Just when I thought I understood my Vestibular Migraine symptoms and causes, I had this thread and another older thread pop up as unread on my feed. After reading them, I’m scratching my head, and wondering if I’m having a brain episode, such as a TIA, stroke, or perhaps the early signs of dementia.
Where have these threads been hiding, and why do I now think I have no idea what’s wrong with me, and is the medicine I’m taking doing nothing for me?
When I was first diagnosed with Vestibular Migraine, I remarked that I don’t have headaches. The doctor told me that Migraines don’t always have headache pain. So, who is correct? Why does my treatment seem to work for the most part?
According to Stanford University Medical:
“Unlike the classic migraine, which is described as severe, throbbing headache, vestibular migraine has no pain associated with it 50% of the time. Vestibular migraine causes episodes of dizziness described as rocking, spinning, floating, swaying, internal motion and lightheadedness.”
My attacks range from slight dizziness for a minor attack, to dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual aura, photophobia and sonic sensitivity for a major attack. However, I can’t recall ever having an actual headache during a vestibular migraine attack. I would have included tinnitus, but I have tinnitus 24/7 even when I’m not having a vestibular attack.
Today, as I write this, I feel a sinus headache coming on. I’m sure it’s a sinus headache versus a migraine because 1) The weather is dipping down below freezing for the first time in over a month. 2) I’ve been trying to clear my sinuses all day from something that is causing a tickle that makes me sneeze. 3) I recognize that a headache is coming on until the headache had passed, or almost passed. Every migraine headache I have had, disabled my reasoning ability as such that I didn’t recognize a headache or migraine was coming on. So I feel reasonably certain that the headache that is trying to break through is not a migraine.
So are Vestibular attacks Migraines? Or, are we not classifying them as migraines because they are not accompanied by a headache pain?