Dr. Aida Abaz Quka
Neurology
The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.
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Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
I need your advice, please. I am a 44-year-old working mother of three children and normally in great health. In the last 20 years, I have had about three visual migraines. There is no headache and I get back to normal 30 minutes later. This week, I had a visual migraine on Monday, felt a bit nauseous afterward for the rest of the day. I woke up on Tuesday and felt normal. Then about 8.30 AM started with another visual migraine. Then, I had a terrible headache and vomited. The right cheek and right arm went numb that lasted all day. I had another one on Wednesday and a fourth on Thursday. The thing that is worrying me is that I am still not back to normal. I could not remember people’s names at work on Friday and felt totally spaced out and at times confused. I did not remember speaking to my mother on the phone this morning. In fact, I rang her and when she answered through the car speaker I had forgotten it was me that rang her. I saw my general practitioner (GP) on Friday and she said no red flag symptoms but she has referred me to a neurologist as I have had multiple migraines and this is unusual. My appointment is on the 20th. The thing that I want to know is should I be going to the emergency room (ER) sooner for a scan? I know myself I am not behaving normally and my close family and friends have noticed.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com. Your symptoms could be related tostatus migrainosus, which causes a temporary dysfunction of some brain regions related to persistent migraine attacks. For this reason I would recommend performing a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (which would be better compared to the CT scan) and some blood laboratory tests to investigate for possible causes which have triggered these frequent migraine attacks as follows: 1. Complete blood count for anemia. 2. PCR (polymerase chain reaction), ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) for inflammation. 3. Blood electrolytes for possible imbalances. 4. Thyroid hormone levels for thyroid dysfunction. If a brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) cannot be performed in a short period of time, a brain CT (computed tomography) scan would be an option in case of persistent migraine attacks.
Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
Thank you very much. Do you think I can wait for 10 days for the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or should I get one sooner?
Hello,
Welcome back to icliniq.com. I think that the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can wait a couple of weeks. But the blood laboratory tests may be needed sooner in case the migraine headaches persist in the next days.
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Neurology
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