Hemiplegic migraines?

Hi, I am new to this board and am seeking answers. About 6 years ago I woke up in the middle of the night with numbness and tingling on the right side of my body up through my face. I was unable to move for several minutes and tried to alert my husband and found I was slurring my words. Went to the ER and by that time was doing better just very weak. They ran a bunch of tests but no signs of stroke or heart attack. They said I was most likely having a panic attack, which was ridiculous to me because I woke from a sleep and was pretty calm throughout the whole ordeal. Visited a neurologist who introduced the idea of hemiplegic migraine or said I may have had a TIA. No real answers so I just let it go because it didn't happen again until the last year or so. I have now had several of them although not as severe as the first. Now they are more like a tingling and slight pressure as if someone is putting their hand on my head and pressing down slightly, usually on one side of my face and creeping up my head. I also notice flashes of light. There seems to be a pattern around my menstrual cycle a couple of days before my period starts although this month it happened the day after the last day of my cycle. It is just so strange because I've never had typical migraines, although my mom does have them. I have only had regular headaches and then occaisional ice pick type ones, but they only last a minute or so. One other thing, I have had several times that I've woken up in the middle if the night with nausea but no other symptoms. It lasts an hour or so and then disappears. Was wondering if this is migraine related as well. For those of you with silent migraines or Hemiplegic migraines that only occur once a month or so, do you treat them or just deal with them? Thanks for your help!

Welcome to the forums. I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a "typical" migraine - hemiplegic or otherwise. Almost every migraine sufferer has a unique combination of symptoms. While the symptoms you describe could be due to a migraine, they could also be due to a number of other causes. It's best to have a proper diagnosis by an appropriate medical specialist. It often helps to keep a diary detailing everything that happens around the event, so that you have as much information as possible to present to the doctor. You may need to be persistent to be taken seriously, but it is important to get a proper diagnosis.

I have not been diagnosed as having hemiplegic migraines (the best diagnosis I've had is atypical migraines), so I'll the discussion of specific symptoms to others with some experience of them.

Thanks for your response. It's so hard having health problems that aren't easily diagnosed. I will keep trudging on. I would love to hear from others about their thought as well.

Hello I am new to this site,I have Hemiplegic migraine, I could be out shopping, sleeping etc etc and without warning I would be paralyzed down my right side of my body,my speech would would be slurred and I would be disoriented. I have been in hospital several times with this,last hospital was in November,. My mother as just been addimitted to hospital with this also..doctors thought she had a stroke ,but it is this Hemiplegic migraine which mimics stroke symptoms. I have had this I was 7 years old,I remember my first attack I didn't know what was happening to me,my speech went my vision I couldn't walk,and for a child it was very frightening.

Hello Ferosa, welcome to the forums. Like you, I have been hospitalised on numerous occasions with stroke-like symptoms - usually when I am out by myself. If I'm with family or friends this is avoided as they know that the symptoms are migraine are due to a migraine. In my case the symptoms come on slowly, and I often don't realise it's happening. Others will recognise something is wrong long before I do. Slurred speech, right side muscle weakness, total disorientation, aphasia, ataxia, agnosia and amnesia are some of symptom I can display at such times. Strangely, my symptoms have never been diagnosed as Hemiplegic Migraine. The medical reports usually describe them as "atypical migraine" or "symptoms probably migraine related".