Recently I have gone into an episode of what I is considered a variant migraine syndrome associated with cluster headaches.

I avoid light for comfort but, not all that uncomfortable.

Headache not that classic but mild and associated with a, "body shut down".

Blood pressure refuses to cooperate with gravity for long periods of time.

Alcohol and herbal medicines cause, dysphoria and further blood pressure fall.

So they are not used under such times.

I am use to certain parts of my, unique, neurology getting more difficult with age and these headaches qualify.

But, what was really different about this episode was feeling my "cerebration" was off. Names, a weakness of mine were not there yesterday when I went to a common feeding ground.

Function is coming back, without medication.

And I was wondering if anyone on the Board has experienced such a, dys-cerebral time without the aid of drugs.

BTW I also am avoiding negativity to get myself back.

It is like the last thing I want now is a charge of internal adrenalin.

Moi

Strange as ever

I was diagnosed with complicated migraines. Each time they are different but always involve mental confusion. One time I was working at a convenient store and when it began I could not remember how to run the register. One time when I was working at the hospital I had one and faces were not recognizable but I knew who I was talking with when I read their name badge. Of course that time I was speaking with a nursing supervisor and her lab coat covered her name and she realized I did not know to whom I was speaking. I ended up in ER that day.

I discovered mine were food allergies. I can not eat bananas and there is a spice in A1 steak sauce that triggers my migraines. I avoid them because each time the mental confusion is different. One time I did not know how to use the phone. They are not as upsetting as in the past now that I know they are temporary.

tugon (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:22 pm I was diagnosed with complicated migraines. Each time they are different but always involve mental confusion. One time I was working at a convenient store and when it began I could not remember how to run the register. One time when I was working at the hospital I had one and faces were not recognizable but I knew who I was talking with when I read their name badge. Of course that time I was speaking with a nursing supervisor and her lab coat covered her name and she realized I did not know to whom I was speaking. I ended up in ER that day.

I discovered mine were food allergies. I can not eat bananas and there is a spice in A1 steak sauce that triggers my migraines. I avoid them because each time the mental confusion is different. One time I did not know how to use the phone. They are not as upsetting as in the past now that I know they are temporary.

And isn't it so weird that You Know your brain is not up to power and You still can't get it into gear regardless of blood sugar, sleep or even coffee to jitters. Different in flavor then any intoxication I experienced.

Tugon - if you could do it as a drug, smoke it, pop it for the effect in a leisurely manner, like a recreational drug, would you choose to go "there" sometimes?

Thanks for the validation. Too easy to write it off as psychiatric.

Moi

Do not be assured I'm otherwise, psychiatric free

Have you been evaluated for TIA or mini stroke? What about all out blood work? There are alot of things in out body that can be out of balance and throw us off or maybe someone is just spiking your vitamins with heavy thallium or another heavy metal in low doses.

I believe low thyroid levels would also mimic some of the symptoms that you explain.

I hate to be a scaremonger but you seem to have the symptoms of the TIAs I experienced, except I also had a temporary inability to correctly pronounce long words.

It's worth having yourself checked by your doctor in case these are TIAs because they can sometimes be an early warning of a more serious stroke, which can be avoided if blood-pressure and cholesterol are reduced.

My father inlaw passed away in Jnuary from a massive stroke. He first had a TIA and was in the hospital for a few days. They released him and 10 hours later he had a massive stroke. They kept him on life support til all the family could get there then they disconnected the ventilator. It took 13 hours to pass away and it was truely heartbreaking. He was only 62 with no warning signs or prvious health problems.

Don't screw around if you could have signs of TIA!!!!

moi621 (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:08 pm "body shut down".

Blood pressure refuses to cooperate with gravity for long periods of time.

Moi

Strange as ever

Your blood pressure not adjusting sounds like vasovagal syndrome.

I am also concerned about your brain. Are your frequent headaches always located in the same spot? This can be indicative of something organically wrong such as tumor. A cat scan of your brain might not be a bad idea.

moi621 (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:33 pm Tugon - if you could do it as a drug, smoke it, pop it for the effect in a leisurely manner, like a recreational drug, would you choose to go "there" sometimes?

Thanks for the validation. Too easy to write it off as psychiatric.

Moi

Do not be assured I'm otherwise, psychiatric free

Moi, no I do not go there out of choice. Since the experience is always different I have no idea what might happen next. The visual disturbances that happen with them would be interesting if they happened alone. When my eyes are acting up I get visual images from both eyes. It is not stereo vision but two seperate views from my two seperate eyes.

I mentioned the food allergies but I remember they have happened due to dehydration.

Could also be what they call a "occular migraine".

People with variable blood pressure at stroke risk

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer

Fri Mar 12, 6:19 am ET

.LONDON – People with occasional spikes in their blood pressure could be at higher risk of having a stroke than those with regularly high blood pressure, new studies said Friday.

In four articles published in the medical journals Lancet and Lancet Neurology, European researchers suggest current guidelines for treating people with high blood pressure need to be revised.

In one of the studies, Peter Rothwell of the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Britain, tracked about 8,000 patients who had had a heart attack. They found patients who had consistently variable blood pressure rates were at least six times more likely to have a stroke than those with regularly high blood pressure.

"We tend to believe average underlying blood pressure rates and ignore occasional high rates as blips," Rothwell said. "But it turns out they are very informative and that these people, who are mostly not treated for hypertension, could be at high risk of having a stroke."

In two other studies, Rothwell and colleagues examined the effects of different blood pressure drugs. They found the drugs that reduced occasional spikes in blood pressure rates the best were the most effective at preventing strokes.

No funding was provided for any of the studies.

Rothwell estimated the findings could double the number of people being treated for high blood pressure, which accounts for about 50 percent of a person's stroke risk. High blood pressure affects more than half of all adults.

Experts have previously studied whether people with fluctuating blood pressure rates are at greater risk of having a stroke, but the Lancet studies are the first to track the risk over several years.

The American Heart Association recommends everyone with high blood pressure check their rates at home regularly, since having readings taken a few times a year in the doctor's office may not be accurate enough.

Other doctors said while Rothwell and colleagues' findings are intriguing, more evidence is needed before changing treatment recommendations.

"We can't change the guidelines every time something new comes up," said Lars Hjalmar Lindholm of Umea University Hospital in Sweden, who was not linked to the studies. "We should be a bit cautious before we change how patients are treated."

Still, Lindholm called the Lancet studies "a fantastic contribution" to our understanding of blood pressure.

Rothwell said people with variable blood pressure rates shouldn't rush to change their treatment, but should talk to their doctors. "The damaging effect of variable blood pressure takes months and years to develop," he said.

He said patients with consistently high blood pressure should continue to be monitored — and that some of them with occasionally high rates could benefit from changing their medications.

"I wouldn't want people to think if their blood pressure is stable and high, that isn't a bad thing. They definitely need to be treated," he said. "It's just that the patients we've currently been reassuring, whose blood pressure isn't high all the time, also need to be treated."

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On the Net:

http://www.lancet.com