Well after a vast amount of tests ENT Balance, MRI and bloods. ENT has come back with definate balance problem due to Mirgraine!!! Can Mirgraine cause these sympttoms that we all talk about?
Stiffness and heavy arms and legs, vision probs, I know Vertigo and Balance probs yes, but the stiffness and heavy chronic pain, not sure. So confused .
Jan x
Hi Jan, I think it unlikely that migraine would be the cause of the symptoms you describe.
Have you had the results of blood tests MRI yet? If no, I would wait and see what shows up on those.
Have you got another appointment with neuro?
Sorry more questions than answers, but I agree that the migraine dx doesn’t really add up.
Take care and hope you get some more answers soon,
Pat x
Hi Pat, The MRI came back non specific, spoke to my GP and will see her on 16th Oct. Had ENT tests caloric test and GP told me found balance problem due to mirgraine!!! I have not got blood results back, have been off work nearly a yr and I am suffering from vision problems, balance, memory loss, stiffness and heavy arms, legs and my fingers ache so much.
Just do not know what is going on.
Jan x
Hi Jan,
Interesting!!! And I am sure really confusing. I think I mentioned to you in one of your other posts that migraine could cause white blobs on MRI?
Well, some types of migraine can also cause symptoms very similar to MS or to a stroke as well.
I have MS and I also have a rare form of migraine called hemiplegic migraine. Complicates the Hell out of my life I can tell you 
Hemiplegic migraine is characterised by neurologic symptoms and sometimes the migraine sufferer doesn’t even get a headache!!! Though more often they do. The neurologic symptoms can range from numbness and weakness usually down one side through to complete paralysis of one side of the body.
Symptoms of hemiplegic migraine include:
· Severe, throbbing pain, often on one side of your head
· A pins-and-needles feeling, often moving from your hand up your arm
· Numbness on one side of your body, which can include your arm, leg, and/or one side of your face
· Weakness or paralysis on one side of your body
· Loss of balance and coordination
· Visual aura, such as seeing zigzag lines, double vision, or blind spots
· Language difficulties, such as mixing words or trouble remembering a word
· Slurred speech
· Dizziness or vertigo
· Nausea and vomiting
· Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and smell
· Confusion
· Decreased consciousness or coma
With hemiplegic migraine, the aura can be more severe and last longer than with other types of migraine with aura. Symptoms usually last from five minutes to one hour. It’s rare, but some people gradually develop long-lasting difficulty with movement and coordination.
Usually the symptoms wear off after several hour to days but on occasions last longer. The main differences between MS and hemiplegic migraine are where in the brain the white blobs are found and their distribution. And also the neurological signs that the neuro finds on clinical exam will be different in MS. In hemiplegic migraine there will be as I said one sided weakness or paralysis during an attack but in MS there will often be changes to certain reflexes that won’t be there in migraine.
The on going nature of your pain could well be because you are having repeated attacks of migraine and are suffering horribly. I really, really hope for your sake it is hemiplegic migraine and not MS. There are super effective medicines that will treat this and you can get your life back on track. Whereas with MS as you know it tends to have a less rosy prognosis. Also with migraine stress and anxiety can definitely worsen and exacerbate the situation and worrying about having MS will be adding to the vicious cycle. You also mentioned not wanting got return to your job at the Nursery in another post.
Maybe this would be a good time to ask your GP for a referral to a good counsellor to help you learn some stress management techniques to assist controlling the migraines and to help you explore what you do want to do if not the Nursery work?
I am so glad it is looking less like MS. Now you need to ask your GP for a referral to neurologist who specialises in migraine management because hemiplegic migraine is a serious condition in its own right and needs carful and correct treatment.
Here are some other links for hemiplegic migraine
http://hemiplegicmigraine.org/
http://www.migrainetrust.org/factsheet-hemiplegic-migraine-10913
All the best and good luck,
Belinda
Thanks Belinda,
I started with a really horride headache last Nov, and just could hardly keep my head up. I was sent home from work, and on the weekend was the start of what I thought was vertigo. Spent nearly 2mths in bed, just could not do anything. So tired and hot!!! I slept like a baby all day and nite!!!
My poor family husband and kids just were left without a wife and mum…Come Jan 2012 I started to feel alittle better, went back to work, I did 1 day 8am- 5pm, came home and with 3 teenagers who have totally different personalilites,2 girls & 1 boy…All I will say is its difficult!!!
Next morning didnt feel so good, no headache just felt very tired and tearful, got ready took kids to school, I was in a panic while driving to school, I remember dropping them off, and driving to work.By the this time I was crying and was not coping at all. Ended up in a car park and all I can say is I had what I think was some kind of breakdown!!!
Phoned GP, and then went home my husband asked me why was I home I told him I can cope with how I am and how things are at home. We talked, I was put on anti-depressants, and things started to pick up. Had some counselling, and seamed fine. Went back to work in April only for the dizzyness, vertigo and headaches to come back super fast…Head felt like it was full of cotton wool, ringing in my ears, just not feeling very good at all.
Went back to GP felt he did not listen to me, told him about memory loss,fatigue, stiffness in my arms, legs and fingers.Sharp horride shooting pain in my back, sciatica…He was not really concerned.
Changed GP, my headaches were coming back, even turning my head it would hurt. MRI scan, Non Specific, ENT is some balance issues due to mirgraine…Thats what my life has been like for the past 11mths…
Jan x
Wow! What a brilliantly informative reply Belinda! And here was I going to just say that migraine can cause all sorts of symptoms and nonspecific lesions, lol! Jan - this is definitely something to follow up with an expert. Wouldn’t it be incredible if some preventative meds could give you your life back?! Fingers crossed! Karen x
Was typing as you were posting Jan - that first episode in November sounds exactly like a really bad migraine attack! If you are anywhere near London I can recommend a wonderful migraine specialist neuro. I saw him earlier this year and he was brilliant. Kx
Hi Jan,
I agree with Karen. The November headache sounds like the beginning of this horrendous bout of migraine attacks. Never under estimate how debilitating very severe migraines can be.
Please, please get a referral to a migraine specialist and let’s hope this is the beginning of a new beginning for you.
All the very best,
Belinda xx
Thanks everyone, I am at ENT clinic next Tuesday so will see what happens…Just a living nightmare, feel I am hitting a brick wall all the time!!!
Jan xxx
ENT can’t help - you need to see a migraine neuro. Your GP can refer you. Kx
I second what Karen said. This is not an ENT area. This a neuro area but you need to see a neuro specialising in migraine management.
B xx
Ok thanks so glad you all can help and give advice, just a very slow progress.
Jan xx
Hi Belinda,
I hope you don’t mind me asking but how long do your HM attack last for??
I was admitted to hospital March 1st with suspected stroke but thankfully CT scan came back clear. I was diagnosed the following day with HM. But since then I haven’t regained full feeling in my left side. It’s feels cold, numb and heavy.
I went back to my neurologist yesterday, she is sending me for an MRI and lumber puncture to rule out MS.
I feel tired and exhausted, I struggle remembering words and have since started stuttering occasionally. Work is becoming hard and I don’t feel like anyone understands what I am going through. They just all expect me to keep going. Working, running around after 3 children with kids clubs every night. The frustration of struggling is so hard. 
Hi Bear7,
I think you’ve replied to an old thread but thanks for doing so … the excellent description by Brog64 (Belinda) in her reply, has finally given a name to the specific type of migraine which I myself experience… Hemiplegic Migraine - Thankfully, I only tend to get around 1 or 2 attacks per year these days but used to have them every few weeks when at school (long time ago!). I thought it must be a tumour or something at the time, so didn’t mention it! - then later, when hearing about someone recovering from a stroke - I began to believe they were mini strokes. Eventually, I did find out that my mother (MS sufferer), and her mother (Parkinson’s sufferer), had them too from an early age.
Mine used to last about an hour -til it had gone all round the body, starting with the eyes (virtual blindness) and tongue, then down the arms, hands legs and feet - words not making sense and when you try to speak … gobbledegook - as you’ll know!. I’d usually get back to relative normality by the next day - sooner, if able to get in a dark room while having the attack.
I can totally understand your worry, as your symptoms do seem to be continuing when the HM isn’t active. Everyone is different though, with MS and migraine, so I do hope the MRI and LP give you some more insight at least, into what’s causing all your symptoms. Best wishes, Chris