines that is unable to speak properly etc. it terrifies me every time it happens. youre right its easy to get depressed just because its so frustrating!! i hope eventually they will find a cause and a cure. meanwhile we just have to hang in there and try to educate people about it and stay positive. i went through a long period of depression when it first started happening to me and the migraines were constant. now that they are less frequent like yours i think it is some easier to accept. its still hard when you dont know when you are going to be totally debilitated and for how long again! good luck to you
bethunk im so sorry you are having a migraine 
! what type of painkillers are you using for it? have you ever tried stadol (pronounced stay-doll) or fioricet? stadol is an opiate nasal spray-very powerful. it is the ONLY thing i have found that when i have a severe attack will COMPLETELY wipe out the pain. now when it wears off it may still be there. i dont know about you, but to me even a few hours of relief i can get i will take when its that bad! also if i have to take the stadol i cant work etc on it, since it makes you very sleepy/high. usually if im having a hemiplegic migraine episode im unable to work anyways though, so that shouldnt be a factor- if you get to where you can't function like i do, and i assume you do. if you have not tried this please ask your doctor about it. it really makes a difference! it is highly addictive so you do not want to use it too much, but when a whopper hits it makes all the difference in the world for me. i hope you feel better! by the way do you think the bloodpressure medication really helps to prevent the migraines? just wondering if anyone does. i dont have high blood pressure, but the doc has tried a few diferent kinds of b/p meds with me for migraine prevention and none have helped. matter of fact it made me very ill when i was on them. also do you have compazine or anything for the nausea that goes along with the miraine? that works excellent for me, and my doc says that can actually help with the migraine as well as the nausea.
also i am so glad people have written in about how dangerous triptans like imitrex etc r for us with hemiplegics. i never knew! did know that they DO NOT help me, but the increasing the possibililty of stroke is awful, (stroke is my biggest fear), so im totally avoiding those now! i also want to say to those of you on topamax if it is helping you that is wonderful and i would take whatever works BUT be careful with that med. it is really AWFUL!!!! i work with a seizure patient who was started on that, and it did so much damage to her! caused increased brain damage she is no longer able to do a lot of things she used to do-even after stopping the drug years ago damage remains. it put her into a constant seizure instead of decreasing them. after seeing what it did to her i would NEVER go on it. it is a horrible medication very dangerous, so just please be aware of that.
bethunk best of luck with your doctor visit, or have you already went? Fioricet is actually for tension headaches or migraines caused from stress. it will help relax you and those muscles that get tight in the back of your neck etc, so i hops your doc will try you on it at least! i dont know why it also usually works on my hemiplegic migraines unless it's a bad one it won't. i've also been through the doctor telling me my headaches are stress related from my stressful job, but i don't buy that. yes that can make it worse, but i've had plenty of migraines when i feel no stress at all!
liz what happened?why are people not wanting you on here? you seem pretty nice to me and havent said anything wrong. im glad your blood pressure is doing better. you sound like you are under a lot of stress. i just started physical therapy for a back injury 3 weeks ago and working out - just even simple stuff is really helping me with stress a lot 
! i was surprised but makes me feel much better. my headaches have been doing ok lately. no big ones, but had a nagging migraine last night that made me nauseated. took my compazine though and went to sleep. luckily it went away.I'm dreading my next big hemiplegic migraine cause i'm out of meds for it, and have no $ or insurance to go to the doctor. I'm going to have to go to the hospital when that happens. just hope it holds off for a while! good luck to you liz. you seem like a great person. don't let others get to you so much k.
! i was surprised but makes me feel much better. my headaches have been doing ok lately. no big ones, but had a nagging migraine last night that made me nauseated. took my compazine though and went to sleep. luckily it went away.I'm dreading my next big hemiplegic migraine cause i'm out of meds for it, and have no $ or insurance to go to the doctor. I'm going to have to go to the hospital when that happens. just hope it holds off for a while! good luck to you liz. you seem like a great person. don't let others get to you so much k.