When migraine changes its spots

Migraine is no leopard. It changes its spots all the time. And when migraine changes, life gets a bit tough.

The last three weeks have been really challenging with three consecutive severe attacks, which I can only describe as a brainstem/hemiplegic combo.

All three started out as a hemi, usual prodrome euphoria and then the eye twitch that signals it’s going to be a bad one, then the nausea, and then one of my sides goes weak. Each one of these three attacks had a pretty decent facial droop which was very inconvenient to my Migraine Awareness Month recording schedule. Migraine really is rude sometimes.

But then, just as the hemiplegia started to subside, the tell-tale buzzy headache of a brainstem attack started, nausea escalated, speech suddenly flipped from aphasia (not being able to find the words I want to say) to dysphasia (words being all slurry and sounding drunk), and I started losing consciousness intermittently.

There was an entirely new symptom of severe abdominal cramping that happened around the point where the switch from hemi to brainstem happened, just to make things a bit more fun.

I don’t know what happened. I don’t believe Aimovig stopped working – as I’m back to almost crystal clear today, and before Aimovig that wasn’t something that I got to enjoy. I have wracked my brain for what I did differently, ate differently, and even kept a diary even though I hate them.

I have so far come up with nothing, other than I need a new neurologist.

I found reverting to some of my old practices – only eating two small meals a day of fairly bland food at 11am and 4pm, only eat if I’m actually hungry, and having a sports drink for breakfast – seems to have made a fairly immediate difference for the better. This practice is also why I have a crappy metabolism and weigh far too much – which is why I stopped doing it years ago and have been much more diligent about remembering to eat. But something instinctive in me said to just listen to my body. So I did.

I don’t think I’m out of these woods yet, but I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how bloody hard it is when migraine changes its spots. It happens often, and usually just when you think you’ve figured it out.

This ain’t fun, migraine.