Migraine with many visual and speech problems

Hi, @taiylort - Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

I'm terribly sorry to hear you are experiencing these symptoms with feeling like your brain is melting, you are having vision loss and stuttering issues. As I also work a professional job, I can imagine how that might cause issues at work.

I'm assuming at this point you have been talking to your primary care doctor about these symptoms? Did the doctor give you a diagnosis at this point?

@lisalucier I talked to my doctor and all he said to do was to take something OTC. I asked for a referral for more testing but was always declined. Just feeling lost

Hi, @taiylort - I can understand you'd feel lost if you were experiencing stuttering, vision loss and feeling like your brain is melting with your migraines and your doctor told you to take something OTC and declined a referral for more testing.

Tagging a few more members of the Mayo Clinic Connect Headache & Migraine support group who may have some thoughts on these symptoms you've had with your migraines that are starting to cause problems at work. Please meet @jprj @dcain01 @jdp3 @thisfatoldlady @loupy @eastbaydave @guderianj @hemichill.

taiylort - did you end up taking something over-the-counter like the doctor suggested, then? If so, did it help at all? If not, what are you thinking of doing next to deal with your symptoms?

I'm so sorry. My main recommendation - find a new primary. You are not being listened to. You have severe symptoms. This sounds like a healthcare professional who is over their head and won't admit it. Or next time you are in the throes of a bad attack, head to the ER. Anything to get some appropriate help. I wish you well.

@lisalucier I take the OTC every time and it doesn't help at all. I don't know what else to do at this point, just feeling lost and wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences.

@lacy2 They happen during the migraine. sometimes also a few days before hand I notice them and that how I know I will end up having one at some point in the next 24-48 hours.

I experience slurred speech, double vision, hallucinations, ice pick in an eye, zig zag lines, odd smells, nausea, stiff neck, confusion (the list can go on & on) during migraines with head pain and silent migraines without head pain.

It's like the circus has come to town.

My primary now prescribes topiramate (topamax), an older seizure med approved as a migraine preventative around 2004 which my insurance will pay for.

I still get migraines but they're milder and shorter without the wild circus show.

It often takes persistence to get primaries AND specialists to listen. They become numb to what they hear as another "headache".

I find bringing brief updates and questions and before they can start talking, ask if I can have one minute of their time. This puts you in the position of being your own advocate.

Good luck and don't give up!

@taiylort This doctor is not serving you well at all. OTC doesn't help with migraine. Can you contact a neurologist? One who specializes in migraine? My first neuro put me on maintenance after seeing him a couple of times and stopped trying to find ways to help me. I now have a neuro who continues to hang in there with me and prescribe different Rx for both preventive and abortive. I don't know if you are experiencing dizziness but at book on Vestibular Migraine by Shin C. Beh helped me tremendously. Also lots of free articles on VeDA Vestibular Disorders Association that also includes migraine.

I am sorry to hear how much you are suffering with headaches. I have had migraine h/a's since the age of 9 that I can remember. I am now turning 67 in April. The medications have changed but the symptoms vary. Some people get migraines with aura and some without. All this really means is your body has certain signals that it is a migraine such as fogginess in your vision, light sensitivity, nausea and your sense of hearing is hypersensitive. I am sure there are plenty of other symptoms because there are different causes for migraines like. menstrual cycle, stress, and even barometric pressure. You can have more than one of these causes mine for the past 20 years has been stress and barometric pressure. I am not a doctor but have had enough migraine h/a's to know those symptoms you have need to be addressed. I never had the stuttering problems until I found out I had Parkinson's. The loss of vision might be something with your retinal but still can be partial with a migraine the pain is so intense I can not move open my eyes from the pain or listen to any sound without extreme nausea and pain. I would continue to search for answers have your eyes checked and maybe they can refer you to a specialist. They can do diagnostic tests to check the retina and look for any abnormalities you might not be aware of.

I have had migraines for many years. About three weeks ago, I had my first migraine that disturbed my spatial vision, my speech, and inability to swallow.
They treated me for a stroke, but due to a negative MRI, decided that it wasn't a stroke, but a Hemiplegic Migraine. I was given no information, no treatment, no prevention. This was extremely scary for me! I am still looking for answers.