Anybody out there suffer with vertibro basilar migraine?

Question

How can i learn to live with this.I have been quite healthy but now had to quit driving and can't cope with the falling over and people that keep telling me I'm drunk

Answer 1

I am very sorry you are having these issues. The condition you have has several names, and you may also hear it called Basilar artery migraines, or Bickerstaff's Syndrome.

There are treatments which can help control the issues. The main keys are controlling your triggers.

http://www.headaches.org

In the consumer area, see the educational resources tab.

Print and fill out the headache diary as shown.

People say there are several causes for migraines, and this is not thought to be the case. The actual cause is not proven, but there is a current consensus theory. What people often say are causes are actually called triggers, they do not cause the headaches, but they can trigger the effect. There are activities and foods to be avoided, however, each person's triggers are individual. This is the purpose for the diary noted above. It helps you to discover your triggers so they can be avoided or eliminated.

In vertebro-basilar or basilar artery migraines (often just called BAM) the issue is a little different. The vaso constriction is localized to one particular vessel. The effects of this vasoconstriction are much more profound, in my case I lose the feeling down the left side of my body, I have an unsteady gait, I lose the vision in my left side, my speech gets affected, I am extremely dizzy, and of course I have the severe headache and other symptoms.

This is most commonly seen in teenage females. I was first seen in me as a 40 y/o male. Needless to say it took about a year before anyone would believe me when I suggested the diagnosis (and it is my specialty!)

Work with your neurologist/headache specialist on the preventive medications (I highly recommend trying depakote er, zonisamide, and Keppra)(I have had a lot of complaints about confusion from patients on Topiramate, and I had problems with it, and with BAM it is hard to tell if it is headache or topiramate side effect.)

I recommend having someone refer you for biofeedback training, this is my personal method for aborting my migraines.

Remember that the new triptan medications which are wonderful for most migraines are contraindicated (not used) for BAM as they can vasoconstrict the basilar artery and cause stroke like symptoms. Also, do not have neck manipulations from a chiropractor, these can cause permanent problems for patients with BAM.

I wish you the best!

God Bless

Answer 2

Bickerstaff Migraine

Answer 3

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I get them too from having a badly done forceps delivery. I spent sooo much $$$ on pharmacy stuff and the stuf the doctor gave me wasn't worth the vomiting. I never believed it till I tried but if your desperate you will.... First thing in the morning before you do anything (get up and do it before you pee) drink really quickly as much water as humanly possible to get the water levels in your blood back from sleeping. Then even if you don't need to take 1000mg of asprin. it thins your blood. Get the dissolving kind coz it gets absorbed quicker than tablets. Then through the day the second you feel an ache in your head or shoulders or neck take a painkiller with codiene in it. I never thought it could be that simple after I'd been taking sooo much of the same stuff and it didn't work. The trick is the water binge and asprin in the morning. It really does stop the whole headache cycle starting. Trying to fix it when it's there won't do anything no matter what, if your like me. Through the day try to conciously drink more water. Anything you can dissolve will enter your system faster than a tablet. And as dumb as it sounds keep a small damp towel in the fridge each day. It's so nice to wrap around your head when your head is getting hot and your waiting for the medicine to work. You can hold it against your eyes at the same time. You'll look like a weirdo but only for a few minutes. Good Luck

Answer 4

I have had migraine troubles for 25 years.
I can give you some ideas to try for your problem. Some things that help me:
take melatonin (9 mgs) at night
take DHEA (25mgs) AM
Take magnesium supplements at night. Have you tried petadolux? It's herbs and supplements.

I take fiorinal, 2 pills up to 3x's a day, when it's bad. I take Amerge, too, but I think with basilar problems, it's not safe.

My doctor had me try tegretol this year for
trigemital neuralgia/face pain, which I always thought was migraine. It helps but I've only tried one dose. I am afraid of the possible side-effects.

I go to acupuncture, which is expensive, but it has helped a lot. I have gone for over a year and it has helped. It didn't give me relief right away, but it has helped.

A gastro-enterologist suggested that I look into "Epley's maneuver" this year due to vertigo and nausea. This is a physical therapy that relieves the pressure in your inner ear.

You can email me and I will respond. I can understand what you're going through, at least.

Answer 5

I have been a migraine sufferer since age 5 ..now I'm 35. Severe pain,numbness, vomiting,disorientation ..the works. Last year i started experiencing vertigo. Mostly sea sick-days and a few episodes of a real vertigo attack...5-7 hrs. It freaked me out and I've never gotten any real relief with meds..and I've been on all of them..and done biofeedback and played with acupuncture. As simple as it seems..the only advice i can give is focus on diet and stress/anxiety control. Stress of course makes everything worse but when your life is worring about your next life-disrupting episode..it's easy to let it get out of control. I've also recently read a book called 'heal your headaches 1.2.3' I know your not a classic migraine but the trigger mechanism is the same. It's a great read and not too earthy crunchy. Equal parts meds and diet. Basically I'm experimenting with a natural food-(processed food free) diet for 4 months. i've given up caffeine and known food triggers as well to see what will happen . As well as trying to exercise and do yoga ,ask for help, and slow down on days I feel prone to an attack. i feel generally healthier already and I think that is the opposite to what strees does. raise your general overall health. I am a healthy person to begin with and am amazed how much better I feel. As for the headaches I've already had one but I've only been doing this for a mo. and a half. What started me on this experimnet..aside from the fact the med that somewhat helped (self injection) is losing it's potency and aside for the torturous pain the vertigo scared the *&^&%%443 out of me. They beleived for a time I might have meniere's disease and I went down that road imagining what that would be like. I'm sorry but at least it won't kill you!