When I was in high school I was on Midrin to help control my migraines, but then it was discontinued and the process to find an effective medication was so long and frustrating that I resigned myself to just drinking coke on a regular basis for the rest of my life. And that has pretty much been my life since October 2009 (When midrin was discontinued.)
Recently the addiction to coke has become a bit much to the point that I contemplated going through the process of finding another daily medication to help control them, but the initial process was so awful I never made the push to do so.
Until this month.
Thursday the 11th we were driving up to Provo to go visit Shaun's brother Chad. But with the recent rains I-15 had been completely washed out and we were facing a 100+ mile detour.
We had driven about 45 minutes out of town and I was smack dab in the middle of a migraine. I had felt it coming on, and had stopped to get a coke in hopes that it would nip it in the bud and I could continue driving. The coke was unsuccessful. I knew it was going to be a bad one, when I had finished my coke and my migraine had gone from just starting to full blown.
I ended up calling my dad at 11:47 am to reminisce with him of sorts, since I know he gets migraines similar to me. I have since learned that they are called auras. But I called to complain to him as I drove about how I couldn't really see. When I was younger I thought something was wrong with my eyes that caused the migraines, as I'd get 'blind spots' and then migraines, only to find out that the 'blind spots' were actually part of the migraines. I was having Shaun read me the road signs so we didn't miss our detour. Looking back, we should have switched driving then, Oops. As we got into our detour the pain got so bad I asked Shaun to take over. It went down hill from there.
I sent a text to my friend at 1:03 desperate for help. We were in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't speak coherently. When I started my text to her, I couldn't feel or move three fingers on my right hand, by the time it took for me to finish my whole arm was limp and numb.
I was desperately trying to communicate to Shaun what I was experiencing but I literally couldn't form words. Shaun told me for a long time I kept saying "Par" and he would repeat it, and I would as him to spell it, then ask him what he was spelling.
He and I have talked since that I was probably trying to say "stroke," golf being the connection, but that was as close as my brain could get. I thought I was having a stroke.
In an hour I went from just having a normal migraine with some visual disturbances to not being able to move or feel my arm, or be able to communicate.
I had a few moments of lucidity where I asked Shaun to find help. I needed to see a doctor. I was in so much pain, I held my empty coke cup to my face in fear I would puke any second, I couldn't open my eyes because it was too bright outside, the radio was too loud, the air was too cold. Shaun wanted to call an ambulance. I didn't think I was dying, so I said no. We found a State Park Ranger (our detour was through the Valley of Fire) and asked if there was any medical personnel on staff. There wasn't. He wanted to call an ambulance. I kept shaking my head "no." He told us of an urgent care 30 min up the road. I thought I could survive until then.
During those 30 min I started speaking in tongues again, (my description of it) and Shaun started speeding.
We made it to the urgent care, and they were closed. I remember there being a sign on the door. But I don't remember if Shaun told me why they were closed.
Our options then became, 1) call an ambulance 2) continue to mesquite, to the closest ER. I figured we could save ourselves the ambulance co-pay and drive ourselves there, since I wasn't dying.
We got to the ER (after choosing option 2) I was somewhat lucid, could mostly move my arm, but my lip and eyebrow was numb. They got us back immediately, thank heavens.
Shaun explained everything to the first nurse, but the doctor pretty much insisted that I fumble my way through it. Interrupting me every 3rd word to ask me another question before I could finish answering the one he had just asked.
Finally he stopped asking me questions and started berating me for not being on a daily migraine medicine.
He then stepped out to call my doctor in Vegas, came back with a different attitude.
He hooked me up to an IV, morphine, zofran for the nausea, and orders for a CT scan to make sure that I didn't have any actual brain damage.
The first kind person we encountered in the ER was the CT tech, when he came in to get me, Shaun was leaning over my head to help muffle sounds and block as much light as possible. Shaun explained that I was having a horrible migraine and some of the other things I was experiencing, this kind kind soul, went and got me two towels to put over my head. At first I thought it was a bit of overkill. Two?! But I soon realized how lovely the two towels were and how nearly bearable they made noise and light. He was a saint.
CT scan came back clean, thank heavens, I didn't have an actual stroke, I was told I had a sporadic hemiplegic migraine. A migraine that mimics a stroke.
They gave me more morphine. And monitored me for a while longer. The Dr contemplated keeping me overnight, but since I wasn't speaking in tongues for him, and I wanted to leave, I got to leave.
I was prescribed a narcotic. And sent on my way. (With instructions to return to the nearest ER if it got bad again)
On the way out of the ER the first nurse asked me if I was feeling better, I was too out of it and still in too much pain to respond, jerk DR was right there and responded for me "Yeah, she's doing better."
"I think."
We only made it as far as Saint George, UT that night. Where we stayed at a hotel, I ate an ice cream sandwich, took a pain killer, and slept, for a long time.
It literally took me days to feel like I could think and talk normally again. I'm not sure I have felt more fragile in my entire life as I have in the days following.
I have since met with my Doctor here in Vegas, whom I LOVE, and he has prescribed me a daily medicine to try to help control my migraines in hopes that I never have one like this again.
I read this article tonight which sparked my desire to write this post. I was shocked how much the first half of her article was similar to my experience. The article is about a lady who as a stroke at 33.
She writes: " I tried to join my friends’ conversation, but the words were too fast, the subject matter switching all the time. I opened my mouth to add something, but I couldn’t form the words. We went out for fondue. I don’t remember if I ate the fondue.
This was what I blogged that evening in an attempt to communicate what I was experiencing:
I am feeling strange. My brain is in a weird state right now — a combination of short brain games and lack of memory. While taking on the concept of a brain game earlier today, I suffered a memory overhaul. Now I can’t say what I want to say or remember what I want to remember. It’s just a weird situation."
That is exactly how I felt.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am that this experience is over. I remember thinking we needed to pull over and I needed to get a blessing, but all I could communicate to Shaun was pulling the car over. He pulled over, parked and then didn't understand what to do next. It was insanely scary. I am so glad that my words work now! I am so glad I am not in that amount of pain any more.
I have a huge amount of sympathy for stroke survivors. I cannot imagine having to deal with what I dealt with on an ongoing basis. I have also heard of people who have hemiplegic migraines that last for YEARS. Years. I cannot imagine. I am so glad, so so so glad mine only lasted for the 5 hrs or so it did.
I am also so insanely grateful that I didn't actually have a stroke. Some one, please, tell my husband to not listen to me in emergency situations. Looking back I cannot imagine how much worse I would have made things by refusing to call an ambulance if I was actually having a stroke. My dear husband.
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