More Adventures in Personal Health: Complex migraine with aura

Do you know what this is? I didn't either, until Wednesday.

As far as I know, I've never had a migraine before. I assumed that migraines are simply a really bad headache, although I knew other symptoms like nausea and light sensitivity can also play a role. But I've never been one to suffer from chronic headaches; the worst headache I've ever had was the spinal headache I had following my epidural when Lucas was born.

So on Wednesday, when I suddenly lost half the sight in the right eye, and the other half was nearly taken over by a blinking, zebra-striped light, I had no idea was happening. So I did what anyone my age would do -- I googled it.

Only when the results came up, I couldn't read them. Not that I could see the words or make them out -- I literally could not understand the words on the page. Only if I went very slowly and picked out each word one at a time could I decipher them, and even then I couldn't make the whole sentence make sense. At this point I got pretty scared and called Brandon. It was also difficult for me to talk clearly, find the correct words, and make myself understood, and about half of what Brandon said to me sounded like gibberish.

Loss of vision and inability to speak or understand words -- I had no idea that these are symptoms of a complex migraine with aura. I figured I must be dying of a stroke or something equally dire. I made Brandon come home and take me to the hospital. Just as we arrived, my vision loss and "transient aphasia" (the technical term for the understanding words thing) were fading and being replaced by nausea and headache that lasted for about 24 hours. The doctors checked me out just in case and I even had my first head CT scan, but the official diagnosis was complex ocular migraine.

I admit I feel a little silly for going to the ER for a headache, but if this happens in the future at least I'll be more aware of what is happening to me and be able to remain calm. I'm also going to follow up with my regular doctor to see if we can track down triggers or preventative measures in case this becomes something that happens to me more regularly. Hopefully it won't! The aphasia in particular was extremely unsettling.

Oh, and if you really do think you are having a stroke, do these three things: 1) Smile, 2) Stick out your tongue, and 3) Raise both arms above your head. If you are having trouble doing anything of these things, call an ambulance rather than waiting for your husband to drive home from work to pick you up. Other symptoms of complex migraine with aura are weakness, numbness, dizziness/vertigo, confusion, and loss of body control/paralysis. These symptoms can precede any head pain.