(No Subject)

My 56 year old wife has had spells for at least 10 years and after normal MRIs of the brain her neurologist diagnosed her with basilar migraines. She does NOT get headaches, but with her spells she starts acting intoxicated, slurred speech, unsteady gait, etc. During the worst attacks this progresses to the point where she is totally paralyzed, can't speak at all, can't control her arms, legs, or even her face. These usually proceed to her going to sleep, snoring for an hour or so then gradually improves. These attacks are usually monthly, a very bad attack, then the next day not so bad, and has symptoms for about a week. Then she is totally normal for maybe 3 weeks.

She had tried some medications and none have helped. Seems like fatigue triggers the attacks, they can be especially bad when she has been outside working in the flower beds, or mowing. I can tell she is impaired in her speech and mannerisms, then she will sit down for supper in her recliner to eat off a tray. I look over and she is totally locked up and can't eat.

Tonight she is having a terrible attack, something new was she would purse her lips and blow, would not even squeeze my hand or acknowledge me at all. VERY scary. Right now she is asleep in her chair, snoring. I wonder sometimes if this is going to proceed to a stroke - how would I know the difference?

I am very concerned of course, as I understand that these migraines could lead to strokes. She is seeing a regular neurologist, if anyone knows of a migraine specialist in the Dallas area, I'd like for her to see one.

This is very disabling, I wish there was something that could be done about it. We can't go to the ER every month, but I always wonder if this is a stroke and not a migraine attack.

Thanks, we really haven't identified triggers other than most of the time they seem to be late in the day when she gets tired. A couple of times she had spells in a public place and I had to help her out of a restaurant, it appeared she was totally intoxicated. Her eyes half opened and mouth drooping. Once she had a mild attack while we were at Church on Sunday morning.

Sometimes I call on my way home from work and she doesn't answer. When I get home I find her at the kitchen cabinet, knife in hand and vegetables on the cutting board, but she is standing there totally paralyzed. Once I was sitting in my recliner and didn't hear anything so went in the kitchen. She was standing at the island trying to fiddle with her glasses. I notice her glasses were all scratched up. I asked if she had dropped them in the garbage disposal and she nodded. Then I noticed where a spot over one eye was starting to seep blood. Turns out she had gone outside (to smoke probably) and had fallen.

Once we were both in the kitchen, I knew she was having an attack and was standing with her hands on the counter top. I was at the sink, I heard a thud and she had fallen down right there! I had to carry her to bed where she slept it off and then was pretty much fine.

Seems that when she sleeps in off she recovers, then has spells in the evenings for the next several days.

She likes to mow and at least twice I have found her going in circles and had to get her off the mower. She loves to mow and refuses to quit, but it seems she is like a drunk in that her judgment does not kick in and tell her to get off the mower when she starts feeling an attack coming on.

Fortunately it has never happened when she is driving, at least that I know of.

The docs have never seen one of the spells at all. Most of the time they happen at home and sometimes they are short enough that they would be over by the time she could get in at ER which is 30 minutes away. We live pretty much in the middle of nowhere. She is not receptive to not driving, she says it never happens when she is at the wheel. I worry about it though....It would be tough not being able to drive as she stays and home and does the grocery shopping, takes the dogs to the groomers and the vet, etc. All of which is 30 minutes to an hour away.

She plays down the spells because to her she just gets tired and takes a nap. When I say she is slurring she denies it and and says she is "just tired". She also never gets a headache so apparently the spell is not painful at all. But from this end its pretty terrible.

I think the episodes last longer than they did 10 years ago. Back then it would last half and hour to an hour and she was totally fine. Now if it comes on she will have at least some slurring the rest of the night. The real bad part still only lasts an hour or so usually. Hard to say because sometimes she will sleep for 2 hours or more.

She had the bad spell beginning about 9:00 tonight and was totally out of it. By 9:30 or so she was snoring and just now about 11:30 she woke up. Still slurring some but much better, got out of her chair and took the dogs out.