Complex migraines or auras?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20033424-10391704.html

Most people have seen by now the video of Serene Branson talking gibberish due to a migraine. Strangely, the first time I saw it I KNEW it had to be a migraine! When I have them, I get the same sort of feeling. I feel like my mouth is numb and my tongue doesn't work right. I can still talk but the words don't get prounounced quite right. Also I get really clumsy and bump into things, drop things, etc. I looked it up and the one term for this is "complex migraine." Other sources I read stated that these symptoms are merely different kinds of "migraine auras."

I have had some visual auras before but not regularly. The few times I experienced them, I saw flashing lights in all the windows (I thought there was a lightning storm)! Then, I saw diagonal lines in my peripheral vision. But, the speech and the lack of coordination happen almost everytime.

Migraine with aura is characterized by a neurological phenomenon (aura) that is experienced 10 to 30 minutes before the headache. Most auras are visual and are described as bright shimmering lights around objects or at the edges of the field of vision (called scintillating scotomas) or zigzag lines, castles (teichopsia), wavy images, or hallucinations. Others experience temporary vision loss. Nonvisual auras include motor weakness, speech or language abnormalities, dizziness, vertigo, and tingling or numbness (parasthesia) of the face, tongue, or extremities.

- From http://www.neurologychannel.com/migraine/index.shtml

Now that I know this I will definitely watch out for more aura symptoms. Due to the NSAID issue, I've been taking Excedrin without the aspirin (Tylenol and caffeine only). The caffeine really helps with my migraine symptoms! A lot! My stomach is still a bit touchy but it's getting better :-)

The danger of aspirin and NSAIDs

I am still waiting for my stomach to calm down, but it hasn't 100%. Just the thought of eating tomatoes or anything sugary or spicy makes me queasy. This makes me sad, because I really wanted to go to an Indian restaurant for my birthday :( I love Indian food, but my stomach just can't take it right now. My massage therapist recommended a few things I could eat that she thought would help: cabbage, sauerkraut, brussels sprouts, aloe juice, and any type of squash. She said anything in the cabbage family (cruciferous veggies) is good for the digestive lining! Furthermore, sauerkraut is fermented and so it contains helpful probiotics. Strangely I can't get enough cruciferous veggies and I LOVE sauerkraut! So I've been eating a lot of "bland" things as well as my veggies.

Meanwhile I was doing some research on NSAIDs. I fear that the NSAIDs are what got me into this predicament. They were tearing up my stomach but I didn't know it! I got very queasy from the Mobic/Meloxicam they gave after my surgery, but I thought it was the Tylenol 3? I took Meloxicam for several WEEKS! While also taking aspirin for the neck/shoulder. I might have taken a few ibuprofin in there too.

•Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) bring symptomatic relief to many patients with arthritic, inflammatory or other conditions; however, the benefits of these drugs must be balanced against the upper gastrointestinal (GI) side-effects associated with their use.

•Through systemic and topical effects, NSAIDs impair the mucosal barrier to gastric acid, which, together with the action of pepsin, may result in upper GI symptoms, peptic ulcers and ulcer complications.

•Upper GI symptoms, such as heartburn, are common among patients taking non-selective and cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 selective NSAIDs, and can have a considerable impact on patient quality of life.

•Peptic ulceration is also a common consequence of NSAID use, and potentially life-threatening ulcer complications are a serious health issue with significant associated medical costs.

•Although COX-2 selective NSAIDs are associated with a lower risk of peptic ulceration compared with non-selective NSAIDs, patients with risk factors and those taking concomitant low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) therapy for cardioprotection remain at risk.

•For patients who are at high risk of ulcers and complications, effective and well-tolerated prophylactic therapy should be given alongside the NSAID.

- From http://www.gastrosource.com/disease-area-information/11674565?itemId=11674565

Other NSAID articles
http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/women/asprin.asp
http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102274352.html
http://www.ccfa.org/info/treatment/nsaids

People with Crohn's are very sensitive to NSAIDs (which I didn't know!). I DID have a bad reaction to Naproxen once where my legs swelled up! I guess I didn't really think about it or make the connection until now. Excedrin had been my "go to" pain reliever for several years – my cheap easy way to deal with the everyday pain. I never took more than one dose a day, but now I'm wondering what damage has been done. Hopefully since I quit taking ALL NSAIDs, my body will be able to regenerate itself.

Luckily I haven't really noticed any adverse effects to STOPPING the NSAIDs which makes me think I was taking them for nothing. So all those people who were harping on me about "rebound" headaches were wrong! I've only taken a couple Tylenol 3's, and I save them for my bad days. Otherwise I use my essential oils, massage, Reiki, TENS, heat/ice packs and I've been getting along fine. One of my friends even said I sounded "chipper"! WOW!

Linden tea

I am super excited I found an awesome new remedy: Linden tea!

The major active constituents in linden are flavonoids, glycosides, and possibly a volatile oil. One study found that a complex mixture of compounds, primarily flavonoids, reduced anxiety in mice. Although used as a traditional herbal remedy for anxiety, these results have not been confirmed in human clinical trials. Older clinical trials have shown that linden flower tea can help people with mild gallbladder problems (but not gallstones), upset stomach or dyspepsia, and excessive gas that causes the stomach to push up and put pressure on the heart (also known as the gastrocardiac syndrome.) Linden's reputed antispasmodic action, particularly in the intestines, has been confirmed in at least one human trial.

- From http://www.skaggs.net/module.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=349&action=detail&AEProductID=HW_Multum&AEArticleID=hn-2124007#hn-2124007-image

I stumbled across this remedy because a friend of mine who's into herbal remedies gave me some samples. She and I always have trouble keeping warm while at work (we both work in air-conditioned and frigid offices). She told me to try the tea because it would keep me warm!

The first time I sampled the tea, I was floored. I actually had to turn off my space heater, I got so toasty! Because I liked how it kept me warm, she sent me a whole box for Christmas!

Today I accidentally discovered that the tea also helps my stomach! All week I've been feeling gross - weather, stress, hormones, possibly some bad food I shouldn't have eaten during the Super Bowl. Yesterday all I ate for lunch was a pear and some corn chips, drank the rest of the Pepto at home as well as some Mylanta to no avail. The lack of eating was making me more weak on top of the stomach pains. The queasiness continued today when I just drank some Linden tea because the stomach cramping and queasiness was making me feel chilled. Lo and behold - my cramps are now going away. I'm so excited and I'm going to keep this tea on hand at work and at home for whenever my stomach gets crampy :-)

P.S. I did stop taking Flexeril, a muscle relaxant. I wonder if that was also contributing to my all-over body crampiness. I really don't want to go back on it, but we shall see.

Simple things

I am happy today because my favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers, won the Super Bowl last night! This hasn't happened for 13 years. Last time they played in a Super Bowl, I was pregnant with my son and the Packers lost. What a sad day that was! And to make it worse, my husband was rooting for the Broncos. I was all hormonal and stressed out and about ready to whomp him with something. This year, my son could watch with me as the Packers WON, and my hubby promised to root for Green Bay this time!

Just simple things like this cheer me up sometimes. I've had a difficult month of January and I hope this month will be on a more positive track! Although my left shoulder is starting to revert back to its unhelpful ways, I'm trying to do the best I can. My birthday is also coming up and I hope that helps to cheer me up. Simple things like a friendly e-mail, a card, a cute picture of a kitten (or owl or any cute animal for that matter; I visit icanhascheezburger daily), a small token of appreciation, a kind word - any of those things are invaluable to someone battling chronic conditions.

Walking long distances continues to be a problem. The only time I notice it is going through a large store such as a grocery store. About halfway through the aisles I start getting really dizzy, nauseous and wobbly and feel like the inside of my knee is "squishy." I also feel like my lower back/tailbone area are about ready to give out. Such a strange feeling! Each week it seems to take longer for this feeling to "hit." So I'm hoping with time it will go away completely?