Scary Complex Migraine on Today's Ride

[colorisnt]

Gah. So, I have been doing a lot of miles. I came back to my hometown for cooler weather and flatter rides to build my confidence up. I had been doing AWESOME, despite a wasp attack and getting lost on a ride, but today, i did a simple 38 mile route and found myself miserable on mile 22.

The migraine came out of NOWHERE. I had just taken a break and while I know weather triggers thins, it wasn't pouring or lightning or anything - the storm was hours away. I usually get aura, but I didn't get it this time. No warning. I lost feeling in my hand and leg and had to call my mother to come pick me up on the roadside and drive me home. It was sad and embarassing and it's never happened before.

I am not sure about riding by myself right now. As is, I always have someone to call, but it still scares me. Is there another way to be safe in such instances? I try to do group rides when I can, but a couple of times a week I go out alone. It's NEVER been an issue before.

[Biciclista]

was your helmet too tight? were you drinking enough water?
if you get a lot of migraines, you can ignore my questions but it seems to me that this was unusual and shouldn't happen a lot! keep riding and stay hydrated!

[redrhodie]

Oh, that's scary. I've never had one on the bike, but I once had one in Midtown Manhattan, and I had blind spots in front of me and couldn't find the subway entrance, then couldn't see the stairs once I found it. I don't know how I made it home.

You did the right thing by calling for help. No matter what you were doing, if you were driving, or walking, you would have to do that, so don't be embarrassed. Just be glad for cell phones, and feel better!

[colorisnt]

Red,

Yeah, I was starting to lose my vision and I cannot speak well when they hit. I worried that people would think I had a stroke. Some people I knew did drive by, but I waited for my mother because i didn't want to have to explain stuff to them.

Biciclista,
I get them often, but only ride when I am feeling okay. Usually I know my body well enough to know when NOT to ride. I have no problem drinking enough. I had electrolytes and 2 pints of water on my stop, so I felt fine. Helmet was not too tight - I loosened it when it started to get hot, but now that you say that, I will be super careful to adjust it as I go in the heat.

This has been a particularly bad one. I am going on day two of this one. I've been in and out of sleep because of the pain and it gets better and then gets worse. Waking up at 2 AM to be sick is not cool either. I think at this point, it couldn't have been avoided.

[smilingcat]

my sympathy!! My migrane episodes have gone way down with HRT, but if I ever get one while riding, that will be it for me. Time to call someone to take me home. I can't make sense of what I'm looking, I read signs but it doesn't register correctly. "STOP" yes I know what it means but for me to stop then would be dicy... Not sure how to explain It's that you understand but you can't translate it into action.

Be careful and you should carry some sort of medical alert bracelet or Road ID. A lot of migrane suffer can be mistaken for stroke victim.

Don't feel defeated by the migrane, you did the right thing!!

[WindingRoad]

That's an awful long time to have a migraine. Are you sure you shouldn't call your doc?

[Biciclista]

That's an awful long time to have a migraine. Are you sure you shouldn't call your doc?

that's what I was thinking!

[Duck on Wheels]

I think some of my migraines have been triggered by neck/shoulder tension, but only when it's gotten rock hard and painful in that area, so you would probably have noticed that before this one hit. You clearly also notice the aura when that signals an onset. I guess sometimes migraines do just come out of nowhere. I'm glad to hear you made it safely off your bike, onto the side of the road, and called for pick-up! That's a feat in itself, given that migraine can leave you vision-impaired and "spacey", so you should feel proud rather than embarrassed. Definitely no reason for embarrassment here! Well done you! Knowing you managed this, you should also feel fairly safe about getting back on the bike (or driving a car, for that matter), in spite of the sudden onset this time. But yeah, if you've got a good doctor, it's probably a good idea to report the episode and ask if that's something (s)he would want you checked out on.

[bmccasland]

Another migrainer here. Had a bad one last saturday - the total body experience kind. Never could figure out my triggers, except certain chemical smells, like cheap perfume, or if I get heat exhaustion.

Up until yesterday I thought one of my triggers was weather related, as I seem to have migraines when a cold front passes through. So I thought the change in barometric pressure was the cause. Well, one of the guys I eat lunch with is a meterologist, so yesterday I asked him. He asked if I get a headache when I fly or ride an elevator up 6 or more floors? Um, no, why? Because the change in air pressure on that elevator ride is more than the change when a cold front passes through. Interesting. He did say there may be something else in play, but it isn't just a change in air pressure, because if it was, I'd be stuck on the ground.

[jessmarimba]

Light flashing will sometimes give me a migraine - the route home from my high school, during certain parts of the year, would give me a daily migraine from the sun flashing through the trees. It was awful. I don't get auras first though, just a terrible taste in my mouth.

[badger]

yikes, how awful! hope you're starting to feel better?

I think heat may have played a role in your migraine trigger. I sometimes get migraines from being too hot when I'm doing an activity, and one of the worst migraines i got was when I stupidly went hiking by myself with insufficient water. That was both heat and dehydration, and I was lucky to have made it out in one piece considering I couldn't see straight and was shaking and nauseous.

I agree with smilingcat in getting a medic alert bracelet just in case you do get in a situation when you can't communicate properly.

[ny biker]

That's an awful long time to have a migraine. Are you sure you shouldn't call your doc?

I used to get them for a week at a time. Every month. So two days is not necessarily cause for alarm.

However if you haven't already explored the possibility of taking meds to prevent/lessen the symptoms, you might want to discuss that with your doctor. It sucks having to take drugs every day, but it can mean the difference between being able to function like a normal person and being incapacitated much of the time, or just plain cranky because you have a headache every single day.