Hemiplegic migraines with aura that have caused actual strokes

Hi, I started having them at the time of my 1st period as well (age 12) For years I thought they were sinus headaches even though my mother, who suffered with them miserably throughout my childhood knew what they were and said nothing. The sinus medication helped some with the headache, but I began to notice that the "episodes" were going to last how ever long they were going to last. It wasn't until I got to nursing school that i first began to suspect that my mother's "sick headaches" were actually migraines and that what I had was similar. Then, like my mother, my bad "sick headache" or "hemiplegic" episodes began after the birth of my first child and got progressively worse until, finally my primary doctor spoke a word to me that I would have never would have thought I would ever hear in the same sentence as my sickness- neurologist.I was one of the first patients to be tried on "preventive" therapy, medication that you took every day to attempt to prevent headaches. I was very lucky, the first medication we tried, inderal (propronanol) worked and first the incidence, then the severity of my attacks lessened. THEN came IMITREX, which i was started on back when it was the only triptan and back then came as an injectable only (pill form came much later) This worked for the attacks that the inderal didn't prevent and i was switched to the pill when it came out. After a few years though, the imitrex stopped working and now with a whole arsenal of triptans, my primary switched me to ZOMIG. After one particularly bad attack where i took the zomig, my stroke like symptoms (hemiplegia) didn't resolve when the headache did, as they normally do but got worse and did not go away. A trip to the ER and an MRI later I got the shocking news- I had a stroke! (by now I had had my 2nd and 3rd children, my first son got his first migraine @ age 8) It took me a few months to come back completely and about that time the news was breaking that Zomig was causing strokes in patients that suffered from hemoplagic migraines! (There is now a black box warning on ALL triptans that they SHOULD NOT be used by ANYONE suffering from hemiplegic migraines. (YA THINK???) Now 50 and beginning menopause.......film @ 11

Hi, I have migraine since i was 12 and now i am 20 years old.
I used "Hemicraneal" and "Iboprufen", but my migraine did not improve. So last year I started with a non pharmacological treatment. The chemistry eventually only worsens the migraine because it is drug. I've found a biofunctional device, thair name is "Migracalm". It is a headband that applies controlled pressure on the point in the temples (the part of the cranium between the ear, the cheek and the eye) where most of the pain is focused, producing a sensation of relief.
Enter to their web site: http://www.migracalm.net

Mary G.

Hi, I have suffered with migraines since I was 17 and had a "migraine stroke" in 1989 causing permanent visual damage. I have since had a severe migraine last Saturday and my vision is now much worse. Had CT scan yesterday and am due to see eye specialist next week and neurologist the following week. I also have suffered with high blood pressure since age 19 and have been on propanalol for many years. This past year my migraines have definitely increased. I am a 46 year old female and wondered whether I could be entering early stages of menopause, don't know if this increases migraine attacks or not.