Migraine Mayhem!

I would like to start by saying that the fact that my primary care clinic has Saturday appointments ROCKS!  It is so much more convenient than having to schedule time off of work to go see my doctor. Way to go Ypsilanti Family Medicine!

As you might have guess by my oh so subtle title, I had a bit of migraine mayhem this week, at least I really hope it is migraine mayhem and not some other nasty lurking in the shadows. I was having a very nice, normal week.  I was eating well, getting my runs in, getting plenty of rest and with the exception of yesterday I wasn't dealing with much stress beyond the usual stress of being alive and a working adult. However, I had a very strange episode, for lack of a better word, on Thursday.

I was sitting all by myself in the EKG lab when the entire right side of my body went completely numb. I'm talking from the top on my head to the very tips of my toes.  Even my throat was numb.  I was hesitant to stand up because I wasn't sure if I was going to be dizzy or not.  After a brief moment of head spinning I was able to walk up to the clinic. I had full control of my body, I just couldn't feel anything other than an incredibly strong tingle. I felt my pulse and it was strong, steady and regular and our MA told me that she didn't see any drooping in my face. It took about 5 minutes and the tingling stopped and the numbness subsided. I felt fine other than a low grade headache, a bit of shakiness and some mild visual distortions (which I get when I have my migraines).

I honestly wasn't terribly concerned about the event and chalked it up to increasing neurological symptoms of my headaches. However, when I told my sister what happened she flipped out on me. She called me an idiot and told me that if I died in my sleep because I had a stroke or aneurysm she would never forgive me.  I wasn't quite ready to jump to all of the wrong conclusions yet so I called Tasha for a second opinion. I figured she loves me and she's a nurse so I can get a family member/medical professional opinion. While she didn't feel strongly that I should have gone to  the ED (did you know it's not the ER anymore??) she did advise me to make an appointment with my PCP.

I had my appointment this morning and the conclusion was what I thought it would be.  Because I have good blood pressure, I don't and have never smoked or used smokeless tobacco, exercise regularly and try to eat well, the odds that I had a stroke or even a transient ischemic attack, are very low. Yes, I have a strong family history in my mom but as Dr. Velez said, 'your mom is another beast,' meaning the fact that she smoked and had a severe vascular disease as a direct result of that habit doesn't really increase my risk of stroke. She didn't recommend imaging at this time but she said she'd leave it to me if I want a neurology consult.  I think for now I'll probably leave it; if the symptoms return or get worse I'll get in to see a specialist.